The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-12-29
CAPERS.

General Gatacre who suffered such d
defeat at the hands of the Beers, is
trying to recover lost prestige by a per-
formance of a very sensational and
grotesque sort. He is essaying to play
a game after the Infamous Weyler in
Cuba, and he will probably succeed in
making himself as ridiculous as the
Spanish fellow did, and share to some
extent in an infamy not unlike that
which is associated with the name of
Weylef henceforth. General Gatacre
is not an "amOOsing cuss," but he is a
poor imitator of vicious methods. He
can not lick the Beers so he will out
rage and punish non-combatants. He
has issued an order the intent of which
is to suppress the widespread and fast
growing rebellion in South Africa.
He requires that all farmers shall be
corralled near troops. All males over
twelve years of age living outside of
towns and within twelve miles of the
British troops must move or form a
camp, and provide at the same time
for their own needs. The place of con-
c~entration is to be selected by the
British commander. Every one found
in the specified territory without a pass
is to be arrested. And that is Gata-
~cre's way COPIED from Weyler) to put
an end to the rebellion" 1t is most
.disgraceful and shows he is hard up.
He is the poor soldier who was entrap-
ped or 10th December, at Stormberg
and we'll thrashed, be losing 700 men.
The North Cape Colony is in open re-
volt and his British Weyler seeks
fame by such capers. A Cape Town
cablegram of 18th inst to New York
World says:
1.-The British generals order has an
almost exact historical parallel in the
action of the Spanish general, Butch
err Weyler, when captain-general of
Cuba, and engaged in a last desperate
ruthless effort to stamp out the insur-
rection.
The notorious Weyler concentration
order. as all men know, bore tragic
fruit, consigning hundreds
of human beings to literal starvation
and completely proStrating the indus
tries of the whole island. The frightful
results of that order led to intervention
by this country and ultimately to the
war that wrested Cuba from her de-
spoilers.
In the light of these facts, the con-
centration order issued last week by
General Gatacre assumes great import
ance. What will it's result be in cape
SOIOlly IN oPO
pear nations?"
The Washington Post says of this
British copyist of the very worst Span
ish methods for subjugation that some
how failed to subjugate:
Among the various persons and in
situations that stand in sad need of a
consulting humorist, the British Gen
eraI Gatacre appears to be especially
conspicuous. This no doubt gallant
and worthy officer, who began a cam
paign by having his baggage marked
s.Pretoria, via Cape Town." n who
innocently expected to join General
Ruller at that christmas dinner in the
Transvaal capital" has just issued a
proclamation very similar to the fam
Gus concentrate edict of Weyler in
Cuba. Il
1--WE do not say that General Gatacre
is unable to enforce his somewhat
large and ~pretentious order. Very like
lv he may be. But a really earnest n
nainstaking humorist would have ada
vised the general to make that fact
clear to the outside world. which at
Dresent knows of him only as a COM
mander who has recently received a
sound thrashing from a vastly inferior
force of Beers, and who, at last ac-
counts. was in imminent danger of
scapture. if not of total determination"
Tt is a great pity that Samuel Butler
no longer lives. This British Weyler
would supply him with additional ma
terial for a new edition of "Hudibras,'
and Chamberlain, Cecil Rhodes, and
some others would add no little to the
rich gallery of portraits that the cum
ming hand of Butler painted for all
time for the English.