THE BOER WAR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11993, 16 March 1901, Page 7

THE BOER WAR.

, * ATTACK ON A TRAIN FOILED.

KRUITZINGER MAKES HIS ESCAPE. MORE BOER ATROCITIES SHOOTING BRITISH OFFICERS AND BURGHERS. a. . A SAMPLE OF i)E LA REY'S KEVENGE. The New York Sun Apologises Press Association—By Telegraph-Copyright. DE WET'S WHEREABOUTS. LONDON, March 14." (Received ( March 15, at 9.17 a.m.) De Wet on the 11th hist, was located between Brnndfort and Eensgwoden. The pursuing columns are refitting prior to making another combined movement. A BOER PLAN FRUSTRATED. Generals Kitchener and French's combination frustrated De Wet and HerUog's attempted dash on St. Helena Bay to meet a vessel bringing arms and ammunition, while Botha carried out a simultaneous invasion of Natal. FORESTALLING THE ENEMY. General De Lisle and Colonel Gorringe forestalled Kruit&inger at Adelaide, 65 miles west of King Williamstown. Kruitzinger then turned north.

DAMAGING THE RAILWAYS.

THE DOERS LOSE HEAVILY. LONDON. March 14. The Boers derailed a train at Wilge River, but the blockhouse in the vicinity prevented some 600 Boers for two hours from plnndering it. Eventually the train was sacked and burned, mid three British killed. Tlie Boers also shot eight natives who were travelling in Ihe train. Reinforcements then came on the scene, and 15 Boers were killed and many wounded. LWPTURING. ARMED NATIVES. The Australian Bushmen and scouts at Pienaais River captured 25 natives who were going to Petersburg carrying rifles and bandoliers filled with cartridges. KEEPING THE BOERS SOUTH. KRUITZINGER MARKS HIS ESCAPE. LONDON, March 14. (Received March 15, at 10.55 p.m.) Repeated attempts by small commandos to break north through the British lines between Blocmfontcin and Thabanclm have been repulsed with loss, Kruitzingcr forced a passage at Leeuwdrift, foiling General De Lite's plan to jam the Boers in the fork of the great Visli and Koonap Rivers. SENTENCE ON A NOTED REBEL. TWO OF DE WET'S SCOUTS CAPTURED. . LONDON, March 14. (Received March 15, at 10.55 p.m.) Commandant Do Jager, a noted Natal rebel, has been sentenced to five years' imprisonment and fined £5000 for treason ar\d looting. Two of De Wet's chief scouts have been captured, a'.so a thousand cattle and horses. BOERS SHOOT THE PRISONERS. DE LA REY'S ATROCITIES. LONDON, March 15. (Received March 16, at 0.29 a.m.) The Boers shot two British prisoners at Wolinaranstad, and also three«burghers, for refusing to fight. De la Rey ordered the execution in revenge for his defeat at Hartebeestefontein. General Lord Methuen has captured Commandant Peerson, who was largely responsible for tlie tragedy. A BRUSSELS OPINION. LONDON, March 14. (Received March 15, at 9.20 a.m.) The Brussels newspaper Independence Beige, a strong pro-Boer organ, declares that tho emancipation of the ■ Republics is impossible, that the struggle is useless, barbarous, and criminal, and that all efforts now are desirable in order to prevent the extermination of the people. AN APOLOGY FROM THE NEW YORK SUN. GARBLED ACCOUNTS OF ATROCITIES. LONDON, March 15. (Received March 16, at 0.56 a.m.) The New York Sun has apologised for the garbled accounts published by it some time ago of letters written by Lieutenant Morrison, of the Canadian contingent, describing British atrocities in South Africa. The Sun has dismissed the author of the garbled accounts, who was its Ottawa correspondent. I AFTER THE WAR IS OVER. •LONDON, March 15. (Received March 16, at 0.30 a.m.) Mr Chamberlain, addressing the British Women's Emigration Association, anticipated that hundreds of thousands of men would proceed to South Africa after the war, with a proportionate emigration of women. He implied that the Government would afford indulgent passages aboard transports to a number of selected female emigrants. A REMARKABLE SPEECH. THE APPEAIfTO~THE GOD OP BATTLES. • OTTAWA, March 14. (Received March 15, at 9.40 a.m.) Sir Wilfrid Laurier, in a remarkable speech in tlie Canadian House of Commons, declared that the Boers had appealed to the God of Battles, whose verdict had favoured British rule by a confederation on Canadian lines. This would secure to South Africa the blessings of liberty and justice. At the close of the Premier's speech the members rose and sang the National Anthem. DEPARTURE OF A NEW SOUTH WALES CONTINGENT. N SYDNEY, March 15. (Received March 15, at 10.29 p.m.) The first portion of the Imperial draft contingent of about a thousand officers and men and a thousand horses marched through the streets, and boarded the troopships Custodian and Maplemore. Owing to incessant rain since last night there was very little demonstration in the streets. They sail for the Cape to-morrow. LETTERS PKOM THE FRONT. Dr Frank Fitchett, son of Dean Fitehett, writes from No. 7 General Hospital, Protoria, December 24: —It is Christinas Eve; the "last post" has just sounded (you don't know the "laat post"; it is a melancholy and prolonged bugle call before the final "lights out") and if yon are in a bit of the blues, as I am to-night, it doesn't tend to mitigate your condition. Tlie Tommies, whose quarters are not far from my tent, have beon trying to imagine themsolves

happy, by tho aid of a, concertina, and have just conducted with " God »ve the Qupon," "Auld , lang syne," and a few {••h'.e cheers; there is now a. sound of distant, singing, probably people practising Chrtstmas carols ot No. 2 General Hospital, which adjoins our show. We have a function on here to-morrow—the medical officers are giving a dinner to the nurses. Do you think lam going? Oh, no!—I have escaped the sirens by giving a dinner on my own account. Mine is to Ooloel N., of the R.A.M.O. (of whom you-know; he has written to j'ou) at. Spruit's in the town. "And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat"— not quite so bad as that yet! Hugh Acland was with me this afternoon. He is attached to tho Suffolk regiment, which is camped near us. He lunched with me yesterday, and we spent the afternoon talking of old days sxt Christ's College. He is a very fine fellow, and will make his way in the world. And so the war drags on! Will it never end? Acland, who is pessimistic, thinks not for years. I know nothing about it. I heav often of palpable reverses and occasionally of shadowy successes, and there'my information ends. After a year's fighting we hold most of the railway stations, but. all the vest of the country is in the hande of the enemy, and, so far as one can see, is likely to remain theire. We met with a bad reverse just near Pretoria on tho 13th inst. Some 20 of the wounded came under my care, but Mausei bullets, make very uninteresting surgery. It was interesting, however, to get accounts of the fight at. first hand, though, of course, there were almost as many different accounts as there were Tommies. Host of them seem to agree in thinking that, as usual, we played the fool. De La Eey, it seems, gave. Clcmonts 48 hours' notice to quit, his position. The first night everybody stood to arms, the mules inspanned, and "everything prepared to receive the Boers; but no Boers came. The second night of the 48 hours no preparations were made, the mules were j picketed, and tho Boers rame in their strength nnd cunning and chewed us up. They outfought and outwitted us, though, it is true, they were in greatly superior number?. Tommy still thinks himself a match for any throe Frenchmen, but he has a' mighty respect for the Boer. , . December 26.—As I told you, I dined yes-' tcrday with Colonel N. in town. The table I hnd fixed on I found reserved for somebody eled, and, glancing nt the name on the reserving ticket, I saw that it was Garcia. Now when I was at Christ's College there used to frequent the precincts a buxom nnd, to our. youthful minds, very attractive-looking nursemaid named Cossie, and her time, when not 'occupied in flirting with tho college boys, was devoted to looking after a cheeky little kid named Garcia. I couldn't help wondering whether the Garcia who was to dine at the next tnblo and the quondam cbavge of the buxom Cossie were one and the fame person. We had got through the soup, the fillet of beef (trek ox), the sucking pig, and had got to the turkey bofore tho diners at the next table arrived—threo forlorn-looking Tommies. As they wore no distinguishing badges, I couldn't tell to what they belonged. N., who is a very neat and dappir little colonel, glitterins? with gold eye-glass and badges of rank (he is known as the best-lookinar man in the R.A.M.C.) made morry over the seedy appearance of these gentlemen, and wanted to know if they were good specimens of the people of " Tayrowii"—for I hod told him about Garcia and his nursemaid, and having recently read Heeves's " Ao Te Roa," he always refers to Now Zealand as Tay-rowa, and, indeed, calls me by that name. Leaning over to one of the three who in particular tickled N.'s fancy, I asked him for the millr, and when ho brought it to our table N. asked if they were New Zenlanders. To my astonishment he replied, "Yes." I then ssid, "Which of you is named Garcia?" "I am," replied the best-looking of the trio. " Did yon. once have a nurse named Cossie?" I naked; "Yes," he-replied, with some confuPion, and amid the laughter of his companions. And so it really was the man, though 14 years had changed him with a vengeance. Of course he was keen to know who I was, and, when I told him, one of the other fellows chimed in with ''Are you a son of Dean Fitchett?" " Yes." "Well, Mies Fitchett asked me to look out for you." This one gave his tiamo as Wallace, said he lived at Selwyn College for a time, was a mining student, and, because his people wouldn't let him join any of the contingents, .ci\me to South Africa on his own account, and was now in Kitchener's Horse. These were the incidents of my Christmas dinner. Thermometer in my tent as I write, 105deg, It was expected that the Boers would attack Pretoria early on Christmas morning. ■ Everybody stood to arms, but nothing came of it. There wa3 some firing, but I have been unable to ascertain what it was about. Dr Fitchott writes again from "somewhere south of Pretoria," January 29:—1 am out on the trek, and am taking advantago of a convoy of sick and wounded returning to Pretoria to send you a note. I am attached to the 13th Mounted Infantry, which forms part of a large column under General Alderson. It is a great change from, the stationary hospital, and I have already taken a new lease of life. We have just got into camp, after 10 hours in the saddle, and as I have had nothing to eat or drink since 3.50 this morning, when we breakfasted, I am as hungry as a. bear. There has been nniping and heavy ■firing going on nearly all day, but I have not heard of anybody being hit. The firing has been mostly at small parties of Boers who have, been hanging about our flunks, It is expected that i we shall meet with Boers in largo numbers; and have some heavy fiehting before we reach our destination. At present wo arc doing only about 15 miles a day, being much hampered by the thousands of cattle and sheen we collect on the way. Wo waste a lot of tJTne, too, burning farmi, .tprage, etc. All farms where ammunition' is found, or from which wo are fired«pn, are burned. Forage and transport are burned in every case.