THE BOER WAR.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVII, Issue 46, 16 November 1899, Page 4

THE BOER WAR.

THE BUTCHER'S BILL THUS FAR.

An ex-military man, writing in tha Lyttelton Times, has compiled from the cables the losses sustained by both sid^s in killed, wounded and prisoners, from the commencement of hostilities until Thursday of last week. The estimates are far from accurate, still they give a very good idea of the deadly character of modern warfare, compared with that of even half a century ajo. The total losses are — British: killed, 638 ; wounded, 1296 ; prisoners, 1007 ; total, 2941. Boers : killed, 1760; wounded, 3512; prisoners, 1400; total 6672. The loss from actual casualties (killed and wounded) are — British, 1934; Boers, 5272 ; total casualties, 7206.

LYDDITE SHELLS.

The cable messages inform us from time to time that the British forces in South Africa are u>ing Lyddite shells with terrible effect on the Boer ranks. As very little is known of this apparently new explosive, the following account by a military authority will be of interest : — Lyddite derives its name from the village of Lydd, in Kent, vi here there is a Government artillery range, at which the first experiments were made. The explosive is a form of picrio aoid, which is brought to a liquid form, and poured into the shell whilst hot. The acid is allowed to solidify, and at once becomes an explosive of extraordinary hi^h power. It has the great advantage over dynamite that it can be handled with perfect safety, a characteristic which differentiates it from the high explosives used by most of the European powers. The French, especially, who have adopted melinite, have had several disastrous accidents due to the sensitiveness of that compound. When the Lyddite has solidified in the shell, the projectile is fitted with a base fuse and powerful detonator. The fuse can be timed to explode the shell at any part of its flight with the greatest accuracy, while the shell will explode independently of the fuse if it strikes a rock or even a bank of hard earth. If it strikes soft earth it buries itself for a considerable distance, and then becomes a kind of mine, which explodes by the action of the fuse, and causes havoc to any troops who may be near. A peculiar property which Lyddite possesses is that it breaks an ordinary shell into many hundreds of fragments, and distributes destruction over a far wider area than the common type of projectile. But while the shell itself is a terrible instrument of destruction, the gun by which it is fired has' also been brought to a condition of precision which is little short of marvellous. Lyddite shells are fired from breech-loading howitzers, with a very high trajectory, and the howitzer batteries are supplied with range-finders that enable the commanding officer, after the first two or three shots, to drop shells one after another, within a circumference of ten yards, even at a range of two and a-half miles. This extraordinary accuracy is obtained by means of ' observers,' placed to the right and left of the battery, with instruments connected toy telephone to the officer commanding. As each shot is fired the officer in charge directs* the range-finder upon the spot where the Bhot lodges. The range-finder gives the angle that the shot makes with their position, and the angles are telephoned at once to the officer commanding the battery] By the use of 'plane tables' and a sliding rule, he is enabled to calculate the exact range at onoe, and the guns are so accurate that he can then drop his shells upon any point that he likes up to a range of 4000 yards, and even further. The high trajectory of the howitzer has a special and startling use, because fortifications, whether natural or artificial, are no defence against it. The Lyddite shell simply soars over the top of the rocks or earthworks behind which the enemy in sheltering and explodes upon their heads.

THE CAPE PARLIAMENT.

Roughly speaking (writes T. P. O'Connor in M.A.PJ) the Cape Parliament consists mainly of lawyers, doctors, and farmers, with a sprinkling of merchants, three journalists, and two or three exmilitary men. Dr. Berry is the Speaker. Dr. Te Water is a Minister without portfolio. Dr. Rutherford Harris is one of the members for Kimberley. Dr. Hoffman is prominent by the rabid anti-British spirit he from time to time displays. Dr. Smartt is an ex-Minister, and Dr Smuts is a well-known Africander supporter of Rhodes, as also is Dr. Vanes. The Hon. W. P. Schreiner, Q.C., the Premier, who is accused of siding with the Boers, is a wellknown legal light, as also are the Hon. R. Solomon (A.ttorneyGeneral), and the Hon. J. Rose-Innes, who was once wittily described as a man with a great future behind him. The Hon. J. W. Saver, Commissioner, is another lawyer, as is his supporter, J. C. Molteno. Major Tamplin, Q.C., is a supporter of the Opposition, and Mr. Advocate Sampson, the member for Albany, is another. Agriculture claims about fifty per cent, of the members, and there are at least three whose profession one could describe as ' millionaires.' Journalism is represented by Mr. F. Y. St. Leger, the late editor of the Cape Tivw.s, and Mr. Edmund Garrett* the present occupant of the editorial chair ; whilst Mr. B. H. Walton, the member for Port Elizabeth, holds a similar position on the Eastern Province Herald.

A JOHANNESBURG EDITOB.

Mr. Monypenny, the editor of the Johannesburg Star, who escaped arrest in the Transvaal by bolting over the border and getting safe into British territory, is an Ulster man, a native of Armagh, educated at Dungannon, and afterwards at Trinity College, whence he went to Oxford. Mr. Monypenny was on the staff of the London Times before he went out to South Africa, and when he went there he became correspondent to the Times as well as editor of the Johannesburg Star.

THE BBITISH AGENT AT PRETORIA.

One of the most onerous posts in South Africa of late has been that of British agent at Pretoria, which has been ably filled by Mr. Conyngham Greene, an Irishman. Born nearly 45 years ago, he is the eldest eon of Mr. R. J. Greene, and the Hon. Louisa, fourth daughter of the third Baron Plnnkett. In 1881 he married Lily, fifth daughter of the Earl of Courtown. Educated at Harrow and Pembroke College, Oxford, he entered the Diplomatic Service in 1887, and since 1896 has officiated as British agent at Pretoria. Mr. Greene was in Pretoria when war was declared.