THE TRANSVAAL WAR.

New Zealand Mail, 15 February 1900, Page 48

THE TRANSVAAL WAR.

BRITISH OFFICERS IN SOUTH AFRICA. SOME INTERESTING GOSSIP ABOUT THEM. (From M.A.P.”) “ANDY” W'AUCHOPE. The death of General Wauchope was just probably what he himseit would! have wished, and in some respects it is happy, because even it was sought out. It silences all criticism, all blame. Scotland, especially Midlothian, mourns Kim ; for lie was the typical Scotch soldier of the Old. families—bnye, kind, humorous, laircl as much ‘as "soldier ,Y He was a perfect soldier in appearance—indeed; it was probably his . pride to keep himself just as physically firi as in war. Though it was not so in real life, there i 3 something in his portraits that suggests a slight reminiscence of Moltke. There is the same rerefinement of feature, the same thin straight nose; the same thin-lipped firm mouth; something even, of" the same impression that the skin is drawn as tightly on the clean shaven face as the calf skin on the drum. . The eyes were the most remarkable feature of the face; they were deep-set, grey and. brilliant—how they sparkled with the fire that revealed the lion heart beneath!—and ;again, they softened, and showed all the kindliness that was wanted with the dauntless courage of the man. IN PEACE. General Wauchope had all the ardent and more local patriotism, of the Scotch laird, as well as the spacious Imperial spirit . and political ambition. This doughty warrior, as laird of Widrie, took all kis-'kome duties as seriously as if he bad-never left Scotland's shores.- He was » member of the local School-Board, of the Parish Council; and an Eider of his Parish church. A few weeks ago,- when he was Ordered, for service abroad, he offered his resignation of all these local appointments.. The acceptance of them was postponed : it was hoped that he would be back in a few months. It is a remarkable thing, however, that lie did not have the same hope himself. He said to more than one friend that he felt he would never return. As lie had been wounded ah over his body, and had narrowly escaped death three times already, ilv was not mere morbidness that suggested this too - true forecast of his coming doom. -

UN CONVENTIONAL. A good deal of General Wauehope’s Intense popularity with his neighbours was bis unconventionality. Quite recently he appeared in the chair at- a School Board meeting' in the riding costume the top boots, riding breeches, and spurs in which he rode over from his house. He used to lecture, open bazaars, and- know the names and circumstances-of all the miners in the villages. Everybody accordingly loved inm, and, as-a-Scottish paper says, when he returned home after the Egyptian campaign, the villagers received him with bands, flowers, flags, and the school children marched before him in procession. Never had a returning hero a greater- and tenderer welcome. AS AN ELEOTTONEERER.

As everybody knows, General Wauchope stood twice for Parliament—once against Mr Gladstone in 1392, and quite recently for South'Edinburgh. ll© did not defeat Mr Gladstone, but 'he. reiduced the' great'' statesinan’R majority from 4631 to 690; and that, in itself, was a triumph;. '. Numberless descriptions have been sent in to me of General Wauchope'as an electioneerer. I select one of . two :—“The selection of Colonel' Wauchope, as he was then known (writes one correspondent), to fight the great leader of the-Liberal party was at; the time considered to be a huge joke. Andrew Wauchope, the rough, good uatured colonel, entered into the fight, however, with great zest. At the time T was doing journalistic work in Midlothian, and had occasion to “follow” the colonel on his tours through the constituency. Andrew Wauchope was no great speaker, bub in the remotest hamlets of the largo county he gathered crowded audiences round him on the *winter evenings, prior to the General Election of 1892, and expounded politics in homely and characteristic style. I rememDer one evening that the galiaut colonel was speaking in a mining village where Radicalism was ever robust. There was some likelihood of opposition. Never particular as to his toilet, the colonel on this particular occasion seemed to have dressed more hastily than usual. He was minus cuffs ancl collar, and wore a jacket sizes too short for him, and his shirt sleeves of ordinary union material were hanging about his knuckles in negligee fashion. His speech, however, sparkled with witty anecdote, and before the meeting closed ho had become quite friendly with his audience, and by his kindly manner had entirely disarmed criticism. In this way Andrew G. Wauchope won many to his side, and when the election day drew hear lie had. gathered a respectable following to his camp in a country hitherto considered to be an impregnable stronghold of Liberalism.”

My informant continues: - Some amusing stories are told a-bout the General in his capacity as a soldier and a politician. When in command of the Black Watch, the famous Highland regiment, ho was said to have attempted to address the men after parade at Maryhiii Barracks, Glasgow. From the demeanour of the Colonel, the regiment anticipated an eloquent address, but it is stated that the genial Andrew only got* the length of: “Men of the gallant For-ty-second,” when his tongue seemed to cleave to the roof of his mouth. Thrice did he make the attempt, and thrice did he fail to make progress, until exasperated with himself lie suddenly exclaimed, to t-h9 l astonishment of the regiment: “Men of the gallant Forty-Second, rightabout wheel.” . ‘ ; THE GENERAL’S RASH BET.

General Wauchope, at one of his meetings, made a bet to his audience, that he would eat his hat if he failed to win Mr Gladstone’s seat. Often, a» meetings subsequent to the ’92 election, he was taunted, good-humouredly, of course, as to when the “hat trick” was to be performed. The General was excellent- at repartee, and, it need hardly be said, had a suitably reply for his interrogators. „ 0 - ASSOCIATION WITH IRELAND. General Wauchope had many associations with Ireland. When Sarsfield, the greatest of the Irish generals who fought for the Stuarts, -was during the historic siege of Limerick by many others around him And begged to capitulate, “a brave Scotch officer named Wauchope,” to use.th© words of Macaulay, urged, him to hold .out-. General Wauchope of our time was very proud of this ancestor, and, curiously enough, served for many'years in the same city of Limerick in which that ancestor had played so honourable a paid. He looked up carefully all the memorials of the old heroic times of his ancestors. He was, moreover, half Irish himself, for his mother was Miss Lloyd, a Tipperary lady, and his only sister is the daughter of an Irish ' peer—Lord Ventry—and mother. of the Marchioness of Conyingkam, the Countess of Hopetoun, and Lady Hood. Finally, General Wauchope was married twice—the last time to Miss Muir, daughter of the principal of Edinburg University. It is a pathetic circumstance that Mrs Wauchope had been inquiring at the War Office after her husband just a few minutes before ti!9 news of her terrible bereavement oamo in. LORD WINCHESTER. Lord Winchester came from a- fighting race; for it was one of his ancestors who kept the Cromwellians at bay for two years in Basing Castle during the Civil War. Not till Cromwell came himself with siege guns and a stout and big storming party, did the Rowlett of that day—for so' the name of Lord “Winchester used to be spelled in the old times—yield; and such bravery even in those harsh days saved the life of the Royalist even at the hands of the enemy lie had so lond defied. ' - - - ...

A handsome, kindly, .retiring man—such was Lord Winchester. ' He was very much beloved accordingly by his men, and he had hosts of friends, who were much attached, to him. Lady Lil-

ian Wemyss is his sister'; and his brother, Lord Henry Paulet, who succeeds him, is at this moment- engaged in a mining mission to Buluwayo. Lord Winchester, curiously enough, was very near leaving the Army four years ago, and he' actually sent in his papers, but promotion came, and he stuck to his career. The family has been settled in Hampshire since the conquest. Winchester’s home was at Amport, near Andover. It is a small and not very rich estate, but he loved it, and was a keen sportsman and an excellent shot, and he was extremely fond of fishing in the beautiful trout stream that runs through the estate. “FACING THE -MUSIC’ AT KIMBERLEY. Lord Methuen’s failure to relieve Kimberley makes Mr Rhodes’ position in the Diamond City somewhat- perilous. His friends are now regretting that he went there. But the “Colossus,’' with, all liis calculating spirit, is an impulsive man at times, and he is also, in one sense, a nervous man. He “worries” unless he can know at- once how things are going at- a critical point-. In the old days, when the shafts- of new workings of the De Beers mine were being opened, he would often go to sleep at the shaft-mouth, rolled in a rug, leaving oraers that he was to be awakened at, once and told of any striking development in the underground work. " In the same way, when the De Beers mine was--m danger of being seized by the 'Boers, he felt he must-be on the- spot to-know immediately and at first hand Y How things were going. He has- that -esprit ‘ douteur, which can only be appeased by the closest proximity to the mystery or the danger that causes trouble. Altogether, as the enthusiastic Chartered .shareholder said of him at the meeting the other day, he is probablv just now the “right man in the right place.” :

COLOSSAL GENEROSITY, - I had a talk the other day (continues a frequent contributor to “M.A.P.) with a South African prospector, who was once a colleague of Mr Rhodes-, and who 13 F° S r eat admirer of the man oi* liis methods. This renders the more notable his testimony - to . MrRhodes character,.-of whichvweido nob “ear much. “I doubt,” he said, “if Rhodes is at all as rich as people generally suppose. He is always giving. For a man whose genius seems to lie in the

way- of getting money together, he is, singularly generous. A friend of mine who fought in the last Mat-abele War, and lost a near relation in the rising, was called into Mr Rhodes’ office at Buluwayo, and the great man told- him he wanted to do something to recognise his services in a tangible way. “What would “ke to have?” asked Rhodes.’ Well, said the other, “I hold a lease of so many thousand acres from the company in the hills near here. You might lengthen the lease a bit-.” “Nonsense,” was the answer. “Lengthen, a lease : that s not the kind of thing we should do -or_you. But I tell you what we can do. We shall cancel the'lease, and-give you absolute property in your land'”

RHODES AND THE RAILWAY MAN. Once Rhodes was travelling down to the coast by t-lie Beira Railway, through a fever-haunted belt of low-land. While

the -special train stopped at a waysida station, one of his travelling companions recognised in a- railway employee there a man who had' been dismissed from De Beers mins for some negligence a couple of years before. On their way to the next station he told Rhodes, who, after a few minutes’ silence, stopped the train, and ordered it to ransack to t'ne last station. Arrived there, he called hia discharged employee into the carriage. “'This is no place for a white man to be,” he said ; “you will die here of fever.” “Fe ver is no worse than starvation,” said the railway man, “and I have all but- starved since I was turned off at De Beers. I suppose I ’shall di9 iiirt-his swamp, but I can get- no other billet.” “No, no, I can see to'that,” said Rhodes. “I shall make the people at Beira send up a man to take yonr place, and then you can go to Salisbury arrd give this note to my agent there. He will let you have a bit of farm.and advance some cash to work. it,, and I hope you will have the best luclpip.jocr new start.” ’ -• \- Qjk;

METHUEN’S INCOME; ”” ' Lord Methuen (writes a correspondent), in spite of your paragraph;,! by no means too richly endowed .with-'-this , wortd’s . goods. Though his hoUfe'. atCorsham is being lived in at this present moment by Lady Methuen”; the shooting has been let for some timejnstLord_ Methuen has a considerable hereage in Wiltshire, but land; basftbfnbly depreciated, of. late; in tbnt(parFi£iii?‘ rland, in. th.ose districts '.i^..the jspTe -industry. The mcoiaeb « ‘ landowners are apt to be large!r’qdotd on the generous estimate of' Mr cßatema.n’s handbook, which was compiled do the palmier days of agricultural prices, and which, moreover, takes but'lithe heed of the enormous outgoings of offoers of real estate.

ANOTHER' STORY OF BADENPOWELL. -- Here is another story ’of Coi® l BauCn-Poweli sent by a • ] burg correspondent. The Boer artdlK? - opened fire on a portion of Maiding which the fortifications had not completion. Finding that their fire, not retured, the Boers pumped ind* 1 after shell, and matters '-were made, : warm for the defenders of thp. ■; town. Baden-Powell, with 1 tic coolness, hit upon a happy ;; silencing the enemy’s guns and forf? 1 ? ing time in which to complete bis eart ; works. A trooper,- carrying the flag, emerged from the town. and'-P ceoded in the direction of the Boern-». Commandant Oronje at once J um Pf,r,. ; Utc conclusion that the defender or , feking had resolved to surrender, the Boer guns immediately ring. The trooper, rode leisurelyV. on reaching Commandant Cronya n® j_ livered the following message: , f j one! Baden-Powell, the Coninia n j Mafeking, presents his comphmen i . begs to inform Commandant., that, if another shot is fired on t e he will bo compelled to , as a declaration of war.” In Uptime the earthworks were comp

tucker; c.b. Major - General C. who will shortly be in c ? n „ n a division in South Afriea, m a man of action, arid a

1) TTp is a big. strong man, somewhat, bum ons __ vv hicn are generPr essmg liS- to - in forcible the following anecdote will m irate'- From 1893 to 1895 General Sker was in command of the troops m NatS During his tenure of olhce, a S garrison adjutant-a meek and consdJntious youth—was appointed. Ihe (leneral told him to provide himself with a notebook, in which to record various rhpmoranda, and more particularly to note the General’s criticisms on the conduct of field days. Shortly afterwards a S daV took place, followed by the custemaiy “po'v-wowThe next day the General called the Adjutant in and said: xv 0 w vlr Brown, did you take down the remarks I made at the conclusion of yesterday’s operations?’’ “Yes, sir yes, sir” replied Brown. “Ah, now what was the first remark I made, Mr Brown?” Brown produced his note-book, found the page, and replied : “Your first rem£k, sir, was, ‘As usual! Six unmires, and no use! -General Tucker is a keen sportsman, and a hard man to hounds. He is also—strange taste in such a virile man—devoted to Badminton, and many were the tournaments and parties he used to arrangel for this somewhat young-ladyish game when he was stationed at Pietermaritzburg. His opinion of golf, on the other hand, to put it mildly,- is distinct-

- ly unfavourable. ri A STORY OF MAJOR MILTON. ■ Nobody who knew him was surprised when the news came that Major Milton, of the Yorkshire Light Infantry, showed - tie coolest gallantry at Belmont by giving up his horse to a dismounted soldier and leisurely retiring on foot under a hot fire, lie is one of those men who positively revel in danger, and when at home he has to satisfy his lust for perils in the hunting field and on the polo ground. The followers of the Badsworth Hunt will remember the pluck he showed last season, when he calmly rode through a long run with his jaw broken in two places. Those who saw him then had "no idea that he had met with an accident, though the fall which had such an unfortunate result took place at the first fence in the run. Small, light and wiry, he will see more of a run on a pony than most people would on a 200guinea hunter.

;; KRUGER’S MARKSMEN. Captain, Rice, of the Royal Irish ... Fusiliers, who landed the other day at Southampton from the Jelunga—one of 7 the first officers who took part in the •action at Nicholson’s Nek to return home—gives a striking proof of how terrible was the fire to which he. and his men were exposed. Finding himself without ammunition, lie went for some to the dead body of one of the soldiers that lay around. The bodv, already stiff and heavy in death, was hard and awkward to move; so lie took out his razor from his haversack to cut the belt of the dead private. A bullet smashed the blade to pieces in his hand, and directly afterwards another bullet struck him in the ankle.

YOUNG TRISTRAM. Young Tristram, of the 12th Lancers, who was badly wounded and taken prisaner the other day near the Modder has bad Mttle luck on his first campaign Here at home he is known as ot the most promising of young: sportsmen, especially noted for his'profieney with n lg weapons and his skill. f_ e r Z as the best swordsman in the ; a J’ a ? d badllo equal in handling the and L gain ’, he v ‘ as a fine Polo player, . chLjJ' aS ll St yearthe la ™ tennis form P nf 1Q the Army. This peculiar euwnh te P fi rS °” ai prmvess is plentiful : isnS “ tk ® service. Lord Methuen land nr,a Ue , th e best fencers in Engr~ c7mm a Zt \£°!°? el Drocklehurst, who C “back” at S cavalry > 1S a first-rate MAURICE GIFFORD’S WEDDING gift.

Gitfordft^ 311 is graver than Lord -Gifford wh 1 son, Maurice Raymond £ S l Ust sailed for Durban Post.” When hi f dent to the “Morning Margueritebecame engaged to Miss Presented her arrmutatirn bad necessitated gold bracelet hIS anu ’ set in a dine dav 1 - ne w ? re it on her wedwrist pii. ad , lt ,, rare iy.leaves her left able/ weight is consider°F THE BRAVE, with a'contp^ 01 ?' ls truly lion-hearted, own safety U am? tUOUS , dlsre g iU 'd for his regard for Yif d T almost barbaric disA spade is 1G refinements of language, ed and crmiri^'^V 0 ! the man who raisthe Matabele B p d p d ir be Gifford Horse in was acting Rebellion. Once, when he enemvv"!? 3 SC ° he upon the t 0 give thA tr l ’ "bo opened his mouth ®Cd Quicl V» 3 • ’ man’s r,; lollt |' H , h p «.volver mlo the of giving u ‘ H e aaie not fire, for fear fist he “LS 80 with his left a smart blo! u hc man sen seless, with the eyes-a ’ready ~, , Ptecky resource. “Here „ MOURNI NG MOTHER.” dent, “i.; a W cnHn a corresponineident about tlm S and touching little the third Jon t? P°° r Earl es, tola, by ^ *> alady friend of mine 3 . ?»rte suddenly then 6 d ?? s ‘ one died kHed last year °„. day ° d Mr Earle was forget which Th/ the su mmer; I tbe day his he,. !l otber d ‘ed suddenly Africa. Mrs f hot dead in Soutil arle aJ waye expected the

eldest would he killed, and said so, but she never baa that feeling about the younger, who is now in hospital, suffering from fever, and perhaps shock. It is a sad business.” KILLED AT MAGERSFONTEIN. Lieutenant Ramsay, who was killed at jVlagersfontem, was the eldest son of Sir James Ramsay, of Banff, and a bro-ther-in-law of Lord Tuliibardine. His mother, Lady Ramsay, is a very handsome woman. She is the second daughter of Sir James, who, by his first marriage, had daughters only, one of whom is married to Dr Butler, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. Mrs Butler distinguished herself by being the senior classic of her year, just as Dr Butler was senior classic of his. COLONEL CODRINGTON. Colonel Codrmgton, who was wounded at Magersf onteip, is a son of the late Sir Vv nham Coarmgton, who was the third and last Commander-in-Chief in the Crimean W ar. His grandfather was Sir hidjvard Codrington, who commanded the English fleet at the battle of Navarino. The ffucer received the most laconic despatch .in history, from William IF., then Duke of Clarence, and at the head of the English Navy. It simply contained the words, “Go it, Ned.” . (Jolonei Codrington married a daughter of Mr jjdelviiie Portal, of Laverstoke, in Hampshire (the late chairman of the L. and S.W.-ii. Co.j and a sister of the late Sir Gerald Portal.

SIR GERALD GRAHAM. Sir Gerald Graham, who died on Sunduy, was one of the “hrst-rate fighting men of our Army. He was a giant in bulk and strength. Readers of Kinglake will remember his description of young Graham, “towering above his men,' as he brought up the laddies under a shower of bullets at the assault of the Redan. UNTIRING AND UNTIRED. Graham’s most brilliant piece of work uas tne campaign of ml Tea and Tamai, V uen he met and beat the Dervishes in the fuil glory of their enthusiasm for the Mahdi. Like Kitchener he did not know what fatigue meant by personal experience, and on the day atter El Teb, as the men dragged wearily along the burning desert track, he turned to , tiiQ .staff otncGi’j and. stiicl l l /‘W-hat- can be the matter with those fellows ?” T think, sir, they are tired, and have no water left to urink,” was the answer, and Graham looked surprised. CLEAR THEM AWAY.” Nor did he know the meaning of fear. At Tamai he was with the broken square, -tie lode across to Buller’s square . through the Dervishes. One of them seized his bridle, and Graham cut him T, o u n - he rei S ned up his horse beside Gullet, he said, quietly: “Those fellows have broken tne other square. Will ■ you move up and clear them away ?” . “He spoke,” said an officer who was pre- . sent, “as if he was making some casual i remark, and his. voice and face did not . show a trace of excitement.” ANOTHER STORY" OF TAMAI. I may tell another story of Tamai, although it is one that does not affect the personality of Sir Gerald Graham, there was an Irish regiment in Buller’s square, and the time was that of the , Land War in Ireland. As the Dervish sush came nearer, the captain of one of ; aa? lri sh companies said to his men, 1 j w ’. b °y s > .u 7 ait for my word to fire, ’ and when 1 give it aim low, and imagine every man Jack of them is a landlord!” , A laugh ran along the line, and the men ; were in the best of humour at the joke anc! waited with smiling faces lor the ■ 01 : as M tb e whole deadly game had suddenly become a holiday lark ARTHUR; ROBERTS’S LOSS. Everybody will have deep sympathy . witn Mr Arthur Roberts in the sad blow , he has just sustained by the death, of his 1 f.°T n ’ i at « h ? early a ® e of twenty-five. Jack' Roberts was a bright and merry lad, smart and slim. He was a firstmass horseman, and would tackle any animal with a bit between his teeth and it was a mettlesome mouth that he rode every morning to the Park from Ins home in Maida Vale. Young Jack : had a leaning towards the stage, but tbls A Y as discouraged by his father, who thought his son might find surer foundation for fortune in the world of com- ■ raeree. He bought his boy a West-country bievery to start with, but the investment did not turn out a success. It was certain that the lad had plenty of grit and go, and, the right direction once discovered, he would undoubtedly have 1 done well, had not death cruelly ■ stepped in. The young fellow had only been married a few months. Mr and • Mrs Roberts are now left with an only cnnu, Miss Cissy Roberts. Such a loss > as that of an only son comes, doubly 1 '“ ai .,. u P on a man who has to be always smiling, and this will be a sad Christni as tide for poor Arthur Roberts, a man of wit energy, pluck and spirits, and now, alas! a man of sorrow as well.

A boy aged twelve disappeared from his home at Newmarket, Suffolk, a few weeks ago, leaving this note:—“Dear mother and father, I am going to be a soldier and shoot Boers with a revolver like the boy Sherlock did. Good-bye.” He repaired to Ely and interviewed the colonel in command of the troops there, who quenched his ardour by providing him with the return fare to Newmarket, and & note to his father explaining matters. " " "

THE STATE OF THE RAND. * ... . , Slr Gustave Halle, editor of the 1 ransvaai Critic,” wno was invited by the Boer Government to take his choice between asking for his passport and being escorted across the river, bi ings Wivii him (says the “Advertiser* news ct the Transvaal in general, anu the Rand in particular, wmeh will be of interest to the general public, as well as to Rand exiles. ~ Mr Halle says Johannesburg, and the Rand generally, are very quiet and orderly. Every description, of the rough and disorderly ciass has been ejected, and Johannesburg can boast tnat it is now the best oehaved community in Christendom. As to the present size of tlie population, lbuo

permits were issued to British, citizens, and m ail 43,UUU residential permits m. 1 the whole* district, including Boksburg 1 ana Krugersdorp. This latter figure includes Boer olticiais of ail ranks general population of «ail nationalities, 1 and blacks. it is proposed, however, that, if the question or lood stuffs be 1 not placed-on a more satisfactory footing, this number shall be greatly reduceu, and that everyone will be ejected* whose presence is not absolutely necessary to the Boer Government. The handling oi the town by the officials, both during the removal ot the general population to a number ol some roti.uuu of ad races and colours, and since the district has settled down to a normal war form, has been excellent. There lias been neither confusion, nor rioting nor disorder. All the same, there is a great deal going on, ana increasingly so, that is apparently quite unjustifiable by any rules of international law, or for civilised warfare. The methods employed in commandeering are probably imperfectly known even to the Bretona Governinent. A commandeering officer will break open a store anu select the goods required by the Government, according to a list supplied to him by the Commission of Teace and 1 Order. He then retires and consults the com-* mission as to anything livelier being needed, or on some other pretext. He leaves the door open. His relatives,

friends, etc., crowd in and help themselves. Alter some two hours’ grace he returns and locks up. Among the leading places which have been commandeered, much on these lines, maybe mentioned : —i'renley, Bilch. and Company, stock worth £2u,uuu to gone wholly, including huge quantities of young Doys’ apparel, hardly needed on tne battfieid; mart Brothers, clearetl entirely; Gordon, Mitchell and Company, everything m, the way of clothing and similar necessaries; Curtis and Company; Harvey, Greenacre anu Company; alarm anci Kneebone; Eoliy and Adcock, chemists, Raudfontein oranen completely looted; Cfferrington; Strachan, boot store; Messrs Bemn°neid are said to have had £IO,OOO wortn or goods taken. At Hosken's buiidino- a series of secret chambers and- faise wails were discovered by a policeman’s sword accidentally piercing an apparently som. wall, while some or the men placed in charge were skylarking: 4511 pairs of boots, together with a large assortment of general stores, taken here, bpeaking generally, the Boer Governmeixt asserts that it will only recognise the amount certified to as taken by n s officials. Receipts for this are ieit on the counter. Bail Kock. the individual who wrote the hysterical account of the treatment of General Kock m tlie British camp at Ladysmith, grossly mtreated a little lame German werk m charge at Scockdaie and Company’s store, for protesting against his commandeering there. This Phil Kock declares himself debarred from returnTOg to the front by being on parole. It is believed he was simply exchanged. mong other exceptions to the general good behaviour or the Rand officials is to be placed also the conduct of Mr Munmck, Acting State Mining Engineer, towards a white employee, wno objected to the method'or addressing him. Mr Munnick felled him bv a blow on the ear, breaking the drum. For this he was fined the interesting amount ot £2 iUs. 6 +i \ nat ®7°rtfiY appointment has been tbabof M" J- D. Colliers to the pose of Chief Commissariat Officer. Mr Colliers is the enterprising gentleman whose handling of the mealie contract some years back earned him an unenviable notoriety with the public, and a stormy scene v’lth the Aoiksraad. Transvaal officiai transactions purporting to bring °f? out Purchase of certain amounts ot goods for certain amounts of money are generally being conducted in the old familiar Transvaal style. Certain officials and hangers-on of the Government are known to be still feathering their nests on this probably latest op“ portumty, and it is freely maintained that where a little honesty might possibly find the Boer the means of koldmg.out an additional six months, when once he begins to feel hard pressed, this universal corruption and treachery will probably lead to his collapse with unexpected suddenness. Several officials some even in the highest positions, will

also address you the most interesting inquiries as to your estimate or clienchances of being kept on under tne British administration after the end ci the war. The general body of the Boers of all ranks and classes are fighting bravely, and enduring considerable harasiupsi with sternness ana' stubbornness, but the cliques and gangs and rings of Pretoria are showing tnemselves as sorry a lot as ever, as tffey cneatecl anu robbed the country berore the war, so they are cheating ana rooomg ana betraying it even during the progress of war. The story or tlie melinite shells is a sample or the price the Boer is paying for trusting Ins fortunes to certain ox these people. But the question of the war to winch tins prooeny belongs is too wide a matter to enter on iff these oad notes. ,

As to the private property iff Johannesburg, the special ponce, now under the chief inspectorship or Mr de Hota, is preventing all open looting. Any Dutch family whicn desires to live an any particular private house that farces its lancy finds no trouoie in obtaining Commandant Scnutte’s permission to uo so. ihe state or the house and furniture alter habitation by tnese dwellers may fie better imagined tnau uescribed. The house oi jit H. s. Caldecott is tenanted by three Boer famines aggregating twenty children, xfie names or most or the nouses that have beer, entered have been already published.

As to tne food question, oy the -ord n™m er ’ k 06 ’ maizena i etc., were unobtainable from wholesale importers meat . vvas Jilted to the suppnes m the letaii stores, sugar had nsen to oos, tinned, milk to oOs, nesh meat was ls (xi a ib, fowls, ducks, eggs and vegetables were to be ham m fair quantity; the two last were a xmZ to. dreg OB tne martot. 3s bd each, ana eggs is 6d a dozen. Government seemed to be growing anxious as to its supplies. The w vis nd families of the Rand burghers arc police away at the front hat been out on rations, one full ration per week S* "VST; A rice, 4 lb salt, i pie ce soap. 2 cand.e--2 boxes matches. These rations nav-e as . be ® n cut do "" 11 by one-haif, and as a consequence Boer women are com “farts T\ W ° VlSion gangs ot from r toWn and Strict! in haof.i b roin fißy to one hundred, has already occurred at Roodeport Jen pestown, and even m the lower nart of Commissioner street amt;; angemel!tS for di stributing . food among tne commandoes at the b- m have been very deficient, and Seat t - satisf action obtains beiore Eadvsmfft -burghers have been as much as’ Ci aays without receiving even bread f o middie^of^cteber^forrSingfo^fi^? C &,%iX I, S b S£‘“ v ""C loTeS 1 £°Zt tal «*®«^