The record-union., 1899-11-05


lead of the dailies in swelling on the
value of the friendship Of the United
States. The Spectator" says:
Apart from their feeling as kinsmen,
the Americans are, we believe, uni
versally aware that we saved them
from European Intervention during the
Spanish war. and would hail with de-
light the opportunity of paying off that
debt. That feeling, which is we'll
known on the Continent, tends to save
the European Foreign Offices from en-
tertaining rash suggestions.
The acceptance of the offers of Sir
William MacCormack, DR.. Frederick
Treves and other eminent civilian sur
geons for service in South Africa. has
drawn attention to the serious under
manning of the army medical staff.
The state of affairs is due doubtless to
only S5O which is 20 per cent. below
the figures of forty years ago, and
actually fifty officers below the abso-
lutte minimum decided upon in 1884
The state of fairs is due doubtless to
the insufficient compensation offered.
Deserters from both the army and
navy continue to give themselves up.
in order to be returned to their regi-
ments and ships for active service.
Scarcely a day passes without the Lon
don magistrates have to deal with q
half dozen or so cases of this character,
and as the deserterS walk out of the
dock in charge of a military escort,
they often turn to the magistrate with
hearty God bless you," or Thank
you, sir" Many of them come from
foreign countries, including the United
States.
Several small detachments of country
yeomanry are going out, independent
of the War Office, to the seat of war,
on the chance of joining the Imperial
Light Horse. Lord Lonsdale and Lord
Harris, both yeomanry officers, are aid
ing this movement.
The heavy losses among the British
officers in Natal has led the Military
Journal to suggest that the sword be
abolished not only on account of its
uselessness, but also because it's glitter
attracts the aim of an enemy and indi-
Gates the officer.
Her majesty, it is reported, has per-
sonally conveyed to Field Marshal LORD
Garnet Wolseley an expression of her
qualification at the manner in which
the whole military machine has worked
since it was first set in motion by the
Boer ultimatum, especially in the mat
ter of mobilization. Apparently the
Queen has not forgotten the existence
of the commander-in-chief, a lapse of
memory to which the public is now
rather prone, and which, so it is said,
the Marquis of Lansdowne committed
Intentionally.
Although agreeing that the mubiiZa-
ton, SO far as it has been carried, is
well done, the foreign military attaches
are anxious to see the effect of a more
severe test. Said one of them to the
correspondent of the Associated Press
to-day:
when England calls out a second
and third army corps, as / believe is
quite possible. it will be time enough
to say whether the mobilization system
is excellent, as at present seems to be
the case Should "a third corps ever be
wanted, I think you will find the per-
centage of reservists who answered the
first call reduced by nearly 81 per cent.
Although no orders have yet been re-
ceived for the commission of additional
warships, there is little doubt judging
from the activity on board them, that
the first-class protected cruisers AM
phitrite, Argonaut and Blake and the
second-class protected cruiser Charyb-
dis viii soon hoist the flag. In addition
to these there is now at Chatham a
powerful reserve fleet, consisting of two
battleships, three first-class cruisers
six secondclass cruisers, two third
class cruisers six torpedo boats, ready
for all eventualities.
The efforts of his continents to in
duce DR.. Gavin Brown Clark, liberal
member Of Parliament for Caithness-
shire to resign on account of his pro-
Boer attitude have thus far been fruit
less. Meanwhile DR.. Clark publishes q
letter received from the Transvaal Sec
retary of State, written the day the
Boer ultimatum was presented, in the
course of which Mr.. Reitz says that DR..
Clark's protests against the British ac-
tion has been like ':the voice of one
crying in a wilderness of jingoism, race
hatred and militarism''
Lord Hilingdon of the banking house
of Glynn, Mills & Co., in a recent ad-
dress before the Institute of Bankers
said that the increase in the Transvaal
gold output for the year ended August
3lst amounted to more than f30O0,00O
He said he believed the worlds gold
production during the present year
would be nearly thrice as great as it
enormous proportion of the gold fields
of f1n ovid -,
he congratulated the bankers upon the
fact that the Venezuelan boundary
award had added to Great Britain's
share almost the whole of the extern
sive gold fields of that region.
Mrs. Iangtry, on learning of the cir
culation of reports representing that
she and her husband, Hugo De Battle,
had separated, sent the following dis
patch to the Associated Press:
Such rumors are prepoSterous
Please contradict in both our names.
My husband is taking the cure at AK,
and | will return to London in a fort
night. We are looking forward to my
American tour"
just previous to the close of nom
nations for the Lord Rectorship of the
University of Aberdeen the students
persuaded Sir Edward Grey, Liberal
member of Parliament for Berwick on
Tweed and for Under Secretary of State
for Foreign Affairs, to oppose the can
didacy of Lord Strathcona and Mount
Royal, the Canadian High Commission
er. Sir Edward now announces his
withdrawal, on the ground that the con-
test should not be conducted on politi-