WAR ITEMS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 77, 28 March 1900, Page 3

WAR ITEMS.

Advocate De Wet, of Pretoria, who Iras chosen Chief Commandant of the Republican fe/ces at Colesberg, is the eldest son of the Hon. Mr. N. J. de Wet, M.L.C. He is a B.A. of the Gape University and an LL.B. of Cambridge, where he farther distinguished himself by carrying off the Chancellor's medal for English law. After the battle of Belmont (writes a correspondent of the Cape Times) the men were much exhausted, having been inarched off without their breakfasts. They suffered most, however, from thirst, and as there was only one spring the regiment had to take it in turns to get water. The Coldstreams ■offered most, having had a night march to arrive in time for the action, and had, moreover, no watercart. This being made known to the Northumberland Fusiliers, who were to have first turn at the spring, they at once waived their right and gave up their torn to the Coldstreams, an act of kindness which was much appreciated, and will never be forgotten.

The story is current to the effect that early in January General White hired a couple of Kaffir runners, each of whom was to deliver a message to Sir Bedvers Boiler written in telegraphic form, somewhat to the following effect:—" For God's sake hurry on; ammunition exhausted, and must surrender very soon if attacked." The natives wore instructed to take a coarse which would inevitably cause them to fall into the hands of the Boers, whilst Sir George calmly awaited developments, and placed his men in such a position as to give the enemy a warm reception. The Boers fell into the trap, and that is how they came to make the rash attack on Ladysmith which led to one of the severest defeats they have yet sustained at our 1 hands.

Of the hundred men who were taken] prisoners by the Boers near the cap-' tared guns at Colenso, four, writes a chaplain, made a dash for liberty, but were shot down before they had gone many yards. French comic papers amuse their readers with caricatures of the wounded British officers either holding out their hate to French hotelkeepers, who put in a sou, or being told by the French officers to " move on."

Daring the shelling of Kimberley on January 28 one- shrapnel shell took a curious coarse. < Entering a drapery ■hop it penetrated a brick wall. Making a clean sweep of the stock-room on the upper floor, it severely punished a group of lay wax figures used for window dressing. One dummy figure of a lady was ungallantly riddled by 12 bullets, whilst a boy's wax head was smashed to atoms.

A private "*n the 2nd Royal Fusiliers, describing the battle of Colenso, says:—"The Boers' loss must have been terrible, because they flew the white flag for 24 hours to bury their dead, and threatened to crucify ' the men with straw hats on,' meaning our navy."

Each suit of khaki supplied to cur troops costs the Government about eleven shillings. It is obvious that at this price there is very little wool in the material. It ie, in fact, mado almost entirely of cotton. According to a paper in Good Words the Government are having woollen khaki made, and it is hoptd that the suits will reach South Africa by the month of May, wuen the heavy thunderstorms occur. Trie coct, of the woollen material is four f'mes that of the cotton.

Tne Ducbees of Bradford forwards a letter from Surgeon Treves, in which ho Biys that the four English curses at Uhitiveley " worked until they nearly dropped" after the battle of the Tugela, "and did an amount of good that cannot be estimated."

No army (writes a Pretoria correspondent to the Daily Mail) ever had more serviceable allies than the Boers in South Africa have in their wives. I have seen them taking delicacies to the English prisoners at the racecourse. This at first struck me as most extraordinary. "These poor boys did not know what they were fighting for. They were in the army as soldiers, and one can't blame them for doing what they were ordered." This was the explanation that a motherly old Boer woman gave me, as she banded a very bashful Irish Tommy Atkins a little package of delicacies that she had prepared herself. I think private soldiers get more delicacies from the hands of the Boer women than ever find their way to the officers in the big school house in the centre of the town. Both the officfra and the privates have received more gamts, book.", and even pigskin footballs than ever before fell into the hands of military prisoners.