THE AUSTRALIAN SENSATION

Otago Witness, Issue 2506, 2 April 1902, Page 26

THE AUSTRALIAN SENSATION

THE OFFICERS PI'XISHED. DETAILS FROM MELBOURNE. STATEMENT BY MORANT. THE TRIAL. REASONS FOR THE DEED. MELBOURNE, March 20. A returned Australian has told the story to General Hutton and Mr Barton of the execution of two Australian officers connected with the irregular corps in South Africa. He says they were courtmartialled, with others, ou a charge of having shot unarmed Boers. The authorities here are maintaining the closest secrecy in reference to the matter, but the facts appear to be that an irregular corps formed in South Africa, consisting of a number of Australians, were fighting the Boers at Koomatipoort about the end of October, when one of their principal officers was killed. "When the body Bras discovered it was found to be inuti-

la ted. The neck was broken and ~the j eyes gouged out. The corps succeeded ' in getting hold of a Boer, whom they tried by court-martial and shot. Sub- j sequently, when the commanding officer j was away some distance from the camp, 11 other Boers were captured and shot, but whether they were tried by courtmartial does not appear. The affair | l cached the ears of the general command- j ing that part of the country. He held a court-martial, with the result that two j officers (one a y Victorian and one a j Queen=lander) were shot for shooting '■ unarmed Boers. A third officer, belong- ! ing to New South Wales, was sentenced j to penal servitude for life ; while p. fourth officer was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. ! March 27. j Major Leneham, who commanded the j Bush Veldt Carbineers, to which the ! Australian officers who were shot belonged, has supplied Mr Burton with additional details. Mr Barton cabled to South Africa for further particulars. A letter from the brother of one of the officers concerned states that a party of Bush Veldt Carbineers, under Captain Hunt, attacked a farmhouse, and after some fighting retired, leaving Hunt oa the ground wounded. When they returned rpinforced Hunt's body was found stripped and mutilated. A Boer was caught wearing Huni's clothe 1 -. He was tried by drumhead court-martial and .^hot. Subsequently six other Boers were caught wearing khaki. These were also court-martialled and shot. From information supplied from other sources it is understood that the officers shot were Lieutenant H. H. Morant (South Australian) and Lieutenant P. J. Handcock (supposed to come from We-^tralia) ; while Lieutenant G. It. Witton (Victorian), who was sentenced to penal servitude for life, was taken to Capetown in irons and sent to England. A fourth officer was also punished in some way unknown. j The Victorian section of the Second ! Commonwealth Contingent have sailed. March 28. Major Leneham, in his capacity of j commanding officer, was also tried for | shooting the Boers and was sent to prison for three months. Lieutenant j Morant informed the court that he alone wa>, lv-poiwble for the shooting, which wus done by his order*-. While awaiting trial the prisoners continued fighting with the Carbineers for two mouths. Morant w;.-, a son of Admiral Bigby Morant, and a contributor to the Bulletin under the norn de plume of " The Breaker." March 29. The authoritie-j are reticent over the of ofnepr^, but some additional facts have been gathered from returned officers and others. Witton, it is ."-aid, subsequent to the trial sent two cables to hi} relative-, iv Melbourne announcing that he had been sentenced to life imprisonment, but neither of the messages came to hand. At the trial Morant stated that he was only carrying out the orders given by his superior officer to Captain Hunt and pas&ed on by Huut to him. Altogether six arrest -, were made in connection with the ca>e, but these were withdrawn between the arrest in October and the court-martial ou February 2(5. The arre-toe^ had acted as leaders in the Bush Veldt Carbineers, and had participated in numerous engagements, including a battle with Commandant Beyers, at Peters-burg. Lenehan was court-martialled for neglect of duty as commanding officer in connection with the affair, and imprisoned for three months at Capetown Castk'. Major Thomas, a Melbourne solicitor, defended the men on trial. March 31. Mr Barton has cabled to Lord Kitchener asking for full details of the affair of the execution of an Australian on a charge of shooting unarmed Boer>. j From the numerous and conflicting statements published in the papers it appears that the officers were first tried and acquitted, of the alleged murder of

a German missionary, and subsequently court-martialled for shooting Boers. SYDNEY, March 29. It transpires that Handcock's widow and three children reside at Bathurst. His wife was unaware of his fa.te until the news appeared in the papers. He enlisted as a shoeing smith with the New South Wales Second Contingent, and at the time of bis death was a veterinary lieutenant in the Carbineers. Morant was well known throughout Australia as a daring, reckless hor-eman. He enlisted with the South Australian section as a private, and for some time prior to joining the Carbineers acted as war correspondent for a London paper. , - March 31. Major Lenehan has returned to Sydney. He gives a direct denial to the statement that he wa« imprisoned in connection with the shooting of the Boers. He says that he was never charged, never tried, and never sentenced. Morant and Kandccck were not immediately under his charge when the shooting was done. Lenehan has furnished a detailed account of "the whole incident to the military authorities. He states that when ail the facts are published the dishonouring . spot on the names of Morant and Handcock will disappear. He also strongly resented tho comments of the London papers. ADELAIDE, March 29. A comrade of Moraat's, writing from Pretoria on February 27, states that Morant and Handccck were shot that morning. Both officers kept up bravely, and died like men. Morant pulled the handkerchief off his eyes a couple of minutes before the volley was fired, and faced the firing party. There is a great deal of bitter feeling in Pretoria against the execution, and when all the facts of the ca«e are known there will be a big noi=e. His version of the affair is that the officer of the corps and a friend of Morant'* and Handcock's »vere shot by the Boers in cold blood. The Australians caught some Boer~ who did the deed, and^ instantly shot 11 of them. This Morant admitted at the trial. LONDON, March 28. The Morning Leader publishes a civilian's letter, written at Pretoria on February 27, stating that Lieut. Handcock and Lieut. Morant were courtmartialled and shot for killing some Dutchmen near Piefersburg in order to secure their money, though not in warfare. The writer suggests these men made a pile from the farm house and prisoners before descending to the final deed. The Daily Mail says that the Australians ' who were court-martialled commanded the Bush Velt Carbineers, a mixed scallywag body recruited in South Africa and the colonies. The paper adds that the atrocious murder and looting of surrendered Dutchmen and natives required, for the credit cf England, exemplary punishment.