A COUPLE OF REFUGEES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2389, 14 December 1899, Page 27

A COUPLE OF REFUGEES. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, December 10. Mr and Mrs Spencer, refugees from Johannesburg, are at present staying in Wellington, and have been interviewed by a Post representative. Mr and Mxs Spencer have spent tho past six or seven years in Cape Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal, their most recent place of residence having been Doornfontein, a suburb of Johannesburg. They were rebidents in the latter city at the time of the Jameson raid, and, speaking of that occasion, Mrs Spencer observed that the most humiliating sensations came over her as she saw the Englishmen ordered to lay down their arms in the square, whilst the Boers taunted them concerning their lack of skill with the rifle. "But," said she with animation, " I told one burgher that I would like to see the Boers meet the Britons fist to list, and I can tell you that I was strorigly reminded of this wish when I heard of the bayonet charge of our Highlanders." "Yes," came an interruption from Mr Spencer, " the Boer swears by his riiie, with which the nation individually and collectively car do wonders. It is a mistake to say that the young pre&ent-day Boer is not sc good with the rifle as was his fathei. In the Transvaal army to-day there are thousands of youths from 15 years of age and upwards, every one of whom can hit anything moving at long range. Mind .you, he is no good before the target. Animate objects he has been trained to shoot, and the fact that so many of our officers have been picked off shows the effectiveness o£ the training. The Boers were lemb]\- disappointed when they dis-

covered that our soldiers were dressed in khaki. They expected red and white — something to serve as a mark." "That's why the officers have been picked off," explained Mrs Spencer. "They have taken the lead of their troops, and the mere flashing of their swords in giving encouragement has served as a mark for the sharpshooters." Mr Spencer and his wife were among the English residents who, on the outbreak of the war, were ordered to leave Johannesburg. " Yes." explained the lady, in speaking of'the incident, "and reminders to hurry along were given us in the shape of stone-throwing. There was no time to bring anything away, and we left all our things. I locked the door and put the key in my pocket. AYe were assured that our houses would not be touched, but I afterwards met in Capetown a neighbour 'who left Johannesburg by a later train than ourselves, and she told me that the last sight she saw was a party of negroes carting away some goods out of our house." The two refugees went on to corroborate the accounts already published of the horrors of the train flight to Capetown, aiid .gave harrowing descriptions of the condition of refugees in Capetown. People -were camped in the streets, stables, and paddocks, whilst thousands . wandered around in distress. The citizens of Capetown had striven to help the helpless, but the rush had come upon them so suddenly that a difficulty had been" created. Mr Spencer having, served through the Matabele campaign and seen further service as a mounted man in South Africa, went to Government House on his arrival in Capetown, and volunteered for the front. Captain Remington was just then raising a mounted company of scouts, and to this Mr Spencer attached himself, but when the offer was sent to the British War Office the reply came that no volunteers would be accepted from Capetown. This was understood to mean that, pending the arrival of General Buller at the Cape, the War Office did not want to complicate matters with the Schreiner Government. It was common gossip in Capetown at that time that the general's first act on landing would be to place the Premier under arrest. As his services were not wanted, Mr Spencer decided to come on to New Zealand, but he had the pleasure of seeing General Buller get his great reception just before the departure of the Rakaia. Both visitors spoke enthusiastically in praise of the Right Hon. Cecil Rhodes. , Mr Spencer spoke from pei'sonal experience of the nation-maker in the' Matabele campaign, when he went about without fear. " Mr Rhodes is idolised in Capetown," said Mrs Spencer ; " but," added her husband, j "he is greatly aged in appearance. Only ! 43 years old, bub looks an old greyhaired man." He went on to add, in reply to a question, that the Boer hatred of Cecil .Rhodes is very bitter, aggravated some ten times since the raid. Paul Kruger recently emphasised this point by a statement made to some English visitors, to whom he said that there were only two personalities he feared — " God Almighty j and Cecil Rhodes." It is especially among ' the young Boers that the hatred is expressed. The older men, remembering Majuba Hill, expressed only contempt for Englishmen, " who cannot shoot, and are people who always arrive too late." Mr Spencer is of opinion that the war will be a long and bitter one. The Boer will fight to the last, and another six months may not see the end of the campaign. Our visitor blames President Steyn for bringing on the war. declaring that had not the President pf the Orange Free State sen,t the offer to help the Boers would not have declared Avar. Mr Spencer estimates that the Transvaal Boers have 45,000 men in I the field, and about ' 28,000 Free Staters j have gone to their help. Many other ; burghers are kept on the borders watching j the natives ; but if the struggle becomes a very bitter one fully 80,000 Boers will be engaged. It is within his own knowledge that the Boers have been preparing for war for some time. He does not believe that food is scarce in the Transvaal, because large quantities of tinned goods have been sent into the country by way of Delagoa Bay and other routes, and stored, during the past 12 months. Mr Spencer thinks that the colonial mounted forces will prove of the greatest value during the campaign, the Australians and New Zealanders especially, -being used to country very similar to' that into which. they have been sent. He thinks they will be largely engaged in reconnoitring and acting as scouts, with perhaps an occasional sortie — "just to keep their hands in." That the Briton will ultimately triumph he has no doubt, neither has Mrs Spencer, who is an ardent daughter of the Empire, for the leaders in South Africa well know that there is no rest for the country until it is mai-ked " all red ' permanently. '