The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-04-09
Resignation OF Colonel Sir Percy
Girouard Greatly Deplored
in England.
by Ia ,LARQUISE DE FONTENOY.

~ LA MANQtISE DE EONTF,NON.
@OLONEL SIR PERCY GIROUARD.
u who has just arrived In New
- York OH board the Olympic from
En- gland, resigned last year his COM
mission In the Corps OF Royal Engineers.
and his lucrative appointment gov
ernor and commander-in- chief OF the
huge British East African protectorate,
in order to make n very much larger
Income as director OF Armstrong.
/, Whitworth & Co, the great ordnance
and shipbuilding concern at ElswclS,
which is regarded as the British coun-
terpart OF Krupps, in Germany. His
resignation from the public service
was made the subject OF considerable
discussion In the English press last
year which deplored his loss TO the
state. ard the drain exercised by pri-
vate enterprises upon public service.
! Others who have left the government
employ to Join the Armstrong. Whit
worth Company have been Sir Andrew
Noble. assistant inspector of artillery
| at Woolwich Arsenal; Rear Admiral
Bacon, Rear Admiral Sir Charles Ott
ley. who was for several years naval
| attachc of the British embassy at
| Washington; Sir Trevor Dawson. Of
! the royal navy, and now quite recent
| ~ Admiral Sir Percy Scott. the gun
merry expert OF the British navy, and
the inventor OF all sorts OF devices in
| connection with ordnance. some or
them adopted by the United States
government
Sir Percy Girouard has had an extra
ordinarily brilliant career. Born on
this side Of the Atlantic as a son OF
Justice Desire Girouard, OF the SUI
preme Court OF Canada. and a lineal
descendant of Antoine Girouard. sec
rotary TO the Comte de RamcZay, who
was governor OF French Canada In
-. =,
tion at the Royal Military Academy
OF Kingston. in Canada. After gradu-
atlng from thence, he was for a tine
employed on the engineering staff OF
the Canadian Pacific Railroad. where
ne obtained practical knowledge OF
railroad engineering, which proved OF
value to him when later on he Joined
the British army. that being the one
branch of all others in which the Corps
OF Royal Engineers. to which he was
alta ched Was deficient
Within a few months after receiving
his commission in the Royal Engineers
he was intrusted with the traffic man
aGership of the railroad belonging to
. the immense Royal Arsenal at Wool
wich. There he had the good fortune
to attract the notice OF Lord Kitchener.
who at once pitched upon him rs the
one man OF all others suited to take
charge of the construction OF those
military railroads which were indis-
pensable 10 his plans for the recon
quest of the Soudan. Kitchener real
ICED that the Soudan could only be
regained by means OF railroad trans
port, a decision justified by subsequent
events. and although Girouard was at
the time hndcr thirty years OF age.
and a mere lieutenant OF Royal Engi-
neers. he left to him the entire task
, of planning. constructing and work
Ing about 1000 miles OF railroad,
under almost impossible conditions az
to stan. materials and money.
II was In particular the 2o1 miles OF
railroad construction between May apd
November i'll 1897, across the unknown
and waterless Nuban desert, dehouch-
ing on the Nile at Atbara which rem
dered possible the victories OF Atbara
and Omdurman. and the destruction of
! the power of the Mahdi For this
G!rouard received the thanks OF Parlia-
ment, his promotion TO a majority and
| several orders, besides the presidency
| of the Egyptian state Railroads and
TelcGraphs.
! On the outbreak of the South Afri-
! can War. and the dispatch OF Lord Kit
/ chener to tho Transvaal. he summoned
! Girouard to take charge of railroad
] transportation and construction there,
/ and contributed 80 much thereby to the
ultimate defeat Of the Beers that no
was knightod. and invested with the
/ star of the Order OF st. Michael and
ST. George.
| While in South Africa he fell In love
| with the daughter OF Sir Richard Solo
mon, the very wealthy legal advisor OF
the Transvaal administration. and
! married her After that he became
governor and commander In chief of
that vast African empire known as
British Nigeria, extending over an area
of half a million square miles, with
population OF about 100000. and
greatly developed the resources OF that
dependency by means OF the construc-
ton OF railroads. by tactful diploma
tic negotiations with native chiefs. and
by means OF eeveral very successful
armed expeditions. Thereupon he be-
came governor OF British East Africa
q position which he held when he re-
tired last year
1t Is Just rs well to admit that the
real reason why the body OF tho late
Iieutenant-Colonel Charles Nfeaking
has Just been exhumcd at the instance
Of the public prosecutor in England,
after reposins in the family tomb In
liver Church. near Windsor, for moro
than a year. ia because certain of