The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, NOVEMBER 22, 1901. THE ANTI-CHAMBERLAINITES.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 269, 22 November 1901, Page 2

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, NOVEMBER 22, 1901. THE ANTI-CHAMBERLAINITES.

TnE agitation that is being worked up on tkeJOontinent against Mr Chamberlain is founded on a bitterness begotten of no loye for the British. It is not honest indignation, and therefore may bo viewed with contempt. But is it so 1 certain that loyal Britishers have not cause for bitter complaint against Mr Chamberlain, as the practical head of the Government in matters connected with South Africa ? We are not alluding to the causes of the war, nor touching ever so lightly on the pronounced opinions many good pftople hold in connection therewith. A question that has been raised in South Africa is does it pay to be loyal ?—in other words, is it not more comfortable and profitable to be what is known as a disloyalist ? The state of the concentration camps, as shown by the Blue-book recently issued, is bad, not because of any neglect by the authorities, but owing to the wretched io-norance of sanitary matters by the Boor women. The other side of the picture, that of the loyalists, has no such extenuation, and it is not to be wondered at that many people bitterly throw the blame on Mr Chamberlain. A lady who lias been contributing ' articles.to the London Times puts the subject in a way that leaves no room for misunderstanding. SJiC yjsited both the contontration camps and the re- ‘ fug6 camps. She states that at the concentration camps the women and children are well treated : they are given as much food as they want, there being no ration limit, and the food is of first-class quality, “ the best I have ever tasted ” was the lady’s opinion of the bread. The exiles freely slated that they were well satisfied with the treatment. Contrast that picture with the report in regard to the refuge camps. Of the one at East London, tho lady states : “ The shelters are constructed of damaged and condemned tarpaulins stretched over frameworks of wood; they are uufloored, dark, draughty, leaky, and so insecure that in one severb windstorm over 40 were blown down, and delicate women, children, invalids, and women in childbed exposed to the pitiless drenching rain—a night of horror never to be forgotten. In many instances tho front room is the dining-room, kitchen, bedroom, and storeroom. What do refugees want with privacy ? No hospital here. No school has been provided, nor has any Government school inspector everbeen near.”' At the concentration, camps the Government have even provided for the teaching of music to the Boer children, and thus it is we hear occasional remarks about fighting with pianos. Still another picture, this being a lady’s account of the way the refugees were treated during the flight from the Transvaal: “Exposed to a pitiless sun by day, drenching thunder- ! storms by night; no shelter save under the waggons, nc dry clothes, no j decency, no privacy, men, women, and children, ivaflirs, coolies, and Chinamen, all huddled together without distinction. The horrors of that journey baffle description, or I would paint 1 them in the most glaring colors for , the benefit of these maudlin senti- ( mentalists who shed tears at the idea ( of a Boer family not being provided ; with separate sleeping apartments.” \ A loyalist ia South Africa has written: t

“The seeds have been sown of a distrust anil dissatisfaction that will bo found to bo more deeply-seated and difficult to deal with than a Bond intrigue.” Those words are palpably au exaggeration, but there is uo doubt that they convey a good deal of truth, aud that there is a great deal of cause for the complaint that is made. Here is another picturo of how the loyalists are treated: i: 1 hey linger ou iu dreary j exile; no btate allowances, no wellorganised camps for them, with rugs to keep the damp from their feet, with bathrooms, reading-rooms, schools, hospitals, shops, chaplains, doctors, ] nud nurses, storage for their grain, j live stock, and furniture, soldiers and j Kaffirs to do the sanitary work, and | hot water served out three times a | day. While the utmost private bene- | volence can compass is tho barest pittance and the scantiest accommodation for our own people, the Government is spending millions on those others ; the committee of Englishmen iu Pretoria is advertising for more comforts for the burgher camps, and ladies at Home are beseeching people to send funds for the same mistaken object.” Numerous complaints of this kind naturally create a feeling of dissatisfaction with tho Government, and it is hardly to be wondered at that a I good deal of the odium falls upon Mr Chamberlain. It may be that it is not deserved, but that docs not alter the fact, It would hardly be a surprise if, for the reasons mentioned, there were in England a bitter outcry against Mr Chamberlain, for the reason that our enemies are being indulged in comfort and luxury, while those who ought to have the first consideration have been sadly neglected.