THE TRANSVAAL WAR.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4207, 16 November 1900, Page 7

TH E TRANSVAAL WAR.

CABJJB NEWS.

trVUl'l'Uli XZf'Mh atwocjatiOK.— n't JCLao'can* 7. r :j^f>»AJi’a.— corraxainO

m: KRVCF.R’S TO 1711. LONDON, November 11. Dr Le.yds has informed tiie Govern•DicnU <>t France, Belgium and Holland ill,-it -Mr Kruger only claims the honour accorded to .in official travelling incognito. Dr Le.vd-; states that Air Kruger lias •saved a portion of the Transvaal treasure. amounting to 11-100,000. He also says the ex President intends to publish Slate documents compromising others. A" VICTORIA CROSS HERO. LONDON, November 11. Private .1. 11. Bi.sbee, of the Tasmanian Bushmen, has been awarded the Victoria (boss for rescuing a. 'wounded .idfieer under heavy lire at Warm Baths, north of Pretoria. JOB BERTS ADVICE REJECTEI). STATEMENT OEA BOER PRISONER (Received November 10, 0.112 a.m.) LONDON, November 15. Tlie cx-Landrost of a leading Transvaal town, now a prisoner at Durban, is reported to have stated that alter the Battle of Wpninkop. the late Oeneral Jouber, Comiiiander-iii-Cbief of the Federal army, reported that the war was hopeless and advised peace being sued for. President Kruger, however, refused In act on the general’s advice. The Laudrost admits that a conspiracy ioiius. the British existed, and says that many young Boers were specially trained in Europe a.s military engineers in readiness lev war.

VALUE OF THE COLONIALS. (Received November 15. 11.(5 p.m.) LONDON, November 15. Major-General Hutton, who commanded {lio brigade) of colonial mounted infantry attiuilu'd to Lord Roberts’s army, lias returned to. England. He declares Unit all the officers placed a very high valid' upon the services of the Australian mounted forces in South Africa. DOER [RRKCONCT LADLES. LONDON, November 11. The Doers who are now fighting arc sworn to regain their independence or die. MISCELLANEOUS. BERLIN, November 14. Advices received here state ’.'nr: 15.0(10 Boers intend crossing the Kalahari desert, into Damaraland, the German authorities cordially assenting., LONDON, November 14. The steamer Suffolk will leave Capetown for Australia on Friday wmi uity invalids and twenty officers. Privates Goss and Saunders, of the South Australian Mounted Infantry have received commissions in the field artillery. The Queen has received two leading Matching nuns prior to their return to the town. Batches of prisoners are arriving at Mulching. Among them are eighty Boers captured at Ottoshoop, where the Australians are operating. SYDNEY, November 15. '

Quito a number of former residents of Taranaki are now settled in Sydney, and they have arranged to give an enthusiastic reception to Lieutenant Collins, whose parents are well known in New Plymouth, when he lands in New Soiu.. Wales on his way back from South Africa (o Wellington.

GENERAL BRABANT AND THE NEW ZEALANDERS.

At Uio annual Congress of the South Africa Longue at Capetown Inst month, the president (lit. Hon. C. J. Rhodes) in the chair, Hr Amos Bailey moved a resolution of thanks to the sister colonies which had assisted in the war. General Brabant, speaking to the motion, made special references to the services in the field of the New Zealand Roughriders, who had formed part of his command, lie spoke of the division as one of the best that took part in the war, and expressed the. wish that there were more men like them m the Colony. The men were of the description known in England as the yeoman farmer. They rode their own horses, and iiad to a groat extent paid their own expenses. They Jiac't done their dulcy adtnirably, bad never given any trouble and they had made it obvious that they had everything in common with South African loyalists. (Hear, hear.) He hoped that some of these men would remain in tho Colony, if only half a dozen, for he was convinced they would sot an example of the greatest possible value to the farmers of the country. (Hear, hear.) The motion was earned with acclamation, tho Congress rising.

RETURNING NEW ZEALANDERS. Tiu> Premier on "Wednesday received a. cablegram to tho following effect from the Premier of xasmauia:—-“‘The following invalided soldiers, New Zealand Contingents, arrived hero this morning by the Delphic, leaving again on Friday. They will receive evcig attention whilst in Hobart:—oergea.nt F. 11. Sykes, Second Contingent, Christchurch; Private James Aitkeu, First Contingent , Gore: Private ,5. R. Atartiu, Second Contingent; Private N. D. Robertson, Third Contingent, Wanganui; Private E. N. Knapp, Second Contingent, Tikukino, Hawke’s Pay ; Private A. Barnes, Second Contingent, Wanganui; Private A. Knudson, Third Contingent, Pigeon Bay ; Pri G. Holden. Second Contingent, TV Awanuitu; Private J. C. Kirwin, Fifth Contingent, Motuplko, Nelson ; Private il. Montgomery, Third Contingent, Stratton); Private W. J. lies ford. Third Contingent, Napier; and A. Chapman, Third Contingent, Amur;. A LETTER FROM THE FRONT. LOW THE NEW ZEALANDERS LIVE. CAMP AMUSEMENTS AND DRAWBACKS. Sergeant F. A. Bazar, writing from OUo-liuop. iin •-’oth September, says: “We arc having a very good lime just now, hut. are anxiously waiting for flu command 'Move on:’ bur in which direction is, ci course, ,]ust new a. mystery.

Lords Methuen and Douglas arc expected here soon; they are at the Zeerust side of us. A few of our boys are down just how, and I am afraid two o! them will not rejoin us. We are having a tug-of-war to-morrow for £IOO with the Victorians. It will he a good pull. We had sports last Friday and •Saturday, and wo beat ucm at the tug-of-war; indeed, we beat all-comers. So wc have been challenged to pull again. •Some hearts have been opened, for we ere actually getting tents at last; but now the nights are getting warm. They were afraid we would get .sunstroke, j suppose, hut they were not afraid of u.-. .getting frostbitten during the last few months. We bad rum, too, the other day, hut every care is taken that wo do not get too much. All the tinned meat has been condemned by the doctors, and not a bit too soon. The Boers fired on our patrol yesterday, killing an Australian and wounding another, and i believe they have grabbed our transport, which left Mafeking yesterday. Kor wind, this place beats Fcathorston, si you can form an idea what it is. Please do not forget to contradict the

statement that all hands arc sorry they came here. Poor Bob S. is pretty fair just now, after the fever and measles. He looks ten years older than when you bid him good-bye. The commissariat department is issuing cheese instead ol meat. Fancy! Two ounces a man 1 But even that was too much—it was .-,o very, very ancient. You know that colonials are not partial to cheese that valks about the plate! We are very short of reading matter, so we have to anmso ourselves with old Dutch books. ( cannot say wo gain much knowledge .am that source. News is very scarce. I’vo heard nothing of the Chinese affair since your last letter. A Boer commando with plenty of artillery are I, ing driven this way, so we expect omo or tne rust will be brushed off of us soon. Wo really require something to brush the Hies off. They are tireac.- ■ rdiy tantalising. One has to clear away from camp to cat or he’d have nothing

.■ ft. Another trouble is the want of li ewoed —one has to buy a packing case to boil a billy. I often think of the •i; udreds of acres I lave seen covered n dear old New Zealand with firewood, rotting, and wish we bad some of it here, i i,e largest tree I nave seen in this •'.r.ntry was not more than 2Mb through. Daylight comes a'ong hero now about 3.110 a.in. Then, of course, we have to rise ami be alert.