Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1900-05-11
WHY SHOULD THE SPIRIT OF ENGLAND
BE PROUD?


BE PR0UD7
When Virgil sang of arms and mon,
e had not heard of the British SOL
Ter. When we read of Wellington at
Waterloo we naturally suppose his
we're the only troops whom the French
net that day. but when we hear the
story of the English at Spion Kop and
Colenso, we very naturally wonder
these can be the sons of those
sires who were with Wellington and
who made possible the lines of Tenny
son, when he sang of the Iron Duke
"He that gained hundred fights,
Nor ever lost an English gun"
But now that it has come to light
that 10000 English were cooped up
and held in Ladysmith until they were
well nigh starved, by 1000 Beers. we
are more and more anxious concerning
questions of ancestry. If Virgil had
been inspired only by such feats as
the English were guilty of during that
long and memorable seige. these mar
tial lines would never have wearied
US nor any other dull boy at school.
The English went mad with delight
when 40, 0C0 of their soldiers after ten
days Of terrific fighting captured
Cronje and about 8 500 Of his soldiers.
But this the British admit was accom-
plished as one of their leading journals
puts it, "When their horses, mules and
oxen had all been killed, their camp
had become hideous charnel house,
their bread was exhausted, their meat
prutrid, and there was no chance for
them to break through the heavy cor
don which surrounded them" Sup
pose that Croje had had $4,000 men as
White had at Ladysmith and 1000
English had undertaken to hold him
in. what would the history Of the re-
suit have been? The London Daily
Mail would never have suffered from
various fits of pious devotion such as
headrd it's leading editorial on the
morning it announced the relief of
l.adysmith, which was, "Good tidinga
of great joy" Then it wrote, 1.-The
Almighty God, whose arm is strength,
has blessed the efforts of Gen. Butler q
army in Natal with complete victory
Complete victory indeed" says an.
other English writer, laughing at this
piece of hysteria. Complete victory
indeed, when the enemy renamed in
tact and quietly retired with all his
guns (save all injured one) to new
and stronger position. On the hilar-
ity of the English over Croje's surren
der, which was termed by Lord Rob.
erts as avenging Majuba Hill, an Eng
lish authority of great weight says
"Majuba, where 200 Beers defeated
$50 British soldiers nineteen years ago,
is now declared to be avenged, by the
defeat of 5000 Beers by 40, 900 British
troops under Gen. Roberts, and 1000
Beers by 10000 under Generals Butler
and White. 1t is now established that
eight British soldiers can capture one
Boer, and that six can compel him to
move himself and his cannon to q new
position"
We have been. much struck with
what an English army chaplain. Reg.
maid F. Collins, has said about these
much abused people, and he was with
them just after their victory at Spion
Kop. He says in part: "There was
a total absence of anything like exul
tation over what they must consider
military success. Not a word, not 9
look, not a gesture or sign that could
by the most sensitive of persons be
construed as display of their superb.
GRITTY. 1 can best convey the truth OF
this statement by repeating expires.
sions used by them, not once, but
again and again, by great numbers OF
them as they inspected the CHASTITY
piles of our dead: MY God what q
sight!' We hate this war. This wal
is accursed. Every day on our knees
we pray that God will bring this wal
to an end 1t is not our war, it il
the war of the millionaires. What
enmity have we with these poor fell
lows2' Would that Chamberlain
Rhodes and the millionaires could see
these trenches and graves. We all
hate war, we are men of peace, We
want 10 60 back to our farms and SOW
our seed and reap our fields. and not
make war. Good God when will il
end ?" This is the character Of ex.
pressions emanating from these PEG.
pie, says this English Chaplain. and
when the burial service was being read
by him they all stood around with un.
covered heads and all who could speak
English joined in ''Our Father who
art in Heaven" These are the people
the English are spending millions to
kill, while their subjects in India are
starving, and the private subscrip.
lions to furnish them food, in all Eng
land have not reached one hundred
thousand pounds. This is advancing
English civilization.
THE NATIONAL ABATTOIR.
Gen. Otis reports 1,721 Fillipinos