The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1901-01-10
THURSDAY. JANUARY 10, 1901.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN SITUATION

The Manchester IN. H. Mirror and
Farmer, commenting on the war in
the Transvaal, says:
at was many months ago when the
British army jauntily embarked for
South Africa and its commander in
formed the world that he would eat his
Christmas dinner in Pretoria. 1t went
to subjugate small country whose
male inhabitants Of military age did
not number $4,000; nation of farmers,
whose fertile fields and recently dis
covered gold mines were coveted by
English spectators. Since then more
than 100000 soldiers i'm the queens
uniform have been sent to take part in
the conquest and war has continued at
a cost to the British treasury of half a
billion dollars, and of those soldiers
more than 10000 have been killed in
action, died of disease or been perma-
pently disabled by wounds.
"At the beginning the invaders were
everywhere outgeneraled and out
fought, but changes in commanders,
constant and large reinforcements and
steady advances, regardless of cost,
have resulted in what are declared to
be glorious victories, in the capture of
the farmers towns, the killing of many
of the leaders, the exhaustion of their
resources, the breaking up of their
armies, and the destruction of their
government. They are no longer able
to resist i'm the open field and Lord
Kitchener and his cohorts march at
will over the conquered territory,
which is already decreed is to be an
pexed to Britain. But the end is not
yet.
parliament has been called together
weeks before the usual time at a most
announcement season because the ap
preparations for the war have been ex.
hausted and more must he voted be-
cause, further, the progress of events
in South Africa cause much anxiety
opinion of the ministers the war, which
is now costing about million dollars O
day, must go on indefinitely. Nor is
the sacrifice of men and money the
worst feature. The burghers who have
survived the conflicts in the open field
do not surrender or give any intlma
tion that they will accept the yoke q
the conquerers of their country. With
the dissolution of their army they have
formed small bands of irregulars who
conceal themselves i'm the mountains
appear without warning to shoot the
British troops and seize their stores
and then dash back to their retreats il
safety. These men, rendered desperate
by their losses, determined to sell theil
lives as dearly as possible, well armed
fairly well supplied with ammunition
familiar with the ground, and alert and
skillful, are terrible foes with which
even an army of 100000 men, backed
by all the resources of the empire
cannot cope, while their families and
friends upon the farms supply them
with food and forage. Therefore Lord
Kitchener has adopted the reconcen
tration tactics, which the infamous
Weyler applied in Cuba. The women
and children are driven from theiI
homes in the country into the towns tc
exist as best they can or perish, the
farm buildings are burned, the crops
destroyed and the land laid waste In
order that the men In the mountain
may be starved into submission.
"As one correspondent says, this il
not soldiers work, for they abhor and
detest it, but it is the work to which
Britain's soldiers are being put by their
officers, for the glory Of our gracious
queen and the enrichment of q gang
of titled robbers; and all in the name
of Christianity and civilization. Who
wonders that 'the progress of events in
South Africa causes much uneasines.
and anxiety?'"