The Storm in Africa.

Gisborne Times, Volume V, Issue 113, 22 May 1901, Page 1

The Storm in Africa.

Vexed were the sons of freedom, toiling in sun’s fierce heat To ring from Earth her hidden store in hill and plain. With one accord they claimed a freeman’s right, , Demanding as their due, a voice in things of State. But still the Boer, with racial scorn, refused The plea for justice. “ Quit the country if ye will, Leaving your labour for our good, unthanked. We now can see beneath the surface lie Riches beyond our wildest dreams—and all is ours for ever.” “Go tell your Queen, her Suzerain power we thrust aside. This land so bravely decked with gold and 'gems ,Was won, with all its teeming wealth, When from you ■ wrested on Maiuba’s Hill; And nought shall sever it from us.” “If choose ye to remain, then helots shall ye be, And we your lords, for all the coming years Jr To bid you labour as we will. And yet no voice of you® our land shall sway— No tie shall bind us to your Queen.” The voice of freemen reached the ear of lords— Lords of the Sea—whose hands were strong; While under gloves of softest texture lay hidden, fingers wrought in toughest steel, All ready for the sword—tho’ choosing peace. 11l pleased were they ; For in that northern land men grow who vassals never are: The Lords replied with words of gravest speech, " These men have earned their due, so grant it now Lest_our displeasure fall with weight of

Empire’s might.” [ “Be mindful of your written bond,' Pledging obedience to our sov’ran law, Whose power and worth we hold supreme. And so we counsel you in courteous way To reason listen, while our patienoe lasts.” In anger blent with scorn the answer came “Never! Never one jot of power to make or alter Laws shall rest with you in this our land. If vexed are sons of yours, then let them leave our soil Or it will reek with blood—both theirs and ours." The Lords then spoke in sterner tones — The Lion, half rising from his lair, Sent warning, and in his growl a menace lay. “ The Empire wakens! Freedom in this field Where suzerain right we claim, all men shall have 1 Upstarts to heel—yield now lest worse befall!" The Boer threw gauntlet down, and mocking cried, “ Secure are we amid the rocks. With guns and shot and shell, ' Our State shall wake the echoes of the earth, Till nations stand aghast at seas of blood and trembling look at us and see your ruin.”

“ Our State can thrust your weaklings out beyond the Cape; The waters there suffice to drown your hungry brood 4 Whose tongue we hate— So take our challenge! Wo you all defy, The God of War shall answer as He wills.”

The great Sea Lords, supreme on every wave, Eeluotant to submerge a pttny state in warfare dire, Beplied with temperate words that were mistook for fear: A gun shot broke the silence, and on the veldt A Briton’s blood ran down. The Bell of War rang out its first appeal to Britons everywhere. The die is cast. The blood begins to flow, The Empire speaks—are far-off sons of Britain True to kith and kin, Dominion, Isle and State ? Bemotest bounds of Empire felt the call, “to arms.” That stirs the blood 'of every Englishman, Though half a planet’s oceans roll between the sire and son. The Empire woke clear-eyed, and blood Of Viking, Saxon, Dane co-mingled in each „ English heart, throbbed in response. Such everywhere demand the freedom that is ours by birth, For which our fathers freely gave their blood . and coin, In long-gone days of stress and storm on sea and land ; And so we, too, tho’ many of our sons ne’er trod. The soil of Britain, nor saw its greatness in the Northern seas, Nor looked on England’s Queen, yet glory in the tie that binds U 3 to them all. Tho instant answer leaped through ocean wide ; Through land and sea on lightning’s wing From Earth’s remotest bounds ; Loyal when Britain calls ! Loyal when need is here ! A caitiff he Who would not venture all that makes life good, At juncture such as this. And so the message flashed across the wires “ All ready? ” Yes ! Our sons in thousands Waiting are, to fight and die for you ; Let all men know that kith are on the way to stand for right; Girded complete with gear that makes for war, Our own free gift to our own Motherland. We glory in our sons whose courage tells of forbears great. Exulting, as they bear themselves through hail of shot and shell, like lion’s cubs, Daring to die for Empire’s sake in far off land.

We list with hearts in which pain throbs, For news of men we love, Now standing firm before the foe—a savage race.. We know the cause is just, nor can we cease to fight Till end has come and victory, God’s and ours ; Then peace shall reign—a lasting peace, A heritage to hosts unborn. J. B. SIGLEV. January, 1000. It needs Lord Byronlshrilliant pen, Hiß clever, brainy fifad, To tell us how and wfjy and when Some people are dead. But since he’s gone‘l|fll tell the way, How good health to assure, And colds and hacking coughs allay, Take Woods’ Gbeax. Pmcawrai Cobb.