MISCELLANEOUS.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11792, 9 April 1900, Page 2

MISCELLANEOUS.

KRUGER MINTING BRITISH MONEY. OFFICIAL NUMBERS OF PRISONERS. Received April 8, 7 p.m. London, April 7. — President Krugei is minting British money dated 1892 He declares that the output of the Trans vaal gold mines will be ample to cove: thu cost of the war. Mr G. Wyndhim, Undtr-Secrctsry fo: War, stated on March 31st that tli3 Bo© prisoners numbered 5000 and tho Britisl 3466. Captain Hall Owen, of the Victoriar Medical Corps, died of enteric fever, ant Trooper Marsden, South Australian, ol pneumonia. The Daily Mail makes complimentary reference to Australian liberality tq th< "War Funds, especially the Melbourne Argus' Kipling Poem Fund. MISHAP TO A TRANSPORT. A STEAMER SUNK. Received April 8, 6 p.m. CapeToavx, April 7.— The tranapor; Winkfield rammed the Union Line] Mexican 'daring a. fog near Cape Tqwn The Mexican sank, but everybody was saved. Received April 9. 8.50 a m. Cape Town, April B.— Tho Winkfield had remounts aboard. . The impact between the two vessels ■was terrific. Fine discipline prevailed and most of the mails were saved from the sinking steiamer. Received April 9. 8.50 a.m. London, April ß. — Ten thousand horses | arc* expected at the Cape during this week. Two thousand have just arrived. Ten thousand horses were lost during the advance to Bloemfontoin. Cape Town, April 8. — Fif tson hundred Boers have been relanded at Simonstown owing to an otftbreak of fever among them aboard ship. Thirty prisoners effected their escape, apparently through the help of Africanders. A contingent of bluejackets from H.M.S. Monarch has been sent to Blo,emfontuin. LETTERS FROM THE FRONT TO TARANAKI. We have been permitted to read and make a few extracts from a letter written by Major Davies, of the First !Ncw Zealand Contingent, to Ins boyr. The letter is dated from Kimbeney, 20th February, immediately after the relief of the town, and M&J9F Dtvrifp writes ;— " We hare

been fighting every weak since December Bth. and everyone is envious, as they say we have had more than our share. I really think we have, but I am sure we are quite willing now to spare some for them if they^ want it. We all hoped for a few days' rest here, but we have just received orders to march again at five o'clock tomorrow morning, carrying three days' ratious and forage for our "horses on our horses. The forage alone weighs 361bs. That was what we carried during the forced march, for six days, most of us, , and one day we marched 23 hours straight off without being able to water our horses once or .get any water for ourselves. Forty Royal Horse Artillery horses dropped dead in one day, and I should think quite 100 Cavalry and Mounted Infantry horses. Our poor horses sadly want a good rest now, and no wonder, as they have had none whatever for three months, Kitty (Major Davies' troop horse, which he always used with the Inglewood Mounted Rifles) is periecty well and quite lively. I rode her right through the march. My bay horse is not so well, but I hope he will pick up again if lie gets the chance." Describing the condition of Kimberley, the writer says he went down a diamond mine 1500 feet deep, in which and others all the women and children in tho town had lived during the last five days of the siege, because the Boers were shelling the town so heavily. Their shells actually killed three or four women and one or two children, and Major Davies saj-s how thankful he and his men were to bo able to assist in the relief" of the unfortunate people. Lieutenant Matthews, writing to a friend hero, also from Kimberley, relates how kindly Mr Cecil Rhodes was treating the New Zealanders, placing rooms and stables at their disposal, and giving them therun of his vineries. Mr Rhodashas half a mile of trellis work carrying vines laden with fruit, and a fatigue party was sent for a daily supply, which ,we may be sure the New Zealanders greatly appreciated. Lieutenant Matthews also describes how he was present at a meeting to welcome Lord Roberts at Kimberley. The FieldMarshal, he says, has a most interesting personality, and in replying to the address of welcome spoke very nicely. AN ARMY ON THE MARCH. Under tho heading " Marching is Slow Work," a writer in Cassell's Saturday Journal gives some interesting par ticulars. He says : Very few people have a notion of the vast length of an army on the march. A single battalion of infantry, 1000 strong, takes up a road length of 525 yards, including about eighty yards for stragglers. A battery of field artillery takes up 260 yards, and^a regiment of cavalry takes up, when marching four •abreast, 650 yards. An army corps, with its staff, waggons, guns, hospitals, Acwould extend over 34 miles of road. NowJ an army marches very slowly on the best of roads. It is much more tiring marching in a crowd than walking alone ; so that Tommy Atkins, en route, goes at the rate of about 2| or 2| miles an hour, and he does a very good day's march when he covers thirteen miles of ground. Supposing, therefore, an army of 33,000 men marched over Westminster Bridge, it would take them more than two and a half days to get across. This accounts for the fact that we often get news of an army marching to attack the enemy, and we are surprised that the attack is then so lon^ delayed. As a matter of fact, it takes a day or two for the whole of the men to assemble on the battlefield. The rates of march for the various arms differ, of cour39, but the fastest arm has to suit its pace to the slowest. Here are the official rates :—: — Infantry in small bodies 3 miles an hour „ in large bodies 2f to 2f m. an h. Cavalry — Walking ... 4 miles an hour Trotting ... 9 „ „ Galloping ... 15 „ „ Artillery — Walking ... 3 Trotting ... 8 „' „ The quantity of ammunition Tommy Atkins fires off for his shilling a day is surprising ; and with our modern guns one of the most serious difficulties of campaign is the supply of sufficient ammunition. The number of rounds carried to the field for use in a single battle is as follows : Each soldier has a hundred rounds in his pouch for immediate use. Close behind the fighting is a line of mules laden with ammunition, and n littlo farther back are many w.aggon-loads of it. The mules are within 500 yards of the fighting men, and the carts arc 1000 yards away. Between mules and waggons there arc carried 2z2 rounds for each man. Thus each soldier has 322 rounds at his disposal, which means for an army corps of infantry about 10,000,000 rounds. Then the cavalry carry 30 rounds in their pouches and 87 rounds more arc kept for them in the carts, while oach battery has 108 rounds at hand and 146 rounds in the carts at th 3 rear. If the soldiers could only shoot as they do at Bisley. one battle would suSSce, not only to kill all tho Boers in South Africa, but the whole ,of the natives and a considerable portion of the animals. But in the excitement of fighting it is really only by a fluke that a bullett hits its intended mark. Th? departure of the Imperial Bushmen from Sydney has been postponed till April 23rd. According to the Cape Times special conespondent the European deati-rate at Kimberley during the last two months of the siege averaged 50 per 1000, the native over 200. More than 1000 cases of scurvy occurred, many being fatal. The total casualties during the siege among the defensive force were about 150, but for every person killed or wounded in battle, or in the streets, a dozen at least died from disease and the effects of the scarcity of food. The brunt of the fighting was borne by the mounted troops, local Colonial men, in every sense a citizens' defence. For some weeks prior to the relief nothing but locally-manufactured ammunition was used by the artillery, and the only gun capable of engaging the Boers, Long Cecil, was made at the local workshops. No fewer than 23 members of the House of Commons are at present at the front or thereabouts. They are Lord Yalentia, Lord Stanley, Viscount Milton, Lord E. Talbot, Lord H. Btntinck, Sir Ellis Ashmead - Bartlett. Mr Burdctb Coutts, Sir Samuel Scott. Sir J. Dickson Poynder, Sir Howard Vincent, Mr Carlile, Mr'Cochrone, Lortl Alwyne Compton; Mr Bromley Davenport, Mr Dqugla3 Pennant, Mr W. R. Greene, Captiin.A. Hill, Mr Kemp, Mr H. McCal.nont. Air' Mild may, Mr A. Stanley, Major Wynd ham-Quin, Captain Bagot, Captain Pirie, and Mr W.Allen.