THE TRANSVAAL WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4290, 25 February 1901, Page 5

THE TRANSVAAL WAR

I DESERTIONS FROM DE WET. ' I LORD KITCHENERS PROCLAf MATRON. (Received February 24, 5.19 p.m.) LONDON, February 25. Four hundred burghers have dc'-erl-c-d General Do Wot;. , ’lbcy report that- copies of Lord Kitenener’s _ proclamation of December -vtu. v. uh reference to surrendering, ,ll ’“ j low reaching the commandoes. ** . [file proclamation .referred to promised that burghers voluntarily surreudoi'ing would bo allowed to live with tuoir families in Government laagers,. and to return to their homes at the end of tho war, while all .stock and property banded in by them would be rc.- pected.] REMOUNTS FOR DE WET. RENDEZVOUS AT PRIESKA. (Received February 24, 5.19 p.m.) LONDON, February 2d. , Commandant Froneman, with a •tnousand men, proceeded northward •wmlo General D e Wot moved towards -• ■' lcs ka, to await Cominaudf.iit Hertaog viio is bringing him a thousand Wi r mounts. CAPTURE OF A LAAGER. LORD METHUEN STILL AT WORK. <Received February 24. 5.19 p.m.) LONDON. February 2d. General Lord Methuen, on tho 14th • Ds,.. captured a Boor laager at Brakimu tliirty-sevcn miles wed; of KimHie capture included forty waggons . and carts, a- quani :ty of stock and forty prisoners. COLONIALS WOUNDED. | (Received February 24, 5.10 p.m.) i

. LONDON, February 23. . Amongst a number of colonials se- ; yeroly wounded at Wolverhuilcn on the 1 i; t w ,n - st woro Troo Per John Gladstone ot VVaimatc South) and Trooper Harry i t-. Hey wood (son of Mr J. B. Hoyv/ood (Secretary to the Treasury), both 1 ot whom are members of tho Second * .New Zealand Contingent. c (Received February 25, 0.33 a.m.) ’ mi LONDON, February 23. ' -the following casualties among colo- ; Jiials were suffered at Harfcbeesfontcin—- , Victorian Bushmen.—Sergeant Vang- i inn and Privates Johnson and Hes- : j 'oth, killed : Private Small, danger- + oxsly wounded; Colonel N. Kelly, Lieu- ; (ouiant Parkin, avid Private Lancaster, t severely wounded; Privates O’Shea and t Ward, slightly wounded, ] New South Wales Bushmen.— Private f 5 vainer, severely wounde’d.

| 1 kero were the following casualties j -it Reitfontein : New South Wales Mounted. Infantry. ,—-Scrge;int Barrett, mortally wounded; | f.'nyii, ip Clements, .severely wounded. 3 kontln. Australian|s. —Captain Argus | .slightly wounded, and Private j Riiitncrford, severely wounded.

COST OF THE WAR. OVER £150,000 PER DAY. (Received February 24, 5.23 p.m.) ‘ , LONDON, February 23. ~ in 'tho House of Commons, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the cost of the South African War heretofore had been £■81,500,000, and it was now costing from oiio to one and a quarter millions weekly. GENERAL COLVILLE REASON FOR RECALLS. (Received February 24, 5.23 p.m.) LONDON, February 23. In the House .of Commons, tho Hon W. St. John .Bnodrick, Secretary of State for War, said Major-General Sir IT. E. Colville "'was sent Homo from South Africa by Lord Roberts for inefficiency in tho field. He was, however, allowed to retain his command at Gibraltar.

Lord Roberts was consulted afterwards and he advised that the War Office could not retain,' - General Colville in his command there.

BOER REFUGEES. DELAGOA BAY TO LISBON. (Received February 24, 5.13 p.m.) LONDON, February 23. Five hundred Boers who took refuge In Portuguese territory have been, convoyed in transports from Delagoa Bay to Lisbon.

SOUTH AFRICAN POLICESUGGESTED RECRUITING IN AUSTRALASIA. (Received February 24, 5.23 p.m.) LONDON, February 23. Replying to.questions in the House of Commons. Mr Chamberlain said lie entirely approved of Sir Alfred Milner’s action in inquiring from Lord Hopetoun as to the prospects of recruiting for .Major-General Baden-Powell’s constabulary in Australia and New Zealand. The Colonial Secretary detailed the replies given by the. various colonies. RUMO URED ARBITRATION. , OFFICIAL DENIAL. (Received February 24, 5.23 p.m.) LONDON, February 23. Replying to questions in tho House of Commons, Viscount Cranbome, Parliamentary Secretary to tho Foreign OfSice, said that the Kaiser had made no offer to arbitrate between England and the Transvaal. DE WET’S CALLOUSNESS. HARSH TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. (Received February 24. 5.13 p.m.) LONDON, February 23. A British officer who was captured at Zanddrift and' subsequently released a t Houtkraal, declares that General Do Wet treated prisoners on the march with tho utmost callousness, and only released them when they dropped from exhaustion. Tho officer saw De Wet personally sjambok another British officer who was expostulating against the Boer leader's cruelty. UTRECHT DISTRICT. TRAVERSED BY A BRITISH COLUMN. (Received February 24. 5.13 p.m.) LONDON. February 23. Major-General Burn-Murdocb's column, including a Natal composite regi-

ment aud a large convoy, has traversed the Utrecht district, in the Transvaal, south-east of Laiug’s Nek.

MISCELLANEOUS. LONDON, February 21:'. The “ Daily_ Mail'’ states that General De Met is depressed at having to operate in -.unknown country, and is seldom in the ..fighting line. Commandant. Frorrvaa directs the fighting, aud also the unarof flight, De Wet, v, ho is said to : be frightened, was heading on Tuesday .towards Read’s Drift, about fifty ndles ‘tiorth-east of Pricska, intending to rc-cro~s the Orange river. Ho wept at the doggeaness and nearness of the pursuing British. One commando, unable to cross tlio swollen Brak river, turned west. Later reports .state that part of Do PTet's force has been driven into the,

triangle formed by the junction of the Orange and Brak rivers, which are flooded, and which the horses are unable to swim. The rains continue.

Lord Kitchener has telegraphed from Klerksdorp, the terminus of the railway running south-west from Johannesburg, that Lord Methuen's division, operating in the south-western Transvaal, had cleared that part of the country, march, ing through Wolnraranslad to Klerksdorp.

Generals De Villiers and Liehenberg, with fourteen hundred men, obstinately held a 1 strong position at. Haartebeestcfontein, twenty miles west of Klerksdorp, whence they wore expelled after severe fighting on the 10th iust. In this engagement tho Yeomanry, Victorian Bushmen and Rojjil North Lancashire. rendered distinguished service. Tho British losses were three officers ami thirteen men killed, and five ofliccrs and twenty-nine men wounded. The Boers suffered severely, and left eighteen dead on the field.

Tho "Standard” Hates that a big force, including a naval detachment and a volunteer composite regiment, is operating in the vicinity of Vryheid, in the south-east Transvaal, with the object of checking Botha’s retreat in that direction.

Mr Kruger has abandoned his intention to seek an interview with King Edward at Flushing, when his Majesty arrives there on his way to visit the Dowager-Empress of Germany, on the ground that the interview would infringe the Sabbath. In tnc House of Commons, Mr Chamberlain, in reply to a question, said-the Attorncv-G (moral of Capo Qolony, after careful consideration, had decided not to nrosecute Captain Cox, of the New South Wales Lancers, for ordering the shooting of a native at Colesberg in November, 189'J.

The Daily Chronicle ” accuses the South African Conciliation Committee of issuing pamphlets purporting to illustrate tho horrors of Lord Kitchenerls iron hand, compiled from letters of British officers. The "Chronicle” proves that there have been numerous interpolations in tho letters, and omission of all facts incriminating the Boers. The chocolate presented some months ago by the late Queen to each soldier at the front has only just reached Matching.

SEVENTH CONTINGENT

AUCKLAND, February 23. A representative of, the Saddlers’ Union waited upon Mr J, H. Witheford, M.H.R., and stated that it was understood that tho Government was providing English-made saddles for tho Seventh Contingent. It was asserted that Auckland saddlers could provide the saddles required before the departure of the contingent, and it was urged that tho work should' be done within the colony. Mr Witheford communicated with the Government, and received a reply stating that it was not yet decided whether to order the saddles in South Australia or not, but in the event of its being possible to get the work done in New Zealand a further communication would be made by wife. His Excellency the Governor has received tho following cablegram from the General of Communications, South Africa;—The Victoria left Capetown on the 20th February. She has on hoard for New Zealand Lieutenant "Warrington, of Brabant’s Horse, and twenty men belonging to New Zealand contingents, with four men of various colonial ''corps, all of whom will tranship at Brisbane. Out of the sixty men ordered into camp for the Seventh Contingent about twenty have been rejected, and others arc being trained. Staff-Sergeant-Major Coleman expects to leave for Wellington at about the end of the week.

KEW PLYMOUTH, February 23

A selection of men for the Seventh Contingent was made to-day. Sixtythree had applied. The number was

reduced to fifteen, from which ton will bo finally selected.

Five hundred and fifty applications have been received in Wellington for thirty vacancies in tho Seventh Contingent. The names have been placed on record m the order in which they have been rcc ;ived, find selections will bs made accordingly. It is expected that other selections will have to be made to fill vacancies in the South African contingents from time to time, and selections will bo made in order of priority. A large number of offers for active service have been received from officers iu different parTs of tho colony. These will be referred to the Defence Minister for consideration.

A camp will bo established at Newtown Park this week. A squad _pf Aucklanders are expected to arrive on "Wednesday, the Wellington men will go into camp on Thursday, and the Dunedin and Nelson men on Friday.