The Hawaiian gazette., 1900-03-20

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GENERAL j. ID. p. FRENCH.
General French's brilliant march
from Colesberg to Kimberley, his re-
lief of that town and mis- subsequent
advances have naturally made him for
the moment the most picturesque and
interesting leader in the British cam
paign in South Africa. Like his COM
chief, he Is an Irishman by
birth. He has more than once before
his recent success been compared with
that other dashing lrishman, General
Philip Sheridan, and now more than
ever the comparison comes to mind.
Major General George Arthur French
c. NJ. G., has been an officer In the
British army for just forty years. He
has served in the artillery and cavalry
and in various staff positions. One Oh
his greatest services before the present
war, and one for which he was decora-
ted, was when, in 1874, he hat
charge of an expedition of the North.
west Mounted Police from the Red
river to the Rocky Mountains. He was
made a Colonel for distinguished SER
vices other than in the field" His ar
my life has taken him to Australia and
India as well as Canada, and in all
these distant quarters of the globe his
military record has been without flaw
In the South African war he has from
the first been prominent figure, and
| Ii has only been regretted that large
| body of cavalry under his command
had not earlier been organized In
December and January he conducted
several successful engagements with
the Beers.
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from Pretoria, sends a dispatch to his
paper, dated Pretoria Gaol, March g
via Lorenzo Marquee, describing the
misleading news given the Beers by
their officials regarding the course of
the war.
He adds that great dissatisfaction
exists among the Beers, as their sup
plies of food, coffee, meat and sugar
are very irregular, and many threaten
to return home.
Suffering at Mafeking.
MAFEKING, Feb. 19.-Horse meat
now composes considerable part Of
our rations. There is little grumbling.
I ne first pinch of the siege is over, and
the town has settled grimly 10 stick it
out
What may be typhoid malaria has
broken out in the women's laager, and
dysentery, due to the absence of vege-
tables, is rife among the garrison.
Such luXuries as we had have been
commandeered for the hospitals, which
are filled to overiowing.
the childrens graveyard, close to the
women's laager, grows weekly as the
young lives are cut short prematurely
by shell and fever.
We look, for hope deferred. for re-
lief. The cheerfulness which was char
acterstic of the early days of the siege
has almost deserted us, the men prefer
ring to remain at their posts rather
than move about and work up an ap-
petite which can't be satisfied.
The natives are in the worst plight
Those who are unable to obtain work
are allowed a small handful of meal
daily. Many braving the danger wan
der about the town with gaunt hungry
faces in search of work, which entities
them to an extra ration of meal. If
they find work they are generally too
weak to perform It.
In their advanced positions the Beers
rake the streets and the market squares
/ II is impossible to dodge their bullets.
! We have taken remarkable precautions,
however, and the casualties, though
heavy, are not what they might have
| been had less able men been at the
head of affairs. Even the headquar-
ters mess fares scantily.
Two hundred and ninety-two persons
have been killed, wounded or died of
disease.
The garrison Is so small that it would
be criminal to make its weakness pub
lie, but there is never so much as a
whisper. If no one has suggested the
possibility of surrender 1t Is because
we do not mean to get beaten, and we
are cheerfully enduring hardships of
today rather than make surrender in
any degree possible tomorrow.
Cronje Goes to ST. Helena.
LONDON, March S.-The military au-
thoritles have decided that Gen. Cronje
and the other prisoners shall be sent
Immediately to the island OF St. Helena,
there to remain until the end OF the
war, Lord Roberts has chosen Lord
Bathurst colonel of militia at the front.
to command the escort 10 ST. Helena
which was last month placed in cable
communication with Capetown and
London, II Is also asserted that the
} cabinet resolved neither TO propose nor
TO entertain proposal at the present
juncture for an exchange OF prisoners
A Critic and Prophet.
LONDON, March s,-Spencer WIkln.
son In the Morning Post, says; Yester-