THE BOER WAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2454, 27 March 1901, Page 25

THE BOER WAR.

. » . ILLNESS OF EX-PRESI-DENT STEYN. RESIGNATION OF COLONEL CRADOCK. _____ \ GENERAL BOTHA'SjpPLY. THE ESCAPE OF KRUITZINGER. Traitors and Train Wreckers Shot. BE WET IN THE TRANS- ; YAAL. <- — — — ' SURRENDER OF 200 R AGGED : BOERS. LORD KITCHENER MAKES A MOVE; REPORTS OF SEVEItE FIGHTIXG^ LONDON, March 18. Commandant Fourie is reported to have quarrelled with De Wet, and his commando is said to be broken up. The reports state that he is willing to surrender. Boyd, one of the men whom De la Rey shot, was the son of the sub-manager of the London office of the Bank of New South Wales. The landdrost at Wolmaraqstaad (a disloyal Englishman) induced a Dutchman to persuade Boyd and some others to write asking the British to liberate them. This trick was made the 'basis of the charge for which Boyd was sentenced to death by De la Rey. The Boers laagered near Lichtenburg are in great straits for food, and their ammunition is expended. The supplies which came to them from their familiea have been suspended. March 19. Ex.- President Steyu is rear Paardeburg, suffering from dysentery. Jt is officially announced that Botha has rejected the terms of peace offered him by Lord Kitchener. Half of Commandant Fourie's force (reported at 600) .has escaped, but it has been prevented from crossing the railway line. Fourie himself is still within the British cordon, and is &aid to have inquired the terms of surrender. General De Lisle is returning to Kroonstaad after his unsuccessful pur&uit of Kruitzinger. The' Boers have wrecked 21 trains since the British occupied Koomatipoort. The British have captured 100,000 cattle, liorses, and sheep. De Wet is in the Kroonstdd-Wiiiberg trictMarch 20. • General Brace Hamilton has cleared Rouxville and the Wepener district, destroying 30,000 bags of grain. • Lord Salisbury (in the House of Lords) and Mr Chamberlain (in the House of Commons) announced that General Botha, in a letter to Lord Kitchener, had declared that he was not disposed to recommend the -terms of peace which Lord Kitchener was instructed to offer him to the earnest consideration of his Government, and that the •latter and his chief officers entirely agreed SFith bis views..

A Blue Book sketching the negotiations is promised to-day. Commenting on Botha's reply, The Times says : " Botha speaks' of ' his Government.' It would be interesting to know what is 'his Government.' The unpleasant necessity of prosecuting ,the war, however, has not abated our energy." The Times also gives emphasis to Lord Kitchener's appeal for comforts for the troops during the approaching winter. Mr Kruger states that Botha merely negotiated with Lord Kitchener in order to gain time to collect supplies. Neething, landdrost at Klerksdorp, presided at the trial of Boyd, and some af De la Rey's scouts were sent lo act as executioners afc Wolmaranstad, on March 9. Those to be executed were four men — viz., tne Unissins (?) son and son-in-law, Mr M'Lachlan (previously reported as M'Laughlin), and Mr Boyd. The two latter, when taken from gaol, clasped hands. The four were then placed in a row and shot separately. M'Lachlan's widow is heart-broken. She arrivect at Pretoria on the 13th inst. with the coffins containing the hodies of the dead. Lieutenant Seddon has been granted a commission in the Field Artillery. Kruitzinger has esca,ped across the Elands ■ River. Kruitzinger was driven north, and lost 40 killed and wounded on the 17th, also 70 horses and many saddles. The commando is armed with Lee-Metfords and Enfields and splendidly mounted. Colonel Gorringe had several tough skirmishes. Sir Alfred Milner's headquarters are at Johannesburg. He lemains there three months. March 21. Lord Kitchener confirmed the sentences on Jan Ninaber, Sarel Ninaber, and Jan Nieuwoudt for treason, murder, and trainwrecking at Talbois. The men were shot at De Aar at sunset. A Dutch pastor was present. The War Office is sending three million ■blankets to South Africa and many comforts. Colonel Deane is returning to organise a central camp of 16,000 yeomanry at Germiston. Sinking and has begun on a limited scale afc the Simmer Jack, Jubilee, City and Suburban, Salisbury, and other properties: Lord Kitchener reports that Philip Botha was killed at Doomberg, and that his two sons were wounded. The Boers in the Orange River Colony have disbanded and scattered. De Wet is in the neighbourhood of Heilbron. __ Mistaking a superior force of Boers for tb« British, 24 members of the Cape Defence Force were captured at Winterburg, stripped, and released. The Taalbasch train-wreckers who were executed at De Aar consisted of Cape rebels. March 22. The deaths from enteric in South Africa are decreasing. Colonel Knight, who has been heretofore with General De Lisle's column, commands the latest New South Wales contingent. James Egan and Walter Hodgkinson, Tasmanian Bushmen, were captured near Winburg. The Transvaal Executive Council includes Mr G. V. Fiddes (Sir A. Milner's secretary), as Secretary of. the Administration ; Mr Duncan, Comptroller of the Treasury ; Mr Solomon, Attorney-general ; Sir Godfrey Lagden, Commissioner of Native Affairs ; Mr Wybsrgh, Commissioner of Mines. De Wet is reported to have gone to the Transvaal after suspending the Free Staters' operations until he returns a few days hence. Twenty thousand mounted troops are distributed in four divisions in the Orange River Colony. March 23. The. diyjsionaLconimands are stationed afc Kreonstad, • -Bloentfontein, Springfontein, and -Harri smith;- and are under Generals Elliott, 'pharle's! Kno;s, Lyttelton, and Rundle respectively, - The' Blue Book dealing with the negotiations, with General .Botha shows that Loid Kitchener refused to discuss the question of the independence of the Republics. He explained the proposed political administration, which seemed to satisfy General Botha when convinced that immediate representative government was impossible. The terms offered include the replacement of a military for a Crown colony, administration by a representative element, and ultimately self-government, the Dutch and English languages to be allowed in the schools and law courts. As an act of grace the Government would devote £1,000,000 to the repayment of goods commandeered by the Republican Governments. Sir A. Milner and Mr Chamberlain modified Lord Kitchener's proposals sent to Botha on the 27th. Great Britain required a complete cessation of hostilities, the surrender of all rifles, cannon, ammunition, and munitions ; offered an amnesty to Boers for bona fide acts of war ; prisoners to be repatriated as quickly as possible ; farmers on taking the oath of allegiance to be assisted by a loan to repair injuries to buildings and losses of stock; no special war tax to be imposed on farmers and burghers taking the oath. Lord Kitchener warned Botha that the terms of peace would be cancelled if not accepted. Tie modified proposals sent to General Botha, the Boer leader, provided for licences being issued to retain military firearms

wlure necessary for protection against native?. Licenses would also be granted for sporting rifle.*. Kaffirs were not to be enfranchised before representative government was established, and never to an extent to endanger the white predominance. The legal position of the coloured people would be similar to that in Cape Colony. Two hundred of De Wet's and Fourie's ragged burghers (surrendered voluntarily near Dewetsdorp. One hundred and forty thousand sheep and 10,000 horses have been captured. It is intended to s>end 1000 Boer prisoners to Madras and Bdmbay respectively. Lord Kitchener confirmed the capital sentence passed on De Jaegeis, a burgher at Hamsmith, for killing three native.-*, one'of them in a mest cold-blooded manner De Jaegejs has been executed. Geneial Hamilton secured 60 pii»oners in the Ladybrand' district. De Wet ' xinearthed at Senekal two of Commandant Erinsloo's guns. March 24. In* the HbuSe of Commons Mr ChamberlahT statecf '.that General Botha raised no specific, objections, to Lord Kitchener's terms, --but* expressed strong objections against' Sir' A. 'Milner"s. Mx B'ejm'efct Burleigh states that the ruptura -in -the- -peace negotiations was received with- rejoicing by both the regulars and the colonial trobps'.' There are indications that Botha interpreted the. magnanimous terms offered him lo mean that Great) Britain was anxious to terminate the war. The majority of the Liberal members of Parliament admit that it was . impossible for Mr Chamberlain to go further than he did without compromising British supremacy. The American press acknowledge the splendidly generous terms offered, and the Continental papers- recognise Mr Chamberlain's moderation. In the terms offered to Botha he was informed that if the rebels returned to Natal or Cape Colony they were liable to be dealt with according to law. A wide driving movement has commenced- from the north-east of the Orange River Colony. The British have occupied Rouxville, Smithfield, Reddersburg, and Dewetsdorp without opposition. Commandant Malan's invaders at SoekdooM were" cotripelled to burn their carts, many rifles^ aijci saddles in older to avoid capture, . Nine. Boers were killed and seven wotmded. ■* Tire Boefs" wrecked a train and looted it of all provisions at Vlaklaagte. The Court oi Inquiry into the surrender of the Irish- Yeomanry at Lindley early in the •campaign have? exonerated Lieutenant - colonel ' Spragjje. The officer commanding ■ the court expressed his opinion that Colonel Spragge could have resisted longer except for -the factr that persons on his own side had " "raised the white flag. Five thousand reinforcements start for South Africa between to-morrow and April 9. Hattings, mayor of Mardisburg, has been' arrested on a charge of treason. Captain E. Tivey, of the Victorian Bushmen, has been made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order for prompt action and brave defence in preventing the occupation of Phillipstown early in the present month. Corporal Elliott, of the Victorian Bushmen, has been awarded a medal for distinguished conduct in Ihe h'eJd, for gallantry at Seacors River, whereby 16 Victorian Bushmen captured 33 Boers. Colonel H. J. Scobell's column on the 20th severely handled Scheeper's commando at Blaauwkrantz, killing six Boers and capturing many horses. The commando escaped in the direction of Aberdeen. Severe fighting occurred at Hartebeestefontfeln - o"n Trid'ay." "-'- ".'. \~. '.[" SYDNEY, March 21. The second portion of the Imperial draft contingent • embarked on the transports Ranee 4hd ' Brffis>h Princess. .. '.'. '.'. .',' . March 23. Fifteen New.-Zealanders returned by the troopship Victorian from the Cspe. They landed afteif 'the've&sel had been fumigated. COLONEL CRADOCK KESIGKS. THE. THANKS OF THE COLONY. WELLINGTON, March 19. The Premier has received cable advice that- Colonel Cradock has arrived at Brandfort. He has resigned the command of the second oontingent •to Colonel Robin, and states that ho regrets severing his connection with suoh gallant warriors The Government have, • through the Governor, asked Lord Kitchener to convey to Colonel Cradock their best thanks for \aluable services to th-e colony and the Empire. AN EXTENSION OF TIME. WELLINGTON, March 20. Tlie Premier has cabled to Lord Kitchener, as a result of recent correspondence, that any officers or men in the earlier New Zealand contingents who elect to remain in South Africa a further six months may do &o. WELCOME TO RETURNED TROOPERS. Three members of the fifth contingent who. have returned, from South Africa were welcomed back) on Wednesday by his Worship tbo Mayor. ..The. returned soldier s are Sergeant. A« Bracldock (Alexandra), Troopers W. Adam (OwaJia) -and T. W. Horn (Methven)i- -They alt belonged to the D Squadron, and were under the command of Captain Jackson (St. Clair). - The first tuo arrived in Dunedin by the northern express on Tuesday evening, having left the Monowai at Lyttelton. They came over to Australia in the Ranee from Capetown, and transhipped into the Monowai for Now Zealand. Trooper Hoin came over to Now Zealand in the Karamca direct, leaving the vessel in Wellington Sprgeant Braddock has returned owing to his time being \vp,

but the other two were invalided home because of wounds received. Mr Chisholm welcomed the troopers with a few kindly ivords, and hoped that, they would never have any cause to regret the service they had done the Empire. He then entertained them, and engaged them in conversation on their experiences for a short time. A PENSION FOR CAPTAIN HARVEY'S MOTHER. The chairman of the Patriotic Committee has received the following letter from the Under-seeretary for Defence: — ''I have the j honour to inform you that Mrs Matilda Parsons Harvey, mother of the late Captain John Allen Harvey, No. 10 Company fourth New Zealand contingent, has been granted an allowaiire by the Government cjf this colony of £51 per .timum from the date of the death of her late son— viz., 15th August, 1900." Captain C. T. Major, of the fifth contingent, is reported as having accepted a position on the staff of his eld school. Nelson College. The appointment is said to have been made by cable, and he is expected to assume his position after the Easter vacation. Captain Major was educated and subsequently became a master in Nelson College. According to the Atshburton Mail. Lieutenant Walker, of the third New Zealand contingent, appears to have received peculiar treatment at the hands of the authorities in the Defence department. Some six weeks ago, on his return to New Zealand, he received advice of his appointment to a post in the Intelligenca department of the service in South Africa, but on Saturday last, to his surprise, he received a letter from the colonial department intimating that his leave would expire on the 27th inst., and that papers concerning his discharge from his corps would be forwarded for his signature. Lieutenant Walker intends to proceed to Wellington to anquire further into the matter. The Mail states that this case- is not singular, as in some cases the discharges of troopers who have returned to the front arc said to have been issued from the Defence Office. Mme. Alice Bron went to the Transvaal many months ago to nurse the Boers because plie esteemed them a noble and valiant people justly struggling to be free against the cowardly assaults of crafty Albion. But she saw more of the Boers than English proBoers have seen, and the result was tliat she grew so. disgusted with her patients that she retired from a position which she found impossible for. her, and returned to Europe. But now she has left Europe again to return to South Africa; but not to nurse the Boers. It is -the British who have at last gained her sympathy, and who will in future benefit from her skill. The rule which excludes foreigners from the British Hospital Service has been set aside- in her favour ; and she will be able to give- her countrymen a faithful picture of the British, evin as- she gave them one of the Boers. 'Mnre. Bron" is fiot the only foreigner whom close 'acquaintance with the Boers has robbed of the admiration which is founded on ignora-nCe. FIRST 'CONTINGENT BULLETIN. Tke following- interesting personal paragraphs are clipped from the first " Bulletin " issued to- members trf the first contingent : — Major Madocktf'has resumed his duties on the "heatttLuatters staff. Lieutenant Hughes has been" appointed a captain on the staff, and will probably resume his oosition of adjutant to the Hawke's Bay Rifle Battalion. Sureeonmajdr Burns', who has been appointed P.M.O. to the New Zealand forces, is attached to the seventh contingent, and will proceed to Capetown, where he will be located. Ser-geant-major Cardale has been appointed instructor to the Otago Mounted Rifle Battalion. Staff-efergeant-major Tuck has been appointed instructer to the seventh contingent. Sergeant-major Burr has been appointed Staff-sergeant-major. Lieutenant-colonel Davies is now in command of the fourth and fifth contingents. Corporal Hogg has left for Johannesburg, where he intends to settle. Lieutenant Chaytor commands the Marlborough Mounted Rifles Battalion. Privates Cturap and Wclfeuden have received appointments in the Government Railway department. The following will return to the front as officers with the seventh contingent: — Lieutenant Johnston and Corporal Coutts, as captains; Sergeant L'Estrange, Corporals Emerson,. a,nd Gane. Privates Dickenson, Joyce., and Cameron, as lieutenant?. The following have also jained the seventh, and are acting-sergeants : — Sergeant Price, Privates Lockett, M'Pherson, and Whyte. JOHANNESBURG AS IT IS. In- -a Private letter to a friend in Mel* bourne (says' tire Argus), the following description" of" "Johannesburg is given by the write?: — - Johannesburg is terribly monotonous. Can "you" imagine a city as large an Melbourne 'proper."' with Carlton (north and soutßJ, East ' Melbourne. Richmond, South Yaifa. and" South" Melbourne thrown in, with' 'alt "the" slippe ' barricaded, the streets desertied," "houses," ' some barricaded, some not, but all p'tanding, tenantless. like gaunt tombstones erected to the memory of the departed owners'. This is a faint description of Johannesburg: at present. The long line of mines. giv.es forth no smoke, and we miss the welcome .sound of the batteries for miles and miles, which used to sound in our ears liko the surge on the seashore. Then the tram, lines in our vacsnt streets remind us of the absence of the trams and cabs, for all the horses were commandeered by the Boers. The few shops open have nothing left to sell. The handful of civilians in town look depressed — and very hungry. All tin foodstuffs are in the hands of the military, nnd are parcelled out to us." THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WAR. The Bibliotlicque I'niverselle contains «orae sh'iking comments on the real significance of the war in South Africa from the pen of the editor, M. Tallichet. He is by no means prepared to endorse British diplomatic relations with the Transvaal in all respects, or to deny that the suspicions o£ the Boers were groundless. But he is none ■ the less convinced that, had the Africander aspirations been realised, South Africa would for many long yeais, perhaps for ever, have ceased to be an ir.strmrent of civilisation in the highest ••en so of the word. The Afrikander ideal, in his view, w?s ba*ed on three aims — the expulsion or subjection of tho British elcv.icnt ; t'io retention of tho nati\es in a condition of strict and prrmuncut Ferfdom : the creation of an empire devoted to purely matn-ial prosperity and exempt from external influence. As to the permanence of such an empire, ho has the I gravc-t doubts, for, as he pertinently ask«, I apart from tho loner-standing and intestinal | dissensions of the Boprs, is it likely that ' the Cape Afrikanders would have submitted to the dictation of the Pretoria bureauciacy, or would the natives, the predominant pail-

ner in point of numbers, atu'i efffcmq jg& by the British regime, have »co^*i^/ >•& new situation without a determined resistance? Finally, M. Tallichet pronoiuiCffl ihe general policy of the British to nave been liberal to the verge of Quixotry. Whfti other Government, he asks, whether republican or monarchical, in Europe or elsewhere, would, after a year of hard fighting, have tolerated the Worcester Congress, at which 8000 Afrikanders were permitted to meet in British territory and tender their moral support to the enemy? DECEASED OFFICERS' ESTATES. The aggregate gross value of the estates of 107 of the officers who have died in South Africa since the war began in October, 1899, is a little over £3,000,000, with an average ol about £28,350 each. Six estates account foi £1,643,961 of the total of £3,000,000. Among the 107 officers wore eight under 25 years of age and six over 50. The oldest was General Sir William Perm Symons, whose age was 59. Second-lieutenants Eric Fraser and Douglas Blackwcll Monypenny were only 21. Twentyfour of the 107 officers were between 25 and 30 years old, 42 between 31 and 40, and 21 between 41 and 50. There have been very few cases — jjerhaps not more than five or six, if so many — in which it seemed likely that any claim would be made for the remission of duty, which the commissioners have power under Uie Finance Act of 1900 to allow when the estate of an officer dying on the battlefield or within a year and leaving a widow or children is under £5000. On the other hand, there are in each year many instances, and the number appears to be increasing, in which veterans who had served with distinction in India, in the Crimea, and other campaigns, and had been wounded perhaps in more' than one action, leave as provision for a widow and daughters a far less sum than that which now gives a claim to remission of duty in the event of death within the period named in the act. Most of the estates under £1000 of officers who have died in the present war appear to be those of young unmarried men who were in receipt of allowances from parents or other relations. Taking the average of the age of 107 principal officers, the expectation of life would be probably more than 20 years, so that in effect property to the value of over £3,000,000 contributes to the revenue from the death duties, and is distributed at least 20 years earlier than but for the war would have been the case. A few estates of from £5000 to £35,000 have been reported of men serving in the ranks with the Imperial Yeomanry, but the idea that in this force in the City Volunteers, " some of them are millionaires " is quite erroneous, even if " millionaire " be taken to mean the possessor of a quarter or a sixth of a million. To give an idea of the value of some of the estates distributed as a result of the war it may be mentioned that the late Marauis of Win> chester left - £377,156; Major Childe, £108,236 ; Lieutenant M'Corquodale, £123,373 ; Major Blount, £63,000 ; Lieutenant the Hon w Hugh. Lygon, £43,504 ; Captain. Buchan, £211,982 ; Baron Kensington, £711,218; and Major-general Wauehope £82,742.