Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-12-01
England is Still Having a Lively Time
in South Africa.
BRITISH OFFICERS BAD MANNERS
A Cause Of Offense to the Self
Respecting CoIoniaIs.
OTHER TIMELY TOPICS
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.


LONDON. November 81, 1900.
A British general in the Transvaal a few
days ago, when it was stated in his pres
ence that the war was over. said: THE war
is overall but the shooting
That is what the British people are begin
ming to think. and they are tired of hear
ing of fruitless chases of De Wet, and ri
| fling battles, when they have been told that
the war Is over. When Pretoria was taken
the war was over! The end is duly an
nounced every other day by some hopeful
British newspaper. but it is something like
the negro's pig that he could not count; it
won't stay over. No sooner is it stated
that 1.-The end has now come than the
Beers raid some town, or capture a British
convoy or train, destroy a railway or sur
prise and take a company of soldiers.
1t will probably surprise most people to
learn that during the last six weeks there
have been battles of more or less impor-
lance in which the British have suffered at
no less than forty-eight places in the Trans
vaal, at thirty of which the British have
had men killed as we'll wounded, and at
forty places in the Orange State, at twenty
OF which loss of life was incurred. Besides
these battles were fought at three places
IN cape Colony, at two of which lives were
lost.
All Over the Two States.
These lightweight battle grounds in the
two conquered states range from the bot
tom of the Orange State to as far north as
towns go in the Transvaal and cover every
portion in the two states.
The list is not exhaustive, for numerous
skirmishes have been reported so vaguely
that 1t is impossible to locate them But
the elshty-eight places noted reveal the
ublqulty of the Boer resistance, fact not
ha BRIT icI
1t is probably true that we are not get
ing correct information about the progress
OF events in South Africa especially now
that the bulk Of the correspondents have
come home.
Besides this, far less interest is taken in
the war now. The people are tired of it
and to them it must be over
British Officers Bad Manners.
A very lively newspaper and magazine
discussion IS going on now over the repul-
sive manners of the average British Off
Ger. There is no imputation on his bravery
which is beyond question: indeed, he is so
reckless that the soldiers have said of their
officers: He was going in for the V C.
and we had to follow him and were "a n
tured.'' 1t is his detestable superciliousness
that has disguised all who are not of the
military caste who have come in contact
with him. l do not say all officers have
bad manners, but so many have that it
stamps the caste. No one has noticed this
'haw haw' style of the one-eyeglassed Off
Ger quite as much the colonials upon
whom the irksomeness of army discipline
mas pressed very hard To their suprere
disgust they have been ordered about by
incompetent youths with commissions and
locked down on colonials by men who
had not 1.-THE of their brain power l al
most think that more harm than good has
been done to the empire by the mixing of
the colonials with the soi-dissant superior
Englishman. Like as not hundreds of
10 hcx, hha ,rrfy-z
the latter to the patriotic and sensitive New
Zealander or Australian who has gone
home with a bad taste in his mouth.
Always Causes Friction.
Americans can never forget that though
not a cardinal cause of trouble between
the mother country" and the American
colonies, yet this same superciliousness that
is rife today among the English was re-
sponsible for more bitterness than any one
really knows
His Overvyeening Self-Esteem.
A private of the New Zealand mounted
contingent is stung into writing the fol-
lowing: IF anything is calculated to annoy
and make colonial soldier fit himself for
brigade court-martial it is that conde-
scending stare of Sandhurst and Woolwich,
and the Look heah, my man., style of Or
der. In my opinion, colonial officers have
learned nothing about irregular warfare
from imperial officers. but if the imperial
officers are not too naughty to learn, they
could be taught something about the treat
ment of men under their command.
THE British officer is as brave as he ever
was. AIRY one who saw Sanna's Post, the
Majuba trick at Sligersfontein. Kip River,
or Waterfall escape must acknowledge that
he is as good fighting as his an
cestors, but a very great proportion of him
is not gentleman. He is gaZetted as such,
l own and he is clean and neat and well
hn II hn 4, 10 inr,
club English, a kind of midway course be-
tween the dialect of his soldiers and the
reaI language. His colonial brother is in
his idea in no wise an equal because he
speaks English she is written, and is not
so insufferably naughty. The colonial
would not consider it beneath his dignity
to speak pleasantly to a mere man, and to
treat him occasionally as a human being,
and not as an inanimate object that con-
sumed so much biscuit and bully beef and
fired so many rounds
This is only one out of many who will go
back to his far home with contempt in his
heart for his fellow-subject who lives nearer
the throne
Great Brftafn's Census.
AS the enormous figures of the United
States census have only recently been pub
lished you may be Interested to learn that
the officials here are actively engaged in
preparing for the census of the united king
dom on March 81 next. The people of Great
Britain will be counted simultaneously with
those of Ireland, and in each case the ar
rangements will be Identical lines, ex-
cept that Ireland will have religious GER
sus and the rest of the kingdom will not.
When the last census was taken, ten
years ago, England and Wales were par
celed out into $4,000 districts. This time.
owing to the increase in the population, the
number of districts will be nearly 5000,
each of which will have an enumeration.
whose duty it will be to distribute, collect and
copy householders' schedules. Institutions
and establishments holding more tnan 100
Inhabitants will be specially enumerated IN
the majority of cases by resident officers.
When the results of the last census be-
came known it was discovered that the
population of England and Wales was some
three-quarters of million short of the eff
cial estimates This time the official esti-
mate of the population of Great Britain and>
Ireland is 1,259. 507. or an advance of
g. 526, 1856, since the census of 1891. 1t re-
mains to be seen whether this time the OIL
eial estimates will be under or above the
mark.
Town and Gown at Oxford.
A very curious condition of affairs has
arisen at Oxford, where the traditional con-
nd NM &c .ay.