Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1886-02-06 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

INCIDENT OF THE BURMESE WAR. Mr. George William Roberts, confirmation of whose murder in Upper Burmah was received by the last Indian mail, was the eldest son of the late Mr. John D. Roberts, J.P. for the county of Pembroke. He was born in 1861, and received his Education at Merchant Taylor's School at Heidelberg. He went out to Burmah early in 1883, and, after acquiring a thorough colloquial knowledge of the language by living in a Buddhist monastery for several months, entered the service of the Bombay and Burmah Trading Company in November ot that year. He was at once stationed at Mingin, on the Chindwin River, in Upper Burmah, near the old British frontier, and remained there until his death, which is now known to have occurred on or about the 22nd of November last. At the commencement of the present war he was there with five other young Englishmen, all in the service of the same company, and, notwithstanding the orders sent them by the company's agent at Rangoon to retire on Mandalay, ihey resolved to remain at their posts. Young Roterts's private letters explain that, in consideration of the company's valuable interests at Mingin, and the groat care always shewn by it for its employes, they could not bring themselves to quit their post. They relied, also, in the event of being attacked, on their ability to defend themselves in the company's steam-launch, which, in view of such a contingency, they made bullet-proof, and stored with provisions sufficient to carry them northward to a point in the Chindwin River a few days' march from the friendly State of Munipore. Upon bearing of the outbreak of hostilities they actually took to the steam - launch with the idea of carrying out their original intention. On their way up stream they weie attacked from the banks, and their assailants told them that a steamer full of dacoits was on the way down to exterminate them. This turned out to be a ruse, for on retracing their course they very soon encountered a large armed steamer, which had been sent by King Thibau or his Ministers to massacre them at Mingin. The steamer hoisted a white flag and called upon the English lads to surrender. Three of them did so ; but the other three, Roberts, Allen, and Moncur, refused. In his letters to his family Roberts, while repeatedly making light of his being in danger, declared that if attacked he and Allen were resolved never to be taken alive. The steam-launch was consequently carried at a rush by a body of the King's men. Allen was at once cut down, and both Roberts and Aloncur were severely wounded and disabled. The Burmese were proceeding to tie them up as prisoners when both leapt overboard, .in the hope, perhaps, of reaching the shore. They were carried away by the force of the stream and drowned.  Judge Lefroy, addressing the grand jury at Newry quarter sessions, contrasted the peaceful state of county Down with the lawlessness prevailing in the South of Ireland, where boycotting was ruining trade and trampling upon the rights of rich and poor. That state of things was degrading the country in the eyes of all civilised nations, and he hoped the Government would put a stop to it without loss of time. Mr. Henry Tate, of London, formerly of Liverpool, has given a second donation of £lO,OOO towards the building fund of the new Homeopathic Hospital for Liverpol. Two members of the Tate family have given £l,OOO towards the endowment fund. The Government Inspectors from the Small Arms Factory, Enfield, on Friday, completed their inspection of the bayonets of the corps of Royal Marines at Chatham. Taken as a %bole, the inspection proved anything but satisfactory. Out of 150 bayonets belonging to one eompany, no loss than 75 wererejected. The officers of the corps, however, are of opinion that the system of testing adopted is too severe. They say that the main use of the rejection of the bayonetsis owing Rot so much to flaws in the met s 1 as to the fact that the gauge of the weapons has bean diminished by const.lnt bula;st; lug, etc.