Germany's Little War.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXI, Issue 8961, 9 December 1905, Page 1

Germany's Little War.

(London Daily Mail.) .Considering that a long and bloody v,.n of no small magnitude has been for nearly two years on our South African border, it is remarkable how little public attention it has received in England. Perhaps the term "Hottentots" as used for the rebels tends to mislead the. public, and to suggest mere naked savages like the Matabelo and the Masai, who oppose numbers, blind courage, and primitive warfare against disciplined troops and modern weapons. The rebellion in German jS:amaqnaland has, in fact, frequently been "lumped in" witli risings in East Africa and elso- | where, giving a wholly false impression. The so-called "Hottentots" who have so long and so bravely resisted the might of Germany are akin to the Cape J!oys—. that is to say, a mixture- of all races, but with Hottentot predominating. Many hnve a large proportion of white blood, and the writer has seen some, that would pass at a glance for Italians or Spaniards. 'I heir language is Dutch, they are Christians by religion, and their dress and customs are on the lioer model. Many of them can read and write, and their standard of morality is comparatively high. In fact, life, property, and the honor of women are safer amor/g these people, practically free from control as they are, than in too many well-policed areas in Europe. Though the I lereros and the Bushmen have been guilty of some excesses, tlio "Hottentots ' have conducted their war in ai manner deserving of all praise. A typical instance is that of old Christian, who found his men looting a farm. Although short of provisions himself, he ordered tlio bulk of the property (o be restored, naively saying, "Mow shall these poor people livo if we take their food away?"'—a consideration that has given but little concern to many renowned white military leadersOnly on occasions of extreme provocation have the warriors got out of hand, when, like the British troops in the Indian Mutiny and the Japanese in the Clhina war, they were stimulated to vengeance by the spectacle of murdered fellow-

countrymen. I In strong contrast to the Hottentots! methods of warfare have been those oil Germany. From the first the Germans] appear to have sought, to rule by terror! alone. When they first annexed the oomi-j t r y a tribe that has adopted the title of] "Afrikaanders" rose against- them. Ger-1 many had practically no other right to tlieJ] greater part of the country than that of conquest, and (ho inhabitants naturally wished to see the claim made good. Tlio Africander warriors were in due time defeated and driven across the border of Capo Colony, where they surrendered, to a handful of Cape Police. Captors a.nd' captives believed that the latter would bd treated as prisoners of war. so the unfortunate Afrikaanders were handed back to t;be Germans—only to be lined up, helpless, disarmed, and submissive, and ruthlessly slaughtered in cold blood.

In the present campaign there has been no lack of similar barbarities. Indeed, if the Hotientots themselves are to bo believed (and their stories are frequently backed by white testimony), the German' methods of Warfare fall but little, if any, short of those of the Spaniards in Cuba, and the Philippines; the chief difference being that there is no Uncle Sam at- hand to whose interest it is to ventilate the* grievances of tho Hottentots, and no wealth' in the country to invite the assistance of filibusters or to make intervention on tlio part of other Powers seem profitable and) desirable.

The Emperor is credited with having ordered General von Trotha to "hang all the rebels upon trees." Though the scarcity ot trees prevents the gallant general from, obeying flu- letter of his monarch's humane command, lie endeavors to act up to the spirit of it, and floggings and executions attend the German line of march.

Xor are these severities limited to nativei rebels. Last year two Englishmen named Fisher were shot by the Germans on suspicion of having furnished the' rebels with' supplies, and other cases of maltreatment of whites have been reported. Of course, all the authoritative information concerning th[s "little war" has to pass through Gorman hands before it reaches the outside world. Official accounts are proverbially unreliable, since even with tin- check of impartial war correspondents and foreign attaches the stairs of contending armies arc apt to turn repulses into defeats, claim victories for drawn bailies, and draw largely oil their imagination for the damage inflicted on" the other side. Some idea of the truth can only be gained by comparing the reports of both parties; and though information from Hottentot sources does leak through the frontier, though our own Capo Boys and Hottentots appear to b<; well posted concerning their kin, the news haa travelled through so many mouths that, it has probably suffered severely in transit. From the constantly renewed vigor and confidence shown by the. Hottentots, it would appear that the German successes have by no means been so complete as they appear in print, while the extent of their disasters has been under-estimated. Even this explanation, however, does not fully

account for the stubborn resistance of tho rebels. The native of South Africa soon.' tires of a long war when the terms of peace are not too severe. But when surrender means death or other heavy punishment, he will fight to the last like a rati at bay. Marengo, we read, tried to enter

into negotiations with the Germans, as :i result of which he has determined t<J s-?nd his women and children to British, territory and with his band of warriors maintain the war to the last 'man. Tho terms of peace must have been harsh indeed to force the Hottentot chief to suchi a decision.

Meanwhile the eyes of colored South' Africa are turned in eager anxiety towards the conflict. Many natives are aware that the British, if not the Boers,, admit the military superiority of the Gej-.;. mans. And, having short memories, they, forget in the present discomfiture of the white men the almost constant success of British and Boer arms against them ire the past. Even where wo have failed, 1 aa in the Basutoland fiasco of 1880, the Boers have prevailed, and vice versa; so . the prestige of the white man did not- suffer; But now the spectacle of a. few bands of Hottentots defying a, vastly superior army is bound to have an unsettling effect upon the native mind. Some millions'' of our colored fellow-subjects aro taking this war at our gates very seriously. That dangerous and .subversive institution, tliei Ethiopian Church, donbtless fihds 'therein--another means of sowing the seeds, of a. wholesale native rising against the white races. In fact, the full significance of the war should be realised at home as well as ; in the colonies, and steps taken to obtain accurate information and to foresee, andprepare for any emergency that ; arise. Fortunately, we need not fear that the wider publication of information concerning * th : s war, and especially from the Hotten- :■ tot's point of view, will result in any undignified and hysterical outburst such as ihn.ti which characterised the German press- : during the Boer war. But it will hcive tli? effect of opening the. eyes of the British;, public, not only to the danger of the - situation in South Africa, but methods of German warfare and treme desirability of counting no great that would preclude _ the of a German force on. l>ritifih-'£oihyV : ;