TRANSVAAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, 26 August 1901, Page 1

TRANSVAAL.

THE VLACKFONTEIN ATROCITY. BOER MURDEDS OF BRITISH WOUNDED. j The Daily Mail to hand by last night's mail contain the letters written by thenSouth African correspondent, Mr Edgar Wallace, describing the shooting by the j Boers of British wounded at Vlakfontem. , Few letters published during the war made such a sensation, and the excitement was intensified by the action of the trovernment, who, through Lord btanley, while promising to inquire into the matter, breathed out threats of the -punishment m store for the corespondent if his allega- j tions were proved to be untrue. This, as we shall show, was an extremely unfor- ! tunate position to take up. First, for Mr 1 Wallace's description of the fight, details of which he obtained from those who took part in it. "In the country," be writes, "round Wolmaranstadt and Hartebeestefontein, and between Klerksdorp and the Bechuanaland border, the whole district swarms with Boers, and it is here that Methuen goes when he feels inclined to have a fight, which is, so swear the Bushmen, who worship him—(did you knowthat?) —about seven days a week. General Dixon's column is one pf_ the many that zig-zag about the country establishing posts, building and garrisoning blockhouses, burning and punishing, protecting and relieving as occasion demands or justice dictates." The country is of that descriptive kind where long grassy undulations hide dongas and waterways. On the day of the fight Dixon's force had been out farm burning in the morning, and was returning!; to camp in two divisions, marching down, as it were, the two arms of aV. The force coming down the upper road consisted of two newly-recruited squadrons of Yeomanry, two guns of the R.F.A., 200 of the Derbyshires, and a few of the Scottish. Horse. The Veldt . alongside1 was-on fire, and as the scouts rode in advance they saw through, the smoke the dim forms of some .men, .who, on being challenged, replied that they were Scottish. Horse, and were believed to belong to the other portion "of the force. But just Hhen a heavy gust of wind rent for a moment the veil of smoke —and there was the Boer army! With a yell the whole Boer force dashed forward, galloping through • the low, hanging smoke,, the hoofa of a thousand horses tramping down the fire. Firing from their saddles, the Boers came on with a rush, and as the little English force fell back in confusion the gunner officer, seeing that the fate of his guns were settled, pistolled his horses." KILLING THuJ WOUNDED. .As to what followed immediately after the Boer onrush, accounts vary. There seems to be some reason to doubt that the Boers shot the remaining officer and non-commissioned officer of the Artillery for refusing to show them how to work the guns. That was what Mr Wallace heard, and the statement finds support in letters received from several of the Tommies, but what .really occurred is more probably described by a Yeomanry trooper, who says that the spinners, after shooting their horses, broke the rangefinders, and then stood to their guns with their carbines. "They were all heroes. Out of twenty-four men, ten were killed outright, including their lieutenant, and ten wounded." The lieutenant was shot in cold blood after being wounded, as he stood by the gun trying to load it himself. But in this he merely shared the fate that was being dealt out to our wounded. For this is what Mr Wallace's informant de-j clares took place: —".Eg'o Boers armed i with Martinis walked ?ound the forms of] the dead and dying men who were j stretched in every conceivable'attitude on j the ground. Some they turned over to see if they were dead. If they weren't one or the other of the two Boers shot them, just slipping a cartridge into the breech of the Martini and shooting them as you'd shoot an ox. I saw four men killed this way. The Boers went up to Lieutenant ,of the:_ , and turned him over. Then, thinking that he was dead, they took off his spurs. One officer

/was lying wounded, and a sergeant who was slightljawounded.wen across to him with some water. A third Boer shot them both dead deliberately. One youngster —I think he was a Yeoman—pleaded for his life. T heard him say, O Cbnst, —dlon't!' and then the bango of the rifle." There can be no possible doubt that this actuallj occurred. Dozens of men who shared in the fight assert that they were eye-witnesses of these atrocious deeds. But it was not. for long; the raw Yeomanry took cover and held the Boers at bay with rifle fire, while the Derbyshires fixed their bayonets, "and with that jogjog step that knows but one pace and stops only at one objective, they came on with a rush." The Boers turned and fled, though not before some loss had been inflicted on them for the disaster they had caused. THE GOVERNMENT'S ATTITUDE. The sensational statements published by the Daily Mail naturally gave rise to questions in the House of Commons next day. The' Secretary for War had some Aveeks before officially denied the alleged shooting down of an officer and a noncom, for refusing to describe' the working of the captured guns, and he was now asked if he would make further- inquiries. Mr Brodrick was absent, but Lord Stanley, answering on his behalf, undertook that such, inquiries should be made, "and I think I can undertake," he added, "on behalf of the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, that if this statement deliberately made in a letter, which the Commander-in-Chief has held not to be accurate in a telejjram, can be proved to be false, that correspondent will be • most severely dealt with." This referred to the statement mentioned above, as to which the Daily Mail had clearly indicated that there might be some doubt, while pinning its reputation to the truth of the murder of British wounded. The curious thing was. that this particular portion,.of the letter shoydd have been singled out while no mention waa made of the shooting of the wounded. This seems- all the more curioua when it is known that the War Office had had! in their possession for a whole month a cablegram from Lord Kitchener to the following effect:—"An Imperial Yeomanry officer, Lieutenant Hern, who was wounded at Vlakfontein, has made a statement that he saw one of the enemy shoot some of our wounded on the ground." No; aty tempt has been made by the War Office to have this verified; nol use was made of their knowledge when being, questioned in the House, and it was not until four days after that the Mail had come out with its definite description of the shooting of wounded, backed up by the evidence of dozens of soldiers' letters, that the War Office made public the confirmation of the newa by Lord Kitchener, who, in j reply to a cable, replied.:—"lt has been 1 testified by seven men that they saw 1 Boers shooting wounded men at Vlakfontein. The statements they made were sent to you by last mail. I "have ordered evidence on oath to be taken." The Daily; Mail, demanding to know why news was kept by the War Office, declares that there ' was political; reasons. "The present Go-, s vemment," it says, "notwithstanding the | rebuff of last March, was again truckling; ito the pro-Boers and again awaiting nego--j tiations with an unbeaten enemy." ; I Whether this was the real reason or not,1 ! the result of the whole affair was the i justification of the much-threatened war j correspondent. ,■ <