NEW ZEALANDERS IMPRISONED AT PRETORIA.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 104, 20 June 1900, Page 2

NEW ZEALANDERS IMPRISONED AT PRETORIA.

THE MAJORITY RELEASED. THREE IN HOSPITAL. TWO DEAD. Wellington, June 19. The Acting-P.-emier sent a cablegram to Lord Roberts the d .y after the relief of Mafoking, asking him for information as to the condition of the i New Zealanders who had been taken prisoner. To-day the Hoi*. J. G. Ward received from the General the following reply, dated Pretoria, Bth June : "The following have been released, well:—Quartermaster Sergeant Borland, Troopers Harris, Pope, Waldie. J. Catberall, Butters, Cassar, Franklin, Valintine, Palmer, Jewell, and Farrier R. E. Smith; in hospital, Troopers Heenan, Power, Miller, Prosser; dead, Troopers Tarrant and Wyllie."

"GRAND, BUT RISKY." Trooper Ohas. Walker, of the Seconc Contingent, writing from Wiuburg, ot May 6, says :—" We were in Bloeuv fontein a few days ago, and thei marched for the Modder and fell it with the Boors. We have been fighting of a perfect hail of bullets from tin enemy, he continued his flight, taking a fourth fence on the way. He tooi found, however, that be was inakinj straight for a precipice, and arriving a the edge he dismounted, lie sliovei. his steed over the cl 11', and grasping i by the tail lie steered an even course keeping the animal well in hand am steadying its movements to the bottom a distance of 200 ft. or inoie. He thei remounted find galloped away amids the frantic yells of the Boers," The only circumstance wanting ii ' this remarkable information to make i unparalleled in the annals of Britisl history is that Lieut. Arthur did not I when ho and his horse arrived at th< 1 bottom of the precipice, give his horse time to get his wind, and meanwhile slay another half-dozen Boers and ther mount his steed, shouting " Ake, ak< kia ? kal^a." —Exchange. MAORI TALES OJT DERRING-DO. The following excerpt from the Poverty Bay Herald will no doubt ba interesting and amusing to our readers. We are assured that the underquoted story is accepted as gjnuine by the Ngatiporou natives, who are exceedingly warm in their demonstrations of loyalty. This tribe played a very prominent part under Major Ropata in the Maori war, and Lieutenant Arthur, who is a half-caste member of the tribe, is I honoured as a great hero from this fact. These natives are not alone very loyal, but humane as well, as they have contributed £35 13s 6d to the war fund and £2O to the Indian Famine Belief Fund:—"The Ngatiporou natives must have a special cable to the Cape, as they have roceived information of a thrilling adventure experienced by Lieut. Arthur, which has hot yet appeared in print. He and a small party of ifcjew Zealanders, they say, were captured by the Boers i.nd disarmed, but Lieut. Arthur had a revolver concealed, under his Arm.

Watching his opportunity, he shot three Boars, and, for bis horse, which came to him in a moment, he mounted, put the steed at a> stiff wire fence, and was away, a great party of Boers in hot pursuit. A-* second fence was safely negotiated, but at the third the brave lieutenant *aJeW|| his horse parted company. ately, he regained his seat, and in spite „,. every day for the pas'; three days. On the first day we took Brandfort, under ft pretty hot fire, theNewZealandersin the advance. We fought our way steadily, fj and then mounted our horses and about 10 of us galloped in ahead of the rest. ** I was one of the first in and never got a scratch. Next day we routed the Boers out of a kopje, and were called out in front of the other troeps and corn* plimented by Genersl Hutton. He ssid it wis grand but too risky, and added that he and Colonel Pilchard stood with their hearts in their mouths for ten minutes while we were going up the hill. Yesterday was the hottest of the lot We led the attack again and routed the Boers out of a good position on the Yaal River. A good few Boer? were killed, but although we had to advance across an open plain for ft quarter of a mile, with the Maxim and rifle bullets whistling all round us, only one of our boys got wounded—Smith, of Stratford." ,

An important side-issue in the question of the future sattlement of South Africa has (says -St. Jams*' QoutUtS aiisen. Many of the Reservists who have left British homes and employ* ments to join their regiments haw found the Orange Free State so tries * sant a place in which to live that they are asking if after the war is over they may not be given opportunities by the British Government to settle in she country, and in the esse of these who are married to have their wives and children sent out to them. The idea app»»rs excellent. The Government would be saved the exponas of the Besorvistb' home journey, and mightdevote the money to providing passages to ihe men's wives and families. Further, would not the Government be justified in incurring the exp nse of providing ta>se men with an acre or so « laud, or of starling them in some way of business ? In one way a lot of money would be saved. At the end of the year there will be hundreds of waggons, spades, and so on which it will not be worth while to take home. Lot the Reservists have them for their > farms. And, also, should a large numoer of Reservists cbcote to settle in the country, ono of the mo*t difficult questions of the future is h If solved. For the country would be, or might be, policed in that way without further 4 trouble." " What is the Empho which we have so much at heat t ?" is a question which Lord Rosebery at a meeting of the Edinburgh Unity of the Empire Association asked and at the same time answered. He said: " I ventured on a former occasion to state that in my opinion its fundamental qualities are that it is free, unaggressive, and tolerant, and I believe that can be said of no other Empire under the sun, WheflCi in any other Empire will you find such freedom—freedom in the first place trade, and freedom in tkenextije^Jfl universal refuge for the persecuted and t&GwSIL iu other lands, such, broad amrwise toleration of all churches and all sect*; and where again will you find an Empire which is so essentially unaggressive I f know that theie are many who thinly , that at this especial moment, when wean -* engaged in warfare in South Africa, the word ' unaggressive' is not particularly appropriate. But this is not a war of aggression. I will ask thes 1 questions t j Who was it who declared wa r in thft instance ? Into what State was it that tlio ultima'urn was sent? What is ft great State to do when it receives an ultimatum from another State ? Wo have had iu this war to ward off sion. We have not been the aggressors, ' Why should we wish to be the aggressors? We have in all -conscience enough of the world's surface; we do not wish, so far as I know, to increase by an acre or even by a rood the territorial extent of our Empire. What we do wish is to maintain and consolidate that Empire which we have." /