War Notes.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 104, 25 September 1914, Page 6

War Notes.

OUR OVERSEAS FORCE. HKADQL ARTFRS' STAFF. Wellington, September 23. Tlio following is the final list of tho names of the oiiicers of the headquarters' stall' of t!;i■ main Sew Zealand Expeditionary Force which, it has been announced, is destined for service in Eur-

Commander, Major-General Sir Alexander John God'tc.v, K.0.M.G., C.U., F.S.C., Imperial (General Staff Personal appointments: Assistant military secretary, Major John Gethin Hughes, D.5.0., X.Z.S.C.; aide-de-camp, Second Lieutenant Arthur Taliu CI ravenor Rhodes, Grenadier Guards (sp.eial reserve). Stall' —General Stall branch: General stall', second grade, Lieut.-Col. William Garnettt Braithwaite, D.5.0., P.S.C., I.G.S.

Attached to General Staff—Captain Waiter William Alderman, administrative and instructional stall', Commonwealth military forces. Adjutant-General's branch—Assistant Adjutant-General. Colonel Edward Walter Clervaux Chaytor, T.D., P.S.C., N.Z.P.S.C.; Deputy-Assistant AdjutantGeneral, Captain Nathaniel William Benjamin Butler Thorns, X.Z.S.C. Quartermaster-General's branch Assistant Quartermaster-General, Ueut.Colonel James Jacob Esson, sth (Wellington) Regiment; Deputy-assistant Quartermaster-General, Captain John Robert Henderson, X.Z.S.C.

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND DEPARTMENTS.

Medieal— Assistant Director of Medical Services, Colonel William Johnston Will, M.D., X.Z.C.C.; Deputy-assistant Director of Medical Services, Lieut.-Col. l'ercival C'leniiell Fenwick, N.Z.M.C. Veterinary—Asistant Director of Veterinary Services, Major Alexander Ileid Young, N.Z.V.C. Ordnance. —Deputy-assistant Director of Ordnance Services, Honorary Captain Wiliam Thonu's Beck, N.Z. Forces. Army Pay Department—Field Cashier, Honorary Lieutenant Thomas lawless, sth (Wellington) Regiment. Special Appointments—Assistant Provost Marshal and Camp Commandant, Captain Charles Henry Jeffries Brown, N.Z.S.C.; Interpreter, 2nd Lieut. Clement Marshall Caxalet; attached, Lieut. John Anderson.

[ Motor Reserve of Officers—Lieut. Dudley Kettle; reserve of officers, mounted I rilles brigade (with attached troops), not allotted to a cavalry division headquarters, Commander-Colonel Andrew 'Hamilton Russell, A.D.C., commander Wellington Mounted Rilles Brigade. Personal Appointments —Aide-de-camp to commander, 2nd Lieut. Alan Standish Wilder, fltli (Wellington, East Coast) Mounted Killes; orderly officer to commander, Lieut. Charles Arthur Bcauchamp Pieknnl Hawkins; StalY-brigadc Major, Captain Charles Guy Powles, N./.5.C.; Staff-captain, Captain George Augustus King, N.Z.S.C. Administrative Services and Departments —Army pay department: Field Cashier, Captain Percy de Bathe Brandon, Oth (Jlanawatu) Mounted Rilles, attached to Army Service Corps. Supply Details, and General Duties Captain: Captain Norman Chivas Hamilton, A.S.C.; for requisitioning duties, captain or subaltern, Captain Henry Esau Avery; infantry headquarters commander, Colonel Francis Karl Johnston, Prince, of Wales, (North Staffordshire) Regiment; staff-brigade-major, Major Arthur Temperley (Norfolk Regiment); staff-captain. Captain Alfred Bishop Morton, N.Z.S.C.

Administrative services and Departments—Veterinary: Veterinary officer, Captain George ol 'l Waugh, X.Z.V.C.; divisional headquarters: Licut.Col. George Napier Johnston, Royal Artillery; adjutant, Lieut. James Macdonahl Richmond, U.X.Z.A.; orderly officer, 2nd Lieut. Walter Lancelot Moore.

HOW TIIE WAR WAS RECEIVED IN ENGLAND. »

The following extracts from a private letter written by a New Zcalander brought up in llawcra, now resident in England, is of interest as showing the Jee'ing in England at the time of the outbreak of war and tile outlook as it presented itself before the conlliet had taken the shape since reported by cable (sa >\s the Star): —

''So the incredible, impossible, lias happened, and we are at war. Even 011 Monday, when the British ultimatum was sent to Germany, the majority of i:s thought that they would evacuate Belgium so as to gain our neutrality. 'J here is a great calm sense of right and justice amongst, the people. Howcm much as Christians we may dcJiloro the necessity of lighting, we do feel thi!t Hie Government made every possible ell'ort to avoid becoming involved, and only the appalling mad conduct Germany prevented their eli'orts being

successful. It, was not alone the iu'vasi.on of Belgium 1 which forced the Government's hand, but the most insolent diplomacy of the German Foreign ("Jive in suggesting that England should raceivo a share of the French colonies a i tne price of her neutrality. T hope you won't all blame the Kaiser. Things certainly look black against ihiin, and some of the papers here lay all the Manic upon his shoulders, but only yesterday I was in conversation with an English lecturer at the Berlin I'niverf.ltr. Ho has only just returned by one of the last boats to leave Flushing, and is a very well-informed man. He f-:11s me that the Kaiser is being made a. <at's-paw by the ultra-military junUi cf aristocratic Germane that both the Kaiser and the Crown Prince are genuine in their love of England and the English, but have been unable to stem the strong war-tide which has been set towards France and England of late ears. Of course, one does see the German point of view, iinscrupuhms though i 1! is. They have a rapidly-growing and Wealthy population and no prospect of expansion. They want colonies so tluit Un-ir of thrifty, abie emigrants will not have to lose their national identity when they emigrate. However tftat may be, and justilied as we believe the i-oveniment to l>« in entering the conilici, it is too lute or too soon to arjiiio the meriU of the ease. Historians vill decide upon tiiem in the future." ! r ■ •, rr, y 1 TMSVIXS GKIiMAX SOUTH WEST AITHCA.

Keeent cablegrann announced iliat a certain |!<irtion of (,'erman Alriea was to he occupied for ptratcgio purposes. T!\is (ti'Viuan possession is bounded on the west by tin- Atlantic, on tin' north by Angola, on tile south W tin) Capo province, ami on tile east by licohiianaland and lihodesia. It is tlif only Col-nun dependency in Africa suited to white colonisation. ]t has an area of about 322,450 square miles, and a population of Bantu negroes and Hottentots estimated in 1903 at 200,000. 'J'lio European inhabitants, in addition to the military, numbered 7110 in 1907, of whom the majority were German. Aa

the result of \v<ir with tho.natives, the nutive population greatly decreased, and ttie number of adult native males in the colony at the beginning of 1908 wag officially estimated at 10,900, a figure indicating a total population of iiltle more tluin 100,000. The northern part of the protectorate is known as Ovatnpoland, the central portion as Damara, or Ilerero Land, and the southern regions as Great Namaqualand. The immigration of Germans to German SouthWest Africa was encouraged by subsidies and in other ways. The chief industry is stock-raising. Minerals, especially copper, are plentiful in the country. In 1903 the value of the exports was £168,500, and that of the imporfs £388,210. The war with the natives led to a great shrinkage of exports, rendering the figures for 1904-1907 useless for purposes of comparison. About 85 per cent, of the imports were from Germany. The territory wa.i acquired by Germany during tho chancellorship of Bismarck. In Namaqualand and Damaraland, British influence, exercised from Cape Colony, had long been strong, ■ but the British Government had refused to annex tho country, even when asked to do so by German missionaries who labored among the natives.