The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, APRIL 25, 1905 DISASTER IN SOMALILAND.

Gisborne Times, Volume IX, Issue 874, 25 April 1903, Page 2

The Gisborne Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. GISBORNE, A PRIL 25, 1905 DISASTER IN SOMALILAND.

Late cables gave the impression that the work of the Somaliland expedition had practically been completed, and those natives who had not keen brought into submission had lied to such a distance as to make it unnecessary to Keep up tlie pursuit ; there were many congeal illations on the result of the campaign, and the. leaders came in for much praise, but Hie information now ?o hand is calculated to give a shock to all Britishers. A force of friendly natives was overwhelmed and two hundred men witli ten officers were slaughtered. Only 27 escaped. Thai at least is tile narrative as it lias come to ihand , hut the probability is that the had news is only being broken by degrees. Later on it will perhaps lie found 1 hat a good many Englishmen were included in the “ native ” force. The leu officers are not. likely to he natives, and when Maxims were employed it. can he taken for granted that they were nut in charge of n . lives. it is not to be expected that the lighting could go on without an occasional little reverse, but sucn an awful slaughter requires a good deal of explanation as to how -it happened, and whether there was not neglect of ordinary precautions. Whatever the explanation may he, the reverse will be a blot in the chapter of the Somaliland campaign.

OUR LIBELLERS. The antagonism to New Zealand ii

financial matters is explained by the extraordinary statements made in a' few of the Home papers to hand by the last mail. Though this colony made a remarkable-sacrifice on behalf of the Midland Kailway debentureholders. that affair is being made use of in every way with the hope of injuring the colony’s erctlil■ The iollowinu: ehai'actenslie item is from the Tattler : “New Zealand Threes. —Unde!erred by the snub received in 1 tini (when the underwriters were .struck with nearly halt the issue), the dishonest little colony of New Zealand lias the assurance to ask nearly PI. 1 , for ei.mvii.Sun more of the same three per cent, stock which last time it could not place satisfactorily at PL Those who are foolish enough to take this stock must not be surprised if later on the New Zealand Government treat them as they treated the unhappy debenture-hold-ers of the Midland Railway. ’ It is astonishing what an amount of lying has been done on behalf of those de-benture-holders who were such awful bunglers at the expense of the colony The taxpayers have paid them a substantial sum to which they have no legal right—as proved before all the Courts—and it is a hard penally now that these slanderers are putting up on us ; hut fortunately New Zealand’s position is so sound that the effect is not so serious as it would be in the case of a colony with weak financial condition. A check to bor-

rowing is not an unmixed evil. The pity is that it did not come sooner.