BOTHA'S BRILLIANT TASK.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 July 1915, Page 3

BOTHA'S BRILLIANT TASK.

JX' (iERMAJf iSOCTIi-WJ'iST AL'IUCA "THE LOYAL COURSE." j 'A [VALUABLE COUNTRY. j The operations of General Botha' j forces m German South-west Africa, which have just ended so brilliantly,! were undertaken as soon as the failure| of the Boer revolt was assured. Genera!i I'otha himself took command of the] operations, which he conducted with ad-1 niirable skill. At the outset of the cam- j paign GYncml Botha deiende't llis policy] : m an eloquent speech, lie said that he was animated by a true and sincere low of his .people and stood back for no man in his patriotism ;to South Africa; and he wished them clearly to understand that there were only two courses open —one, that of loyalty and help, and the other that of disloyalty and treason. There was no middle course, and whoever said there was was trying to mislead them. Which course did tiiey intend taking. They must give him a straightforward answer. (Loud crii'sj of "We want the loyal course; you have done the right thing.") i The General denounced the neutrality party, who advocated sitting with folded. arms until German South-west Africa fell into their lap like a l'ipc apple. They should be proud that the Imperial Government had asked the Union Gov- . eminent to undertake this task. The | imperial Government was determined re--1 garding South-west Africa, and, if the Union had not done its share, the Imperial Government might have sent 50,001) Indians, as they would have been perfectly, justified ill do in#, and told these Indians that, after the war was over, they could make an Indian settle-' nient, there. Would that have been in tire, interest of the L'niour (Cries of "No.") Or the Imperial Government j might have naked the Australians or J have called for volunteers from amongst j English South Africans, and they.' would have got them. But no; the 1m l penal Government had asked the Union I to do the work, and he was proud toj have been asked. J General Botha assumed the command I of the troops, and had the support of!

veteran generals, including Viljoen and , Koen Uritx. In the Senate the •Trinu* I Minister hud, in September, moved a resolution affirming th'e righteousness I of the war and the desirability of the i Union's co-operation, both in its own j interests and for the security and integ- ' l'ity 04. tile Empire. There Were, he i said, only two possibilities—one to follow i the path of ''faith, duty, and honor," ! and the other to take the path of dis- ! honor and disloyalty, which would | "blacken us for ever in the eyes of all nations." No honorable course was open but to be ''faithful and true to the Imperial Government.'' In undertaking operations against German Sonth-wl'st Africa, said (ieneral Botha, the Union was cooperating in the manner desired iby the Imperial Government, which had offered, if necessary, to finance the Union to the extent of .1*7,000',300. General Botha also said that the question of a gilt in kind from South Africa to the British Army in tile field was under discussion. The operations, begun by General Botha at Walfisch Bay, were continued with uninterruptedi success. Across stony and sandy 1 wastes, where the meagre water supplies had been poisoned, through mine-sown scrub, and over country particularly adapted to defensive warfare, the Union troops steadily ad- | vanned, capturing the railway mile by I mile, taking Windho'ek, the capital, pracI tically without firing a shot, and driving ! the Germans and their native allies eastward and northward, until the great | triumph now recorded was made certain. It is not definitely known how many men were available for the defence of German South-west Africa; one estimate] places it as high as ten thousand, fully equipped with artillery, machine-guns, and unlimited supplies of ammunition It is probable that this estimate is excessive, but it cannot be questioned that the troops in the colony were ready for an extensive campaign. They had plenty of experience in that class of warfare while repressing the Herero revolt, and th'e only thing they lacked was ability to reinforce.