The Warwickshire Herald. — 1894-10-18 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

THE REBELLION IN WITU.  A correspondent at Witu writes: With the trial and sentence to 10 years' imprisonment on August 14th of Mahathi Bin Taws, a Somali, and Suliman Bin Abdalla, a Muscat Arab, and three of their chief followers, the dramatic incidents commencing with the murder of eight German traders, and closing with the taking of Sofarch and sentence on the rebels who held it, are at an end, and there are now no internal foes left to disturb the peace of the Witu Protectorate. The prisoners made a very able defence, but admitted being present when the town was captured. It was also proved that the prisoners were present when Lieutenant St. Aubin Wake was shot in the leg. It was also proved that the town was very strongly barricaded and fortified, and that the storming party had discovered 23 barrell of gunpowder and other stores of ammunition. The capture of Sofarch was very ably planned and carried out. Captain Rogers, with 40 Nubians, guided by a rebel deserter, made a night march and formed an ambush in the undergrowth, close to the town. When the gate was opened in the morning a dash was made and an entrance effected. It was in this rush that Lieutenant Wake was shot in the leg, and he has since suffered the amputation of that limb. Had it not been for this surprise little headway could have been made against the rebels, as Captain Rogers had no artillery and the town was unusually strongly fortified. Suliman Bin Abdalla is a notorious rebel. He took part in the first Witu rebellion, but escaped from the naval expedition. He was afterwards captured and taken to Zanzibar, but he escaped from the island, and started the recent insurrection, which necessitated Captain Linley's expedition. Though Mahathi was the nominal lead. r of the present revolt, Suliman was always recognised as being the chief instigator of the troubles. It is now expected that the prosperity of Witu will increase rapidly. The soil is very fertile and well cultivatel, and the number of plantations formed by the clearing of the bush is rapidly increasing. A large band of Somalis are now said to be congregating on the outskirts of the Protectorate, preparatory to an attack. Captain Rogers, with the force of Nubians,has already made one sortie, but the enemy was not discovered. All precautions, however, have been taken, and it is expect d that shortly they will be attacked and defeated, doubtless with the result that in future they will find it more profitable to tend their own herds than confiscate those of their neighbours.  In Tullamore a lad named Patrick Rigney was severely bitten by a mad cat which he found beside a dead cat on the roadside. He succeeded at length in choking the animal, but received six severe bites. He will be sent to the Pasteur Institute in Paris for treatment.  Peter Pettigrew, 18, was remitted to the High Court at Glasgow, on Monday, for breaking open letter boxes. In one of the letters alleged to have been stolen by him was a bill of exchange for £375, with which he endeavoured to negotiate a loan for £5O. The loan office, however, became suspicious, and put the police on his track. He was arrested at a Glasgow jeweller's shop, where he was making purchases, and tendering a stolen cheque in payment.  Practical.—Mr. James Payn, speaking of individual interpretations of general rules, says that, in going the rounds one night with the officer on guard at one of the English dockyards, he heard the original views of the Irish sentry on this point. "If you see a convict escaping," said the officer, "what is it your duty to do?" "Sure, sir, and I'm not to fire till the last extremity." "Quite right. But what would you consider the last extremity to be?" "Just round the corner of the dockyard there, sir," was the practical reply