THE BOER WAR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 41, 11 October 1900, Page 5

THE BOER WAR.

X<>TL> AND POIN is OF INH REST TO CATHOLIC READCRS,

A I.CII UN Eh ( HAI'LU.V.

The llfv IJ. Ryan, lately with tho army in South Africa, has taken up the post of senior Catholic chaplain to the troops at Aldershot.

\ Mill Ml'll 01 1 UANspoKT-.

In the -'J, dnyssmco OHobpr :.'<> (including Sundays) to June I, -"I .;..,„. nor*. i,.r f rn,v). nX ) f, ir s; m , t h AfnVn — rrmirhlv sprakirtcr. one per day— each carrying on an average about M) 0 troops 1 ".o horses beside^ guns and vehicles from Great Britain. In addition to thi? gr*. at army, troops ha\ c been sent from Australia, Canada. India, and small connngents from other colonies and relief from Malta, Crete. Egypt, etc , in all a total of about 20.000, which makes the grand total of fighting men landed in South Africa well over 20'HMio. To the total of :ii; 000 homes s.-nt from England must be added another lU.niiO remounts from Australia, Argentine and New Orleans, and about lnoo<i w hi<h went with the colonial contingent* Of mules, over 75.000 have been despatched from New Orleans Mediterranean. Indian, and other ports. Thus we arrive at a total of over nO.OOO animals.

How lUIMI SOLDIER ARE KEWARDKD

Mr. Swift MacNeill. in a speech in the House of Commons made one or two excellent points on the treatment of the Irish soldiers in the present campaign. The member for South Donegal specified the c,im> of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers and the Royal Irish Rifles. The former left Queenntown li:r> strong and they mustered after Colenso just lifi men and three oficers. These regiments, and they did not complain of that, were deliberately put.'m the forefront of the fighting, and they lost their colonels. Both were shot. Who were advanced to thi lr rank .' Not the majors serving with the regiments, but Englishmen who had «een nothing of the war, by the Board of Promotion, a body of which the Under Secretary had refused to give the names. The Royal Irish Rifle who were formerly the h.'.rd and the RUth Regiment-, which strangely enough, relatives of Mr. MacNeill had once cunni.inded, had at their head Colonel Eager when tlvy were at Stormber»\ The colonel had both legs shot oil" and died, and the man next m command, although he was in the- same- action, was passed over That w.is the wny, whilst the praises of the Irish -oldu-rs wore sung in the music halls, the Iri-h soldiers were r. ally treated.

UMiLX-I'OW/CI.L AM) THE MMtklNt, M'\s

A Sister of Mercy af Mateking writing to one of the community ot the Convent of Mercy, doulhurn. *ays • •We^have lived, aye, and ha\e prosper! through the awful siege. We were ne\er hungry, but had the great Iriiipmes- of feeding many other hungry people. Poor troopers who could not have their posts iwd to send nies-engers to u« lor food, and two families were wholly depend*, nt on v-, tor existence. Bttore hostilities we got in a large nnpply. which Li-tod by economy and forethought. Wo did the night nursing m the \ lcmna Ho^pi^al for the fir-Uiv<> months then our .services \u re a-ked tor the d.iy work. Nothing could excetd tne kmdne-s 01 the Commander and his -ttn.fi . You will scarcely have «teu the General's, letter to Rev. Mother, «o 1 copy it — '■ Mafeking, April .!" I'.'im. '" Dear Mother Tere.-a,— At the request () t Mr M. Weil. 1 hare great pleasure in handing to you the enclosed t'.is 1",-, th^ proceedof a raHb got up for the benefit of the N-ters of Mercy. The mere money does not in any way adequately represent tin- Li-tmg gratitude of the community towards jouisolt and the Sisters "tor the valuable stlf.devotings t lf. devoting t-acnlices you lia\e rendered to the sick and wounded in ho-piUil, nor our sympathy tor your losses and troubles incident to tho siege. — Believe me. yours very truly. ' •' R. S. [s. Badln-Powlm . 'Towards the end the convent became a hospital. It had been used as a convalescent home for a long ptriod. The patients occupied the side safest from shell fire, Wu lived for live months in j, bomb-proot structure, as the convent had been pronounced unsafe, but the rams caused our clay habitation so to smell that a few of us caught typhoid lever, with the result that we concluded it was as well to be killed by the shells as by the -fever, and so we returned to the convent. '1 hank (rod, we escaped all right, and now for the first time we have some rest, a- the patients ha\e bun taken North. His Lordship has just come to vuat ue, and says we must take a holiday.

mE IGNORANT 110 ETC

The Rev. Father Timoney, chaplain to the Australian Bushmen, writes as follows, from Zeerhur.st, Transvaal, on .July 17 — Here at Zeerhurst where we are once more, the excitement was intense during an entire week, and very few indulged m sleep. We fully expected an attack by the enemy. Breastworks were hastily thrown up, trenches dug, guns were manned day and night, and every precaution was taken to welcome the Boers. Patrols arc constantly bcouring the mountain gorges, and occasionally got a view o? the enemy, but in no considerable numbers. Lord Cecil is Imperial Commissioner here, receiving the oiths of allegiance, horses and guns from the Boers who have submitted in the district. The Po.st Ollice, Court House, and Telegraph are in our hands. Lord Cecil is much admired for his kindness and courtesy. A young Boer told me yesterday that the British had taken hi* waggon and a team of oxen. ' Did you get a receipt for them !' I inquired. ' No,' lu> replied, while an immense grin spread over his not very expressive face, ' I did bitter. I rcceiwd the full money value in gold pieces.' On all tho roads leading to this charming town, one meets the Boers coming in to give over their horses and become British subjects. Lord Cecil has done me personally v great

favor in allowing me to purchase a shot gun and cartridges. The wild birds, partridges, and pigeons are as numerous in the vale of the river Manoo as rabbits are in certain distriits of Australia. I have already bagged largo numbers, and our rations are more varied than they used to be. A Boer invited me into his house one evening about 6 o'clock. He was evidently in a friendly frame of mind. Pie introduced mo to his two brothers and two sisters, brought in coffee and brandy, and after a day's shooting I din assure you the hospitality was aripr<^; 'it ml Thnyill spoke Encrlish The youn<?er man inquired if T like! music, was I fond of Schubert, Gounod, or Sullivan ? ' I love all three,' I "iid and montio-ppd thrcptrmrpnnmpi, with nil of whoup works he was quite f ami) lar. He thereupon opened a very pretty organ, and played extracts from four authors, winding up with the ' Lost Chord ' and the ' Wearing of the Green.' The ladies proposed to play one morceau on piano, organ, and violin. It was from Mendelssohn, and was beautifully rendered. After all, I said, these Boers are not savages. The family name is Wilsenach. There were six brothers at the siege of Marking, and after the relief of that town, they made up their minds to fight no longer. One of the younger brothers is, I regret to say, demented, and was not allowed to be present at a very pleasant evening I spent on the banks of the Marico. We conversed long about the British Empire, and I was, perhaps, tooexpansivein pronouncing its unrivalled grandeur and power. ' Come into my office,' said my host. ' There is no need telling me about your empire,' he said ; ' look hero ' I w,ia somewhat surprised to see English and American newspaper', latest stati»ticn on the army and navy, almanacs for the year 1900, and in a word all our official documents. The Boera knew far more about v* than we. had given them credit for. The only mistake my friend madn was in believing that all the Australian troopers wore emu feathers, a mistake which probably co9t them Mtifeking. The moment they perceived the feathers of a few QuetnßlanderHthe Boers thought all the Australian troops were coming over the hill, and abandoned their impregnable positions. The Australians numbered about 100 men instead of 5000 !

A PATHETIC INCIDENT.

The Victoria Cross won by Captain Towse, of the Gordon Highlanders, at Ma^ert^fontein last September, was conferred on him by the Que nat Windsor. The g-allant captain is totally blind, having be^n shot in both eyes at Th<iba Mountain, when, with 12 men, he kept off 1 "iO liners. He won the V.(!. in an attempt to carry Colonel Down man. who was wounded, off the field at Magersfontein under :>. bail ot bullets. Failing in thin, he reinsiintd by the Colonel s until h">p cune Captain Towse was ltd into tlie presence of her M jeMy by his smiV. and. having pinnel on the coveted cross, the (jueen spoke a tow \w,i>ls of i-ympithy to the gallant officer. Her Majesty afterwards conterred the distinguished Service Medal on Staff-Sergeant M < 'unnell, a young- Irishman, for gallantry in the Soudan.

THE NUN" 1 * AT MA.FEKIXO

Writing from Mafeking. June lit!, to the London limes, Inspector J. 11. W. Ascough says 'A* a member of The B.^ A. Police unit of the garrison during the late --lege I shall be glad if you will allow me to txpres^, through the medium of your paper, our de°p thanks and gratitude to the Mother Superior and bisters of the Convent who have so nobly attended to our nek and ivounded at our hospital, night and day, for the last eight mouths. It is impossible to say too much for these beloved women Nothing too much can be done to recompense them for their r.oble work.' And in giving evidence before the Rojal Commission, Lieutenant Ryerson stated th it. "In the Catholic Convent and St. Michael's Home everything was perfect, and the nuns made splendid Dorses.'

RETURV OF THK DUKE OF NORFOLK

The Duke of Norfolk and Lord Edmund Talbot ■were given a welcome of jjre.it cordiality on their return to Arundel from South Africa. 'I he event had been anfeipated with no ordinary pleasure by the people of the borough, and the most complete arrangements had been made for the public reception under the supervision of the Mayor, Rev. K,tther A. McCall and others That their tfforts, co'ubined with those of the inhabitants generally, were crowned with success there was not the <*li^hte^t doubt. At the suggestion of the Mayor the tradespeople closed thcr establishments at an early hour to permit of their employees taking part m the demonstration, and a very large number of people from the surrounding neighborhood, including many from Littlehatnpton, journeyed to Arundel to enter into the festivitnb The desire expressed by the Duke's relatives that he should drive straight to the Church of St. Philip Neri from the railway station, before any official reception «;i< accorded to him, was strictly complied with, and it had the happy effect of bringing the whole of the public ceremony within a convenient area, extending over a distance of about 300 sards from the church to the cattle. The several addresses, though presented separately had Iwn ho prep ired that they might be inserted in albums, whi< h h<id been pio und for the purpose and inscribed ' Addresses presented to his Gract the Duke of Norfolk, E.M., K.G., on his r. turn from active service in South Africa,' and ' Addresses presented to Lieuienant-C /loiiel Lord Edmund Talbot, M P.. on his ret'irn from active service in South Africa,' the former being bound in blue and the latter in red morocco. The three triumphal arches erected between the castle gateway and the Church of St. Philip, were far more magnificent than are usually seen in tho, county, and the decorations generally were profuse and handsome. The service in the church was profoundly impressive, and the progress of the Duke and his brother from the church to the castle was signalised along the whole route by ringing cheers. In the evening lhe words ' Hearty lhanks,' in large colored letters composed of electric lights, appeared conspicuously over one the great towers of the castle, and could be read from all parts of the town and immediate neighborhood.