WINSTON CHURCHILL ON THE WAR.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 216, 6 November 1900, Page 1

WINSTON CHURCHILL ON THE WAR.

Ml. WnsxoH S. Chubobil* addressed a mam meeting hold ia the Bmpire Sitre, Oldham, on July 25ih. Speakon the military situation in South ca ho said hi had notioad thai evening a flaring newspaper placard announcing another Britiah disaster. He did not like the exaggerated me of words, (Hear, hear.) These incident! of war were the inevitable aooompaniment of military operations. What was a war t It was net a long line of continuous raeeeuaa. At least j it was not usually that, It was an out-and-out fight of rough-and-tumble, ial which both sides most give and hear good'blows, It we were going to call every insignificant operation along the line of communications a British disaster we should soon ran a gnat danger of losing the calm and aaff-poiiasiion which has hitherto distrngnished the demeanor of the connsty. (Owen.) Bit what was really the situation? We had pot our arms where we intended te pat them—in the enemy's capital. Wo had captured his railway, lines and the. great gold mines of the Band, whereby the Boers got the money to pay their patriotic mercenaries, (Hear, hear and laughter.) We had also .got possession of their arsenal at Johannesburg, where they made shot and shell, and, so far as was known to the British authorities in South Africa, the Boers were unprovided with any means of making ammunition. They had no more money with the exception cf the two millions which President Krager captared and managed to save or not ptying the salaries of his own Government officials. (Laught)r.) He remembered how angry the officials were. They were all paid in ehtques—excellent cheques every one ef them—but when they came to be presented at the bank the officials found that the head of the Government had extracted the money privately from the b»nk before the cheques arrived. (Laughter.) Iwo millions was a lot of money, and it would make President Kroger able to hold out for tome time yet How long he would sot venture to prophesy. What he meant was thU—there was no cause for alarm now. The end wbb bonnd to be a matter of months. He did not with to be sanguine, but he would like to. say of weeks. (Laughter.) HaAlki not think that would be a welith statement ia all, but he would rather keep within the limits of absolute certainty, and President Kreg?r ■' could not maintain his resistance indefinitely. Ammunition, money, and what was of more importance, focd, would give out, and the want of them would tell their tale on the Boers. Although we might expect unsatisfactory incidents to arise from time to time owing to our forces being scattered over an enormous extent of country and having to hold great lines of com- . munioation up which die food must pass to armies at the front, although the scattered situation in which they were placed would probably result in the picking up of small posts and convoys, sad although these incidents might offer Radical newspapers every Ofiportouityforpurjligliiitjltting and alarmist placards they would not alter and would not in the slightest delay the inevitable conclusion of the war, (Lonxiohtan.) But what had we got to oV in the mean WinJet We had got fosse, so far as our constitutional fUKballoweius, that the War Office vat not allowed to relax any effort, and he was convinced, after what he bad sten, that there should be no ■bred of independence given to the two States, but that they must come antbe'y under the British government. (Cheers).