MR JOHN MORLEY AND THE BOERS

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1508, 24 January 1901, Page 63

MR JOHN MORLEY AND THE BOERS

It is strange (says a London paper of November 26) to note the sympathy AhJohn Morley has ior the enemies of his country, as shown in his letter to the '■'Times'’ the ether day, wherein he gives currency to- charges against the English troops brought by a person with the suggestive name of Eilie Cronje. The troop's are charged with cruelly burning and looting the farms of innocent personages, and with ill-treating tlic women and children. Mr Morley evidently believes all bis Dutch correspondent alleges, but has evidently no desire to contemplate the picture from the British side. What this is like is shown in two private letters just received from South Africa, and now before us. In one the writer tells his friend : ‘‘These blackguard Boers are still carrying on their outrages. The latest devilry we- hear of was perpetrated against three follows from Port Elisabeth, one of them a friend of mine. These three were scouting outside Johannesburg and were taken prisoners. After keeping them several days they were told they would be- released, and were taken cutside the laager at 1 a.nr. The khaki was then taken off their he-1-imets, leaving their helmets white. One of the; fellows saw the Boers handling their rifles, and gave Ins chums the word to .throw them away, but not soon enough. One fellow, named Turnbull, was shot dead, Skerrington was wounded, and has not been heard of since, while the other man did manage to reach the English lines fifty miles away.” As regards the sort .of persons our troops have to deal with, the other correspondent, writing from Port Elisabeth on October 8. says : “On Friday morning last there arrived here by train one hundred; and thirty women and children from Jagersfontein. These are known as “undesirables,” and certainly they are so. They have been in the habit of sniping onr troops, and have assisted the Boers to re-enter Jagersfontein. A guard of the Black watch accompanied the trainf; and one soldier, taking pity on a woman, offered her some water, the only thing-he could _do. She refused it, and for thanks promptly spat in his face. These women are much more bitter than the men. In the schools for young ladies th© Dutch girls have dining and bedrooms separate from the English ones, and; it is no uncommon thing to have to send for a parson to keep order.” “A correspondent sends the. “Scotsman” the following extract from a letter from: an officer serving with Lovat’.s Scouts. The letter was written from JR codekraal, near Venters burg, on Seotember 22nd, and the circumstances correspond so exactly with those mentioned in Mr Alorley’s letter" to the “Times” that it is certain that the same incident is described in both letters. The date, the place, the force employed, the occupants of the house, a mother and daughter, the name Cronje, all -.correspond. The writer of the letter quoted by Mr Aforley, however, omitted to -state that arms had, been found on the farm. ,;;. r •• “Three nights ago (writes the officer) seven men and I, with our officer, went out to search the houses at night. , ; We caught one woman, with seven of a family. all under eleven years, coolly signalling to the Boers on the hills our approach. Her house was burnt nextmorning. We came to another house where a well-to-do lady and her daughter lived (Cronje to name). Knocking at the door, and' on their making their appearance, I put the usual questions. She could not account- for her husband, and had not taken out a pass. We searched every corner of the house, but found nothing suspicious. The barn, being filled with sheaves, was searched .by us, and there, hidden away, were several boxes of Mauser ammunition. So that house and steading, along with two Cape carts, shared the same fate. Well, this looks hard, but it is the -quickest and most effectual way to stop this war.”