The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-01-29

war office forever afterward. That regis
ter is probably the most democratic roll In
Great Britain for upon 1t the names OF
mobiles and highly placed officers pre-
cede and follow those of lowly prtvates
and drummer boys, the one as much hon.
cred as the other.
There have been erasures from that
roll, but they can be made only by d.
rect order of the queen, who decides per-
sonally all cases where charges are made
against v. G. men. Treason, cowardice,
felony or any infamous crime are the
causes for which former hero can lose
his place in the register. The queen says
in her warrant: we, our heirs and suo-
cessors shall be the judges of expulsion
or restoration
winning a Victoria cross means
pension of $50 year from the date Of the
act for which the cross Is bestowed.
Then, in cases where the holders of the
cross become deserving of 1t once more,
clasp is added, and each clasp means
an increase of $40 year in the pension.
OF course, dishonorable conduct on the
part Of a v. c. man deprives him Of his
pension, as we'll as his place on the reg
ister'' .,..
The number of crosses bestowed IS kept
down by a strict observance of the
specification which the queen made in her
original warrant in 1885, and made em-
phatic by another in 1881, that the cross
should be given not on account OF frank,
nor long service, nor. wounds, nor any
other service. circumstance or condition
save the, merit Of conspicuous bravery"
Politics, said the officer, never is allowed
to play part In the matter.
BASED ON BRAVERY.
The queen arranged for the establish
ment of the cross in 1856, the nineteenth
year of her reign, and signif1ed IN an
other royal warrant in 1857 that crosses
would be distributed to officers and men
who had distinguished themselves in the
insurgent wars in New Zealand. In 1851
a second royal warrant had made MEM
bers Of the East India service eligible,
und In 1881 came third warrant, making
stronger the phrase Conspicuous BRAY,
cry and stating that the warrant was
issued as some doubts had arisen" as to
the exact qualification for the cross.
Although no official statement has been
made on the subject, 1t ls fair to assume
that Lord Wolseley has already decided
on few, at least, Of the Y. c. winners
of the Transvaal war Winston Churchill
has been declared by the public to be de-
serving of one for his efforts in behalf of
was attacked; Trumpeter Sherlock, the
boy who shot three Beers with a re-
volver and whose example every Eng
fish boy is dying to emulate-some Of
them having run away from school with
that project in mind-has established a
clear claim to one vei'sa
More people than he himself will be
disappointed If the 'bugler boy of
Elandslaagte" is not made V. c. The
story Of his deed has travelled faster than
his name, but he is true to the type OF
Napoleon's drummer boy, who didn't
know how to beat retreat. - Attached
to the Gordon Highlanders, who seem al
ways to be prowling around when there
is any storrning of heights to be done.
be 1t In Europe, Asia or Africa, he and
they mounted the slope-at the crest OF
which the Beers had their stronghold
all cheering Justify and driving every
thing before them until they reached the
summit, with the Devons, Manchesters
and Imperial Light Horse at their heels,
when suddenly a bugle call rang out,
Cease firing! Retreat True, it was
Beer trick and Boer trumpet that
was being winded to demoralize the red
coats" but they didn't know it. The
British soldier is a machine, who obeys
without thinking, and he did cease fir
ing and was about to retreat when his
pint-measure chap jumped into the
breach.
PLUCKY BUGLER.
Retreat be d-dr' he screamed, and
then lifting his bugle and putting his
whole heart into one blow, he sent the
"Charge!' rocketing over the hill. Some
of the men heard the swear" and all
heard the bugle. They charged and the
Boer line was split and shattered.
1t was drummer who had the honor
to be the youngest man who ever wore
the Victoria Cross. His name was Mich
ael Magner, and his chance came at the
storming Of Magdala, under Lord Ma
pier, in Abyssinia. The path leading
TO the gate Of the fortress was filed
with obstacles, and the defenders Of the
gate were pouring a whitening fire over
1t. Led by the drummer boy a small
party climbed the hill by a cfrcuitous
path, forced their way through breast
work of thorns and engaged the enemy,
beating them back. Then the main
body of the army advanced and the
works were taken. The drummer boy
was one of the first to enter.
Then there is Corporal Farmer, whom
everybody knows as Farmer, of Majuba
Hill He was a member of the army hos
pital corps. and, of course, it was his
business to look after Colleys men III
that CHASTITY massacre. Corporal Farmer
and his comrades had gathered the
wounded men together in little hollow
of the hill, for shelter, but the Beers
were pouring bullets in everywhere, and
| the wounded soldiers were being wound
ed a second time. Farmer found white
flag and waved 1t over the little group,
when ball passed through his flag arm
| He said, Never mind. I've got another
! and lifted the flag again in his left hand
| when that was shot through, too. Then
| he fell, only few yards away from Gen
Colley. i've got tired telling the story
he said to me last night, when I asked II
| he would put 1t in his own words He
| is assistant doorkeeper at the Criterion