PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2401, 8 March 1900, Page 62

PATER'S CHATS WITH THE BOYS.

OUR SUCCESSES.

When I wrote last week Cronje had not Ihi-own up the sponge ; but tlrs week we have full particulars of his surrender, the relief of Lidysmith, and the capture of Colesberg— quite a feast, almost a surfeit, of good things.

When Ludysmith -was relieved how the bells rang out the news ! — cow bells, church bells, fire bells, school bells, dinner bells, ship bells clanging and tinkling, from harsh deep bass to silvery, liquid, tuneful treble. And the whistles ! From leather-lunged to shrillest of shrieks. Yet how delightfully musical the frightfully discordant din seemed. Then the cheering and the yelling! And to think that this patriotic madness is girdling the globe, . and is being repeated in thousands oi centres ! Can jow form any conception of what it really means? And, after all, what is it that makes us almost upset our mental equilibrium? — the rescuing of a town the size of Dunedin, more or less. What were the forces engaged? The whole didn't equal the number that surrendered to the Germans at Sedan, 30 years ago. And the loss of life? Bad enough, goodness knows ; yet nothing compared with many a battle during the present century. The importance of victories, however, must not be measured by the men engaged, or the lives lost. How' many were engaged at Majuba Hill? Not many, but what pride and arrogance it engendered on the one side, and what humiliation it "brought to the oilier. We are naturally proud of our achievements, the more so because our colonial troops have helped in bringing the Boers to their knees. To most of us the exhilarating news of British successes against trained tacticians and troops that are foemen worthy of oin- £>teel is the first experience of the kind we have had. Those who remember the Crimean War are now well into middle life ; and two generations have sprung up since then, quite ignorant of what an Empire war means. There are still some living who can look further back and remember Waterloo, yet Waterloo, in most respects, falls short of the relief of Ladysmith and the capture of Colesberg, when considered from a colonial point of view. When Waterloo was fought, Britain's colonies were few and thinly populated. But what a change the close of the century has brought vritjh it»

' There is a point of view concerning Ladysmith which has not been sufficiently noticed, I think. This Aldershot of Nalal lies in a plain surrounded by hills, which were in possession of the Boers, yet the Boers could nob take it, assisted as they were, no doubt, by the advice of some of the best Continental experts. On the other hand, the Boers were able to entrench themselves about Ladysmith, and one would ' have thought that their position was an impregnable one. It is possible, however, that when the danger of having their communications cut became apparent, they saw , the necessity of retiring ; but it seems that in spite of entrenchments our troops were rooting them out. I Military men are already considering what will be the effect of the war upon army^ construction. The success of the Boers' " long Toms" means that each nation will try to go one better than any other in building up an artillery of the quickest firing and longest distance* guns that science and money can procure. It would appear, too, that a very much larger percentage of troops will be mounted ; for rapid movement and concentration were responsible for the success of the Boers at the beginning of the campaign, and for our. successes in the Free State. And here, I think, will come in the value of the colonies when a Britannic Federation takes place, for come it will. The Empire's land and sea forces will be modelled on one comprehensive scheme, and our part as colonists will be to furnish" mounted infantry and cavalry — tue two are distinct. Pei--haps some of my younger readers do not understand the distinction. With mounted infoniry horses are regarded only as a means of rapid transit. The riders use gnus and fight on foot. When fighting, one of every four is not in action, but under as much cover as possible with his and the horses of the three righting in the front. It is his duty to watch events closely, protect the horses, and be ready at a moment's notice to bring them up to his comrades. You see that mounted infantry, while having rapidity of movement, have the d:s- . advantage of having a quarter of their strength inactive in actual fighting. Their value, however, as scouts and in other xespaefs more than makes up for any shortcoming. Cavalry, on the other hand, fighfc mounted, with bword, lance, and pistol. But the cavalry regiments will probably be reconstructed too, and men be rejected who , are too heavy. It has been clearly recog- ! nised that heavy men mean slow movement, and an unnecessary fatiguing of th& 1 horses ; so some of ouv ornamental cavalry will probably bs remembrances of the pasr. i How, 1 Lad intended to-day to give you i>he gist of a review article or two upon the state of the British army, and the suggestions that -have baen made for its improve- ' incut and increase of strength. But ycu don't want criticisms to-day, so I'll poetpone what I have to write on tlios.3 points until next week. Just one word more. I have an idea that tlie colonial troops will ba largely availed of as an army of occupation alter I the war is ovei. I forget whether I have mentioned this before or not. Their knowledge of country, colonial style of living, their horsemanship, readiness of resource, ■ ab'lity to rough it, and so on, make them, valuable as military police in a sparselypopulated country of magnificent distances. ; \'i jth our colonial troops in South Africa, i lisa British troops Avill be freed for India I and any emergencies that may crop up. ! We are now awakened to the fact that our . position is a serious one, and that our navy is our defence. Let but an opportu- , nity arise, however, and there is more than j one Continental nation ready to measure I sv.ords with us. Then Aye shall see the I value o| colonial troops in defence of the i Finpire.

— "There are two directly Opposite reasons," pays a sage, "why men cannot obtain credit. One is because they are not known, and the other is because they are."