The South African War.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 38, 14 February 1901, Page 4

The South African War.

(To the Editor of the Times.)

Sir,—l notice that your correspondent “ Another Resident ” cannot find a leg to stand on, and cannot find any answer to my last letter, but simply tries to shuffle away into another channel altogether, and that under the miserable plea of being “ pressed for time.” Any excuse would have been better than that one. It seems strange that he should be pressed for time now when he had time to write when opening the question at first. He says “ ‘ Tommy Atkins ’is to be pitied for his ignorance.” All the same hehas nothing to say in reply to the contents of my letter in the Times of the 9th. I should be sorry to think I would ever have the pity of your correspondent. I will let your readers judge for themselves as to the person most to be pitied. I notice he is somewhat given to exaggeration in his endeavors to grasp at straws of evidence to support his ludicrous statements. There were never 250,000 British in the field at any one time. Their highest total only reached 210,000, and your correspondent omits that at the commencement of hostilities there were upwards of 70,000 or 80,000 Boers. He says we are “ hounding a peaceful race of people out of their homes, etc.” He forgets that the Boers declared war when the British were still hoping to avert it by diplomacy. They would not listen to reason, and were going to stagger humanity, etc., so the British cannot honorably stop till the Boers give in, or the latter make them give in. “Another Resident ” complains of British “ bayoneting Boers in the dead of [night.” That is no worse than shooting into tents full of sleeping Englishmen at 20 and thirty yards range, as the Boers did in a small town in Orange Colony. Not a bit of difference, is there ? That constitutes part of the dark, seamy side of war; but, by the way, “Another Resident” here forgets that he warned me not to believe the “ lying cablegrams that we get,” and now he turns round and holds them up as the source of his information. I am surprised at him giving such an exhibition of inconsistency as this. It i 3 a pity he does not practise what he preaches. He calls it “despicably inhuman ” to send the Boers to Ceylon, where, he says, they will perish in great numbers, etc. He, has given a few exhibitions of ignorance, but I think this caps the lot. The Boers in Ceylon are quartered on the high ground, where there is splendid drainage, the purest spring water in plenty, and always a strong breeze from the sea. There they have had new barracks erected for them, and are allowed to visit the towns occasionally. They do what they like to amuse themselves, have good wholesome food, and taken all round, they are having the best and pleasantest time they ever had in their lives, or ever will have. They are 100 per cent, better off than if at Simonstown. So what there is inhuman and despicable about that I fail to see. Such an unfounded, ridiculous statement goes further to show how ignorant your correspondent really is of the subject he is trying to handle, but whioh has proved so much beyond his capacity. These Boer prisoners at Ceylon have written ,to the British Authorities, thanking them for the efforts made on their behalf, and expressing their highest appreciation of the treatment received at the hands of the British. We don’t for a moment say that the British are perfect—they have made many and great mistakes—and we certainly admit that the Boers have made a splendid stand. Nor do we blame them for fighting on, in one way, but we object to the methods they have adopted. The war coukl [not have been prevented, when the Boers had been preparing for it for years, and were only waiting their time. After all the flesh and blood spilt, and millions of treasure spent, to bring them to their senses, does your correspondent expect England to stop now, when half-way through, and give them the chance to do the same again ? If he does, he is indeed deserving of pity. The English are ready to admit the Boers freely into their country, and treat them as brave people, when they surrender and come to their senses. Surely that is fair enough ? What more does he want ? Your correspondent complains of my letter as insulting him. When he opens a question such as the one at issue, and abuses the nationality amongst whom he is living, and on whom he depends for his living, it is about time he was brought to the sense of his unenviable position. Why does he stay amongst such fools as he terms “ the majority of English and Colonials”? We don’t want to keep him here against his will; so by all means let him go away to pastures new, and sample some other flag, and see which ensures tie most liberty and freedom. I venture to say that had he taken up the same attitude in some of the larger towns, he would have realised ere this that we have let him down very lightly in Gisborne.—Thanking you in anticipation, I am, etc.,

“ Tommy Atkins.”