South Africa

DOMESTIC ANNOUNCEMENTS

3 October 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BODLEY, Mrs. J. H., Kimberley, August 29.
COWEN—On September 26, at Eaglehurst, Sidmouth, the wife of Charles A. Cowen, Esq., of Bulawayo, South Africa.
HUGHES, Mrs. W. T. Johannesburg, August 23.
ROBERTS, Mrs. R., Kimberley, August 27.
SMITH, Mrs. J. J. Kimberley, August 28.
SUSMAN—On Monday, September 28, at Ravenscourt, Alexandra Road, St. John’s Wood, the wife of Louis Susman (Fort Salisbury).
WAYLAND, Mrs. W. H. Kimberley, August 24.

DAUGHTERS

Beckett, Mrs. J. C., Grahamstown, August 28.
BENSON—On September 2, at Barberton, Transvaal, the wife of Harry W. Benson.
DU PLESSIS, Mrs. G., Oudtshoorn, August 29.
JEANES, Mrs. J., Johannesburg, August 21.
THOMAS, Mrs. W. J., Johannesburg, August 23.
THORPE, Mrs. W., Johannesburg, August 29.

MARRIAGES

MORICE-ROBERTS—On September 2, at the Cathedral Pretoria, by the Rev. Canon Fisher, D. D. Andrew, youngest son of the late David Robert Morice, Aberdeen, to Alice Mary, seventh daughter of Alexander Roberts, D.D., Professor of Humanity in the University of St. Andrews.
NOEL-BEILBY—On September 2, at St. Mary’s, Johannesburg, by the Rev. E. P. Darragh, M. A., assisted by the Rev. R. Baumgarten, M. A., Lieut.-Colonel W. F. N. Noel, R.E., Eldest son of Colonel E. A. Noel, of the Outwoods, Derbyshire to Laura Carolena, only daughter of the late C. H. Beilby, Esq., and niece of Robert Jameson, Esq., of Eastella, East Yorkshire.
POWELL, T.—POOK, E. M. A., - Barberton, August 22.
SHARP, W.—HODGSON, F.—Johannesburg, August 25.
VAN BREDA, P. G.—LEIBBRANDT, M. C. M.—Cape Town, September 1.

DEATHS

CANNON, Mrs. E. J., Kimberley, August 24, aged 32.
FRASER, M., Johannesburg, August 21, aged 33.
HORSFORD—On August 31, at the Military Hospital, Mafeking, South Africa, Knightley O’Bryen Horsford, aged 26.
HOWELL, J., Johannesburg, August 21, aged 39.
MCKINNON, Mrs. M. Barberton, Aug. 24, aged 31.
MESHAM—On September 27, at 14, Carlisle Mansions, S.W., widow of Arthur Mesham.
PRINCE—On September 25, at the Vicarage, Norton St. Philip, in her 60th year, Georgina Janet, wife of J. S. Prince, Esq., of 8, Cornwall Mansions, S.W., second daughter of the late Thomas Pownall Pellew Barrow, Captain Royal Navy.
REYNOLDS, Miss E. M. Britstown, August 21, aged 22.
TARR, J., Clumber, August 26, Aged 84
TILNEY, T., Grey Town, September 1, aged 50.
WILLIAMS, E., Kimberley, August 30, aged 48.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

The death is announced of John G. Radford at the Hospital, Johannesburg, where he had been a patient for some weeks. Mr. Radford founded the Diamond Fields Advertiser, in which venture Mr. W. Roper, the present proprietor, afterwards joined him as co-proprietor. About nine years ago the partnership was dissolved, deceased retiring from the business, and he shortly afterwards took up his abode on the Rand, where he was engaged as a printer for some years previous to his death.

JURIES AND POLICE

At the close of the Johannesburg Criminal Sessions lately, Mr. Justice Ameshoff, having thanked the jurymen for their attendance and the way they had performed their duties, remarked on the length of the criminal roll which had just been dealt with. He thought it rather unfair that so small a number of jurymen should have been summoned to do so much work. Speaking of the Wanderers’ case, that of the State against Maurice and others, his Lordship said that when one looked at the case from an impartial and unprejudiced point of view, one could only come to the conclusion that the behaviour of the police on the occasion in question was far from praiseworthy. They appeared to have an absolutely wrong conception of what a policeman’s duty ought to be. No doubt this was due to the fact that it had been deemed wise at Johannesburg not to employ the same methods of selection as were in vogue in other civilized countries. This sentiment of desiring to employ only burghers in the service of the State the learned Judge could understand. But the majority of the burghers had not had a fitting training for the duties entrusted to them. He would, however, advise that in the future burghers should receive a proper preliminary training at the least.

At the Cape Town Synagogue House, recently, the Rev. A. P. Bender, the Rabbi, was presented by the members of the Cape Town Jewish Boys’ and Girls’ Guild with a magnificent floor lamp, as a token of their esteem and appreciation of his services. Mr. Bender said he felt that it was the greatest honour that had ever been conferred upon him, and he would ever cherish it as one of his dearest possessions.

Mr. Strasburger, of the Cape Canning Factory, lately presented the South African Museum with the carcase of a young whale which was caught on the rocks near the Company’s factory at Granger’s Bay one afternoon lately. The whale, which was about 6 ft. long was got into the factory alive, and put into a large trough, salt water being pumped in to keep it alive. At first the young cetacean frisked about and blew merrily, but then it languished and died. The carcase is to be stuffed, and will be one of the minor treasures of the new Museum.

Influential people in England have commissioned the Rev. J. Matthews, Baptist Minister of Queenstown, Cape Colony, to make inquiries and report as to the suitability of Queenstown for the establishment of a sanatorium. Mr. Matthews is perfectly satisfied on all points except that of sanitation. There being neither a drainage nor a sanitary scheme up to the standard of modern requirements, at present existing there, seems to be the only objection to the probably carrying out of the enterprise.

10 October 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BERRY, Mrs. F. G., Klerksdorp, August 30.
CARSTENS, Mrs. W., Port Nolloth, September 1.
HISCOCK, Mrs. W. J., Johannesburg, August 29.
KACHELHOFFER, Mrs. J. J., Fauresmith, O.F.S., September 1.
MARTINI, Mrs. E., Windsorton, September 6.
MELVILL, Mrs. L. F., Johannesburg, September 1.
OSWELL, Mrs. E., Johannesburg, August 28.

DAUGHTERS

BECKETT, Mrs. J. C., Grahamstown, August 28.
DICEY, Mrs. E. C., Swazieland, August 31.

MARRIAGES

COOPER-LOCK—On October 1, at Edmonton, Ernest Charles, second son of Francis Cooper, of Birkby, Shanklin, I.W., to Ellen Ethel, eldest daughter of Henry Lock, of Rowborough, Bowes Park, Middlesex.
HILL, F. G.—HAUPTFLEISCH, C. J., Wellington, September 9.
HOSSACK-CLARKE—On October 7, at Trimley St. Mary Church, Suffolk, by the Rev. H. M. Willis, M.A., Rector of the parish, assisted by the Rev. F. Graham, M.A., James Francis Clarke Hossack, F.R.C.S., Edin., only son of the late James Hossack, Esq., of Cape Town, to Marie Therese Clarke, only child of the late Major Clarke (formerly of the Indian Army), and adopted daughter of the late Colonel and Mrs. Laird, of Forfarshire, N.B.
JOHNSTON-LOW—On October 7, at All Hallows’ Church, Tottenham, by the Rev. A. Wilson, assisted by the Rev. J. Watts, Alexander Johnston to Helen Scott, only daughter of Walter Low, of Bellendrick, Bridge of Earn, Perthshire, and Strathmore, Tottenham, N., and granddaughter of the late Rev. Walter Low, of Lochlee.
WATSON, A.-MCLEAN. L. M., Johannesburg, September 3.

DEATHS

ADAM—On October 6, at 10, Fairholt Road, Stamford Hill, London, N., Stewart Adam, Chief of the Passenger Department Union Steam Ship Company, Limited, aged 46. No flowers, by request.
DU TOIT, J. S., Johannesburg, September 6, aged 68.
FLEMMER, H. C., Steynsburg, September 8.
HILL, J. W., Cala, September 2, aged 62.
NAUDE, S. F., Worcester, September 2, aged 74.
REID—On October 7, at 49, Maresfield Gardens, N.W., George Reid, of 79, Queen Street, E.C., and South Africa, aged 55.
RITCHIE, W. B. S., Bloemfontein, September 23, aged 29.
TENNANT—On September 30, at Modderfontein, near Johannesburg, suddenly, Charles Dalrymple, second son of the late William Tennant, of Whyteleafe, Surrey, and 9, Mincing Lane, London, aged 32.
TILNEY, Grey Town, September 1, aged 50.
WIGZELL, J., Kingwilliamstown, August 29, aged 46.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

LITERATURE

A NARRATIVE OF THE BOER WAR. By Thomas Fortescue Carter (John MacQueen, London, and J. C. Juta and Co., Cape Town).—This reprint has been long wanted. Mr. Carter’s vivid narrative of events in which he himself took no inconsiderable and no inglorious part, met with such a favourable reception on its first appearance that it rapidly ran out of print. It was, and remains, the best work of its class; but that in itself would be poor praise. Albeit that the episodes of which it treats unitedly form the most humiliating chapter in the history of British South Africa, the book is as useful as it is fascinating. When Sir George Colley essayed to drive the Transvaal Boers out of Natal by force of arms, Mr. Carter proceeded with him as a “Special” representing an important combination of newspapers. He picturesquely and graphically described all the battles of the War by means of notes coolly and collectedly made, even in the hottest moments of the disastrous engagements. The notes in their collected form are as readable today as they were when they were so eagerly perused by the Colonists of Natal. The book, apart from its literary merits, has great and distinct historic value. It deals with facts in a laudably judicial spirit, and no South African reference library of any pretensions can claim to be complete without it.

HISTORY OF THE JOHANNESBURG WATERWORKS COMPANY.—By G. R. Andrews, C.E. (F. Davis and Sons, Durban).—This pamphlet has been written by the late Engineer to the Johannesburg Waterworks Company, and it purports to give a history of the Johannesburg Waterworks Company from its inception to the month of August of this year. That the water supply of Johannesburg has for a long time been scandalously insufficient, not to say dangerously impure, is a fact well within the knowledge of everybody having anything to do with Johannesburg. Some of the startling facts, therefore, within this pamphlet cannot be said to be in the nature of new discoveries. We have every sympathy with the writer in the conclusions he draws as to Johannesburg’s water requirements, but it is possible that, having quarreled with Mr. Barnato and Mr. Solly Joel, he has let his pen run a little ahead of his judgment in this brochure. Mr. Andrews held the appointment of Borough Engineer of Brighton when, as he puts it, Mr. W. Garland Soper “persuaded” him to go to Johannesburg, which he says was then a “miserable, wretched, God-forsaken place.” He says that if he had known what he had to face during the first nine months after he reached Johannesburg he would not have accepted the appointment for any money that could have been offered him. He found the Company “supplying dirty water, about the colour and thickness of cocoa; the people of all ages and nationalities dying on all sides through drinking the water supplied by this Company, which was off the surface of the streets, and the drainage of cowsheds, stables, and back yards of stores and houses, and for which those in charge of this Company are morally responsible.” He refers to some insults he says he received from Mr. Solly Joel and Mr. Barnato, and remarks that the state of tension became too great, and that he resigned his office during this year. He maintains that it is the house of Barnato that has made the profit out of the water supply, and that the shareholders have not seen “the prodigious profits that have been earned.” He contends that water can and ought to be supplied to Johannesburg at a maximum of 3s. per thousand gallons, which is about one-fifth of the present average charges, and about one-tenth of the price paid by some classes of the customers in Johannesburg. Without entering into the personal questions raised by Mr. Andrews, it is a truism that he will have done a very good service to the public if, by his pamphlet he hastens in any way the time when Johannesburg and its mines shall be supplied at a reasonable rate with limitless pure water.

FROM THE CAPE TO BULAWAYO (Townshend and Son, Vryburg).—This is a useful and timely publication. It gives in brief form just the class of information a man wants who wishes to go from the Cape to Bulawayo through British territory. The full title of the work is “From the Cape to Bulawayo, or how to travel to Rhodesia through British territory, by one who has done it.” This cheap book—it is only 2s.—contains a number of road maps, itineraries, and hints on transport and outfit.

THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA (Offices of the Standard and Diggers’ News).—Parts six and seven of the Transactions of the Geological Society of South Africa have special interest, the papers contained in them being “Further Remarks on Faulting Along the Main Reef,” by Mr. J. T. Carrick, D.Ph., “Criticisms on Mr. G. D. Stonestreet’s Paper,” by Mr. R. Louis Cousens, “A Few Observations on the Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp Districts,” by Mr. M. E. Frames, and “Gold and Diamonds in the Transvaal and the Cape,” by Professor Jules Garnier.

MEN OF THE HOUR (Press Printing Works, Pretoria).—We have to acknowledge receipt of No. 1 of a Press special containing the portraits of a number of prominent men identified with South Africa. These are very well printed, and are accompanied by very readable biographical sketches. By the way, we notice that, according to the accounts of him, Dr. Jameson is “the son of a Scotch journalist and Writer to the Signet.” Something wrong here evidently; in this connection “Signet” is not the name of a publication, as apparently imagined.

LEAN’S ROYAL NAVY LIST (Witherby and Co., 326, High Holborn, and 4, Newman’s Court, Cornhill).—We have received the new quarterly issue of this most useful book of reference, which is as welcome as usual. It has, of course, with that care which distinguishes its editing, been brought up to date, showing the present stations of all the ships in our Navy and the full services of its officers. In a word, the present issue fully maintains the excellence of its predecessors.

A collision recently took place between two trains about 40 miles north of Mafeking. One engine was totally wrecked, and several trucks more or less damaged.

The Amended Transport Riders Law, which comes into force in the Transvaal in three months’ time, provides that any transport rider residing beyond the borders of the State, and wishing to ride transport within it, must be provided with a licence for which £2 per quarter per wagon must be paid. Any competent official may demand the production of the licence. Each wagon must have a board affixed, containing in plain letters the name of the owner, his residence, and State. Contravention of these provisions are to be punished by a fine equal to three times the licence payable and costs.

Mr. Littlejohn, General Manager of the African Banking Corporation, made a curious find (for a Bank Director) in a Kimberley mine recently. This was the remains of the skeleton of a white man in a coffin, supposed to be those of an early farmer in that part. It is not known (remarks a contemporary) whether the deceased met his death in a Bank Sweating Chamber, facing a big overdraft.

17 October 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

LOWN—On October 6, at Port Nolloth, Namaqualand, the wife of A. H. Lown.
PEARSON, Mrs. W. H., Barberton, September 6.
SAVAGE, Mrs. A., East London, September 8.
WHITE, Mrs. J. W., Johannesburg, September 8.

DAUGHTERS

GREEN, Mrs. L., Grahamstown, September 6.
GUSH, Mrs. W., Johannesburg, September 12.
LUBBERS, Mrs. M. W. R., Johannesburg, Sept. 6.
MATURIN, Mrs. D. C., Johannesburg, September 6.
RALEIGH—On September 18, at Johannesburg, the wife of Charles Raleigh.
REINERS, Mrs. A., Port Elizabeth, September 10.
VAN OS, Mrs. P., Johannesburg, September 11.

MARRIAGES

CONYBEARE-STRAUSS—On October 15, at the Theistic Church, Swallow Street, W., by the Rev. Charles Boysey, Charles Augustus Vansitart Conybeare, of Tregullow, Cornwall, to Florence Annie, eldest daughter of Gustave Strauss, Esq., of 2, Bolton Gardens West, South Kensington.
DEHRMANN, R. W.—TECKLENBURG, M. E.—Concession Creek, South African Republic.
FITZWILLIAMS, F.-ATTWELL, H. M.—Cape Town, September 17.
FULLER-PORTER—On October 8, at St. John’s, Angel Town, Brixton, Albert Fuller, of Johannesburg, to Emma Elizabeth Porter, of Jamaica Road, Bermondsey.
HAM, A. P.-WRIGHT, A. A.—Bloemfontein, September 10.
JOHNSTON-IRBY—On October 15, at St. Paul’s Knightsbridge, by the Lord Bishop of Ely, assisted by the Rev. H. Montagu Villiers, Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston, third son of the late John Brookes Johnston, Esq., to Winifred Mary Irby, second daughter of the fifth Lord Boston, and stepdaughter of the late Sir Henry Percy Anderson, K.C.B., Assistant Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
KNIGHT, W. A.-DAVEY, F. E. M.—Kimberley, September 9.
SHAW, T. P.-SMITH, E. L.—Johannesburg, September 9.

DEATHS

BURLS, Mrs. W.—Zuiver Kuil, Middelburg, September 14, aged 61.
COSKEY, Miss M.—Johannesburg, September 9, aged 16.
DRUMMOND—On July 17, at Johannesburg, Gavin Walter Drummond, the eldest son of the late Major-General Henry Drummond, R.E., aged 44.
GIBSON, W.—Hammonia, September 13, aged 55.
JONES, W.—Johannesburg, September 14, aged 55.
NIGHTINGALE, Mrs. S. E. S.—Cradock, September 5, aged 24.
NOLAN, W.—Johannesburg, September 9, aged 54.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

The presence of a lion in the thorns near Queenstown, in the Cape Colony, was lately reported to the local authorities. The animal has been seen by three different people, all of whom asserted that it was a genuine “king of beasts.” It was suggested that a party should go in search of it with a view to terminating its existence. And subsequently a number of sportsmen went to the bush for that purpose, but saw nothing of the lion.

NATAL-ZULULAND RAILWAY

The Chief Engineer of the Natal-Zululand Railway reports to the London office from Verulam, under date September 19: “On the 15th inst. I returned from an inspection of the railway works between Verulam and Stanger, and I am glad to be able to report, for the information of the Directors, that the works are proceeding both rapidly and satisfactorily. The earthworks are about three-fourths completed as far as Stanger (32 miles), including all the largest banks and cuttings. The culverts are now well in hand, and proceeding rapidly. The contractor’s local representative (Mr. Stopford) is making preparations for the erection of the Umhloti River Bridge shortly after the arrival of the ironwork, which, according to latest advices, should not be far off. As you are aware, this is the only large bridge on the section between Verulam and Tongaat, to where I hope to have the line completed at the commencement of next year. It is not anticipated that the River Umhloti will cause delay during the approaching wet season, as it does not rise to an excessive height, like some of the other Natal rivers, and it is rarely known to remain in flood more than two or three days at a time. The line between Stanger and Nonoti (that is, eight miles beyond Stanger) has been pegged out, and will shortly be ready for the contractors to commence work thereon. No serious obstruction has been placed in the Company’s way by landowners along the route of the railway, and where any has occurred it has so far been dealt with through the Crown Solicitor, with the concurrence of the Engineer-in-Chief of the Natal Government railways and myself. The traffic on the Natal Government Railways continues to increase enormously, as you probably are aware from published accounts in financial papers, and the block of goods at Verulam awaiting wagon transport to Stanger and Zululand is enormous and on the increase. The general outcry is for an early opening of the line of railway now in course of construction, which undoubtedly has a prosperous future before it.”

A lady’s branch of the South African League is to be formed in the Toise and Thomas River districts. The two League papers, the Leaguer and the Leaguesman, are to be amalgamated.

The death took place recently in Natal, at the ripe age of 83 years, of Mr. Robert Surtees, an early settler. He went into the Zulu country trading and hunting, having at one time no less than forty Kafirs and guns in his expedition. The farm at Rorke’s Drift belonged to him, and he sold it to the missionaries. Mr. Surtees and Mr. Robinson were the first white men to visit the Zulu King after the battle of the Tugela, between Cetewayo and Umbulazi.

Natal is cutting in at the Cape fish trade with the Rand. The first consignment of fish from the Natal Fishing Company arrived there recently in excellent condition. The fish consisted of several kinds, and was superior to the usual class of fish received from the Cape Colony. We can testify (says the Independent) to its being both of good flavour and of excellent taste; and if Mr. Berg, the local representative, can always supply fish of the same quality, the Natal Fishing Company should not only prove a good investment to its shareholders, but also a useful purveying institution for Johannesburg.

24 October 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

HARGER, Mrs. F. A., Johannesburg, September 18
HART, Mrs. J. C., Johannesburg, September 18.
MULCASTER, Mrs. W. W., Kimberley, Sept. 22

DAUGHTERS

BRAND, Mrs. E. C. J., Beaconsfield, September 17.
BLAKENEY, Mrs. W. L., Pretoria, September 17.
FRANK, Mrs. L., Prieska, September 23.
GEURSEN, Mrs. G. J., Pretoria, September 21.
JARDINE, Mrs. D., Johannesburg, September 19.
KLERCK, Mrs. J., Beaconsfield, September 17.
ROGERS—On September 22, at Greytown, Natal, the wife of S. A. Rogers.

MARRIAGES

DAVISON, T. M.-JAMES, E., Whittlesea, Sept. 16.
DUNCUM, F.—Hellegren, G., Johannesburg, September 16.
FINCH—HUMFREY—On September 16, at Wynberg, by the Rev. Rice Thomas, Chaplain to the Forces, Hamilton W. E. Finch, Lieutenant Middlesex Regiment, son of the late Captain C. W. Finch, Royal Engineers, to Edith Hamilton, daughter of Major J. Campbell Humfrey, A.P.D., late Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment, of Perran Lodge, Woolwich.
HERBERT, G. M.—WATERMEYER, A. M. E., Potchefstroom, September 16.
RANDALL—JOHNSON—On October 17, at St. Edward’s, Romford, by the Rev. Francis E. Allen, Vicar, Alfred B. Randall, late of Kimberley, to Eleanor Chilver, only daughter of the late Louis Johnson, Esq., Romford.
ROBINS—HARRISON—On October 14 (by special licence), at St. George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, by the Rev. Reginald Smith, precentor, Frederick Sanderson Robins, C.E., of Blackheath, only surviving son of the late Frederick Robins, Esq., of Bhopal, India, to Florence Annie Edith Eleanor, eldest daughter of Robert Temple Harrison, Esq., of Loughborough, Leicestershire.
THOMSON-BREWIS—On October 20, at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Newcastle-on-Tyne, by the Rev. N. A. Ross, LL.D., Wardlaw  Brown, second son of the late Rev. J. B. Thomson, of Central Africa, to Mary Ethel, second daughter of Andrew Brewis, Esq., Jesmond, Newcastle-on-Tyne.
WALKER, J.—RADFORD, B., Johannesburg, September 16.
WERMECKE-DENYSSEN—On October 19, at Woodford Parish Church, Essex, by the Rev. H. G. Bonavia Hunt, Mus. Doc., and the Rev. A., Hughes, Ernest, son of Caspar Wermecke, of Ludenscheid, Westphalia, to Grace Elizabeth, daughter of the late Honble. P. J. Denyssen, LL.D., Senior Puisne Judge of the Supreme Court of Cape Town.

DEATHS

ANDERSON, Mrs. D., Queenstown, September 17, aged 73.
CORDEROY—at Umtali, accidentally drowned in the Pungwe River, John, the third and dearly loved son of Mrs. Lydia Corderoy, 167, Camden Road, N.W., and the late Mr. George Corderoy, aged 34. (By cablegram.)
GREATHEAD—On the 21st inst., at Ravenscraig, Leigham Court Road, Streatham, James Henry Greathead, M.Inst.C.E., of Victoria Street, Westminster. Funeral will take place on Saturday, the 24th, at West Norwood Cemetery, at 2:30 p.m. Friends kindly accept this the only intimation.
MATTHEWS, Mrs. J., Port Elizabeth, September 19, aged 77.
SCHLEISS, D., Kimberley, September 22, aged 42.
SPIRES, Mrs. M., Johannesburg, September 19, aged 52.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

WEDZA’S STRONGHOLD STORMED

THE SURRENDER IN THE MATOPPOS IS GENUINE.

BULAWAYO, October, 20

Lieutenant-Colonel Baden-Powell reports the capture of Wedza’s stronghold, which was taken on the 16th inst., after a fight which lasted two days and two nights. The position consisted of six granite heights, on which were eight large kraals. Working towards the stronghold from all sides, the Imperial troops drove the rebels from their kraals into the caves. These were shelled, and the enemy were dislodged. They fled into the mountains, and the pursuit being followed up, they gradually dispersed, retiring eastward and northward in small parties. All the kraals and the stronghold were destroyed. There were no casualties among the troops. A large number of cattle and sheep were captured. The column had previously attacked and driven the rebels from some small kraals, which were also destroyed. Orders have been sent to Colonel Baden-Powell to proceed to Gwelo to assist Colonel Paget in the reduction of Ndema’s district. Mr. Colenbrander, who is now in sole charge of the Matoppos, reports that the surrender of the natives is serious. He has received over four hundred guns.

GATZI’S KRAAL SURPRISED

SALISBURY, October 20.

Major Forester attacked and surprised Gatzi’s Kraal at Marandellas at daybreak yesterday. After a sharp engagement, in the course of which Trooper Earnshaw was killed and Trooper Siegert seriously wounded, the rebels were driven into the caves. Captain Pease is now endeavouring to blow up the caves with dynamite.

A MASHONALAND CENSUS

SALISBURY, October 20

The white population at present is as follows: Melsetter 400, Umtali 350, Umtali Road 250, Salisbury 600, Victoria 270, Enkeldoorn 200, Alderson’s column 700, other posts 200. Total, 3000. The supplies here are very limited, and we are still living from hand to mouth. There has been no hitch so far. A rumour, based on statements made by a captured native woman, is circulating to the effect that Norton and another white man are alive, and prisoners in a Mashona cave.

MAJOR EVANS KILLED.

Lord Rosmead has communicated to the Colonial Office the following telegrams received from Sir F. Carrington:--

“October 21.—I deeply regret to report that news was received last night that Major F. S. Evans, of the 1st Battalion Sherwood Foresters (Derbyshire Regiment), was shot dead in an attack on Gatzi’s kraal, near Marandellas, when in command of a patrol, which surprised the enemy at daybreak, and drove them into caves. Trooper Earnshaw, of the Umtali Volunteers, was also killed, and Trooper Siegert, M.R.F., very seriously wounded. Captain Pease, of the Umtali Volunteers, is blockading caves.”

“October 20.—Officer commanding at Salisbury reports that Private Grapes, of the 2nd Norfolk Regiment, died of his wounds on October 19.”

COLONEL BADEN-POWELL’S COLUMN

BULAWAYO, October 20.

Colonel Baden-Powell’s column achieved two very considerable successes on October 13 and 14. The column took four mountain kraals by assault, capturing a number of cattle and goats. The kraals in question were situated between the Umchengwe and Singweza rivers. Following up this success, Colonel Baden-Powell advanced against Mazeteza’s stronghold. The artillery was turned against it, and it was quickly destroyed. The rebels dispersed in all directions, but it is believed that the majority fled northwards. I am …column is of the very best. The men are badly off for boots. There is hardly a “whole” pair in the column, and some of the troopers are practically shoeless. The condition of the horses and mules is bad. The long marches have exhausted them. Yesterday Lieutenant Ferguson left here with orders from Baden-Powell to effect a junction with Paget at Gwelo, and proceed with him against Ndemas.

RHODESIAN JOTTINGS

It has been decided to erect a monument to the memory of those who were recently murdered in the Filabusi district.

A Californian named Douglas has painted some excellent pictures during the recent fighting. He served in the Belingwe Column.

The Bulawayo Chronicle of September 12 stated that a large number of ox-wagons were on the way up drawn by salted oxen, and that more of these useful beasts were saved than was at first hoped for.

Building speculators at Bulawayo have great faith in the future of Rhodesia. One Bulawayan architect alone is reported to have accepted plans for the erection of buildings in the town, the erection of which will cost over £200,000.

Postal arrangements in Bulawayo itself are evidently somewhat defective. At a recent meeting of the local Chamber of Commerce it was pointed out that letters addressed to inhabitants posted in the Bulawayo Post Office often took 48 hours to travel from the dispatch box to the delivery box.

It is quite an expensive matter to keep oneself alive in Bulawayo at the present time. Writing under date 10th ult., a correspondent of the Cape Times says:--“We are having rather hard times here. Everything is very dear. Whisky is 1s. 6d. per tot—a very small one at that—and brandy 2s. Board at the hotels costs £20 per month, and is not much at that. Condensed milk sells at 5s. 9d. per tin, eggs are 3s.6d. each, and so on.”

In an interview with Mr. Rhodes the other day, the native chief Umjan, who commanded the impi which killed Wilson, gave a graphic description of the last scene on the Shangani River. He said hundreds of natives were killed, and when they rushed in with the assegais only two men were even living, and they were hit all over. One of them did a lot of damage with his revolver before they stabbed him. The English, he said, died singing.

A Beira correspondent wired at the end of last month that trains on the Beira line were running well. Four hundred tons were forwarded during the previous week. The bridge over the Pungwe was progressing rapidly, and a steam pile-driver was expected the following week. Two new engines, three carriages, and three trucks had arrived from England. The Beira pier was expected to be completed within six weeks. The only difficulty was the scarcity of native labour.

On Thursday, the 17th inst., the Colonial Office authorities, in conformity with their announced intention, finally closed the list of candidates for enrolment in the Imperial Police Force being raised for Matabeleland and Mashonaland, and the applicants are officially stated to have exceeded 1200. As practically every candidate got one or more members of Parliament or private friends to recommend him, it will be at once seen what a mass of correspondence the officials have had to deal with. Only the successful candidates should expect to hear individually from the Colonial Office.

Het Dagsblad, a Paarl paper, representing a very large section of Afrikander opinion, discusses in a recent issue the future of Rhodesia. It comes to the conclusion that though Charter rule or government by capitalists has many evils, yet it remains the best solution of the question; for in time that large tract of country will have either to come under Colonial rule or responsible government. As a stepping-stone to either, rule by Charter is far more suitable. But, in addition, government by capitalists has these two advantages above a Crown Colony: (a) They must develop the country in order to satisfy the shareholders with decent dividends; (b) they must attend most carefully to the wants and desires of the settlers for the very least dissatisfaction, show of rebellion, or emigration from the country will cause the shares to fall.

31 October 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

JAY, Mrs. C. E., Upington, Gordonia, Sept. 21.
LYTTLE, Mrs. J. H., Johannesburg, September 28.
STEELEY, Mrs. A., Maseru, Basutoland, Sept. 27.
TARR, Mrs. H. M., Grahamstown, September 23.
THOMAS, Mrs. J. T., Pretoria, September 24.

DAUGHTERS

HOFFMAN, Mrs. J. P., Kenilworth, September 18.
LUCAS, Mrs. P., Grahamstown, September 28.
REID, Mrs. C., Bergplaats, District Fauresmith, September 12.

MARRIAGES

CLARK, E. Y.—NEL, M. C., Driefontein, Sept. 21.
BOWICK—BAKER—On October 28, at St. Jude’s Church, Mildmay Park, by the Rev. D. B. Hankin, M. A., assisted by the Rev. J. H. Monti, B.A., and the Rev. Edward Mortimer Baker, M.A., brother of the bride, John Robie Bowick, of Heidelberg, Transvaal, second son of T. Bowick, Esq., of 27, Canfield Gardens, Hampstead, to Isabel Maud, third daughter of the late Rev. William Baker, B.D., F.R.G.S., of Sutton Lodge, Homerton.
DAWSON—THOMSON—On October 23, at Balmoral, Fochabers, N.B., by the Rev. George Birnie, B.D., Speymouth, assisted by the Rev. Robert Coupar, B.D., Macduff, James Dawson, of Bulawayo, to May Manson, daughter of the late Andrew Thomson, Corskie, Garmouth.
VAN DER SCHYFF, M. H.—WYNGAARD, L. M., Johannesburg, September 28.

DEATHS

BAXTER—On October 23, Caroline Elizabeth (nee Cooper), the dearly-loved wife of William Walmisley Baxter, of Bromley, Kent, aged 67.
BENGOUGH—On October 3, at Kimberley, Marion Agnes Bengough, daughter of the late G. H. Bengough, of The Ridge, Wotton-under-Edge.
CURLING, R. J., Kingwilliamstown, September 29, aged 55.
IMPEY, Rev. W., Grahamstown, September 25, aged 78.
MACIVER, J., Willowvale, September 18
RUNCIMAN, Captain W., Simon’s Town, October 3, aged 74.
SEARLE, Mrs. H. S. A., Cape Town, September 29, aged 48.
VILJOEN, H. D. J., Potchefstroom, September 22, aged 42.
WOODLOCK, Mrs. M. J., Kingwilliamstown, September 24, aged 48.
WOULFE—October, at sea, on the voyage home from Durban, Harcourt Dudley Woulfe, fourth son of the late John Penlip Woulfe and of Mrs. Woulfe, of Anson Lodge, Tufnell Park, London, aged 29. Friends will kindly accept this intimation.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

A very successful concert in the main ward of the Bulawayo Memorial Hospital was recently given and thoroughly enjoyed by the sick and wounded propped up in their beds, the Earl, Countess, and Lady Victoria Grey, Mother Jacobi, and other ladies, Sir Richard Martin, General Carrington’s staff, Civil Service officials, members of the Hospital Board, and principal residents generally constituting the audience and being seated amongst the patients.

A largely attended “smoker” was lately held in the Bulawayo Stock Exchange Hall, to welcome back Captain White’s Mashonaland relief column. Colonel Jack Spreckley presided, and those present included Earl Grey and Sir Frederick Carrington. The noble earl gave the toast of “Grey’s Scouts and Gifford’s Horse,” saying of them that they had always been ready for any emergency, and had taught the Matabele a severe lesson. Later on Sir F. Carrington, in response to the toast of his health, eulogized the services rendered by the irregular troops.

In addressing the discharged Belingwe column recently, Earl Grey thanked Major Laing, Captain Hopper, and all ranks for the gallant conduct they had displayed in the field on all occasions. He remarked that the Belingwe men had assisted materially in subjugating the rebels, and added: “Now that the war is over, I trust you will all adjourn to the Charter Hotel and drink to the prosperity of Rhodesia and to the health and success of its inhabitants in years to come.” Earl Grey then called for three cheers for the Belingwe column, which were heartily given by the numerous onlookers.

Amongst the most interesting relics recently found in the Matoppos were the remains of Mozilikatse, whose bones were found in a cave in the position usually assigned to chiefs—seated against a wall with a bundle of assegais, all rust-eaten, lying to his hand, with a host of beads, supposed to be gold but proved to be brass, and bangles, lying beside. It is to be feared that our Philistine troopers had not that regard for the great dead which should be, as one of them has secured a leg portion as a permanent trophy of an arduous campaign. Other disjecta-membra have been given to more eminent collectors.

Messrs. Schwarz and Rogers, assistants to Dr. Corstorphine, the Colonial geologist, are actively engaged in the district of Ceres and Malmesbury in connection with the preparation of a geological map of the Cape Colony, a work which will probably occupy several years. At present there is no single geological map of a thoroughly complete and reliable character in existence.

A curious case came before Mr. Schuurman in Johannesburg lately, in which Mr. Prynne, the Manager of Messrs. Thorne, Stuttaford, and Co., summoned a member of the Doornfontein Sanitary Board for using threatening language to him. The facts of the case are that Mr. Prynne was about to take his seat in a tramcar going in the direction of Doornfontein, when a stout and irate individual, already seated, ordered the newcomer to sit on the other side of the car. Mr. Prynne declined. Whereupon the other threatened to eject him from the car if he did not do as he was bid. Mr. Prynne allowed the unreasonable and impertinent passenger to resort to undignified abuse until the end of the journey. The abuse being afterwards continued and threats used, Mr. Prynne had a writ issued against the stranger. In Court, Mr. Schuurman gave judgment against him for £3 and costs.

THE “COLONIAL EXPANSION FAD”

On Wednesday evening the Lord Mayor of Belfast gave a banquet in honour of the Marquis and Marchioness of Dufferin and Ava. This was the first public appearance of the Marquis since his retirement from the Paris Embassy, and his brilliant speech was listened to with the greatest interest. Discussing the question of Colonial expansion, Lord Dufferin said:--“Another source of our unpopularity arises out of the recent impulse towards Colonial expansion which has had so sudden and curious a development within the last few years. We, as an island people with a happily teeming population, were driven by the force of nature centuries ago to overflow in every direction and to occupy the desert places of a great portion of the globe. It is true a corresponding excess of population set on foot, though much later, a great Teutonic emigration, for some years as great as that from Ireland itself, but Germany for many a long day was content to see its wandering millions pass to the American Continent, where they have proved such a valuable addition to the intelligence and the resources of the United States. (Hear, hear.) But when the fad for African acquisition became fashionable, Germany very naturally was anxious that the children who left her shores should remain within the jurisdiction of the Fatherland, and there is no doubt that she, as well as France, has been provoked to find that the belated birth of their Colonial policy has restricted the field of their operations. (Hear, hear.) As a result, it occasionally happens that this or that German or French emigrant in pursuit of some fancied territorial tit-bit in Africa or elsewhere suddenly finds himself confronted by an Englishman already standing sentry over the path. The Briton may be gaunt, emaciated, and broken down with fever and unremunerative toil, but he looms in the eyes of the newcomer like an obese dragon warding the garden of the Hesperides, and the barren tracts beyond him appear to blossom with self-grown fruits and flowers that encircle gleaming hills of solid gold. Highly-coloured accounts of these experiences, on being transmitted to Europe by the indignant explorer, are naturally amplified and misrepresented by the Press, and are bitterly commented upon by what is known at Berlin and at Paris as the Colonial party, until the English really come to be regarded by a large body of honest German and French opinion as unjust depredators and intruders within the sacred precincts of what Providence intended to be their own private kitchen gardens, the fact of Germany herself having within the last dozen years or so laid hold of more than a million square miles of territory to which she had no special right being entirely ignored, while France’s acquisitions of various parts of Africa—in Algeria, Tunis, Senegal—her claim to the reversion of the Congo State, and her recent annexation of Madagascar are equally passed over in silence. (Hear, hear.) But it is a vain thing to expect nations to be just or reasonable when their material interests are at stake, and it would be both unwise and useless upon our part to recriminate or to exhibit resentment at the unfair diatribes to which I have referred. (Hear, hear.) Hard words break no bones, and the authors of these very artificial complaints are perfectly conscious that of land-grabbing in Africa they and their countrymen are as guilty both in fact and in intention as the rest of us. Nor must we take too seriously the ill-natured outbursts of the Press in any country. In spite of this prevailing tone of angry and disingenuous deprecation, we may console ourselves with the comfortable assurance that Europe, however little she may like us, cannot help respecting us as a steadfast, truth-loving, humane, and indomitable people—(hear, hear)—and when our detractors affect to descant upon our loss of prestige nobody knows better than themselves that they are talking arrant nonsense.” (Cheers.)

“A charming young damsel hailing from the fighting port had the temerity,” says the Johannesburg correspondent of the Friend of the Free State, “to enter Transvaal territory clothed in a Jameson hat. The young lady, however, finding herself under the focus of myriads of eyes, doffed the Jameson hat and donned a headgear with a picture of an ocean greyhound on its front. With the Aliens Expulsion Law red-hot from the furnace, East London lassies—and girls from anywhere else—had better have a care. The pluck of a girl facing Oom Paul with Jameson in great gold letters written on her forehead is a bit strong; but the Aliens Expulsion Law goes half a dozen better.”

7 November 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

ANDERSON, Mrs. W., Cape Town, September 30.
EVANS, Mrs. O., Bedford, October 6.
HESS, Mrs. J. P., Pretoria, October 2.
LOWN, Mrs. A. H., Port Nolloth, Namaqualand, October 5.
MILROY, Mrs. W., Winburg, September 30 (twins).
MURRAY, Mrs. R., Johannesburg, September 29.

DAUGHTERS

CONNEW—On November 1, at 92, Amesbury Square, Streatham Hill, S.W., the wife of Henry C. Connew.
SAMUEL, Mrs. R., Johannesburg, October 2.
WILSON, Mrs. J. C., Johannesburg, October 2.

MARRIAGES

GREEN, R. S. T.—BOSWELL, J. S., Mossel Bay, October 6.
HUTT, C. H.—WHEELER, F., Port Elizabeth September 29.
MENZIES—QUIRK—On October 31 at All Saints’, Benhilton, Sutton, by the Rev. C. Carey Taylor, Andrew Osgood, of Vrijheid, Transvaal, eldest son of Andrew Liddell Menzies, of Dulwich, to Emily Ada, third daughter of W. H. Quirk, of Altyre House, Benhilton, Sutton, Surrey.
MIDDLETON, G. T.—KITCHINGMAN, J., Bremersdorp; Swazieland, September 30.

DEATHS

BORCHERDS, M., Potchefstroom, Sept. 27, aged 36.
GILL—On November 1 (All Saints’ Day), at Lydford Rectory, Devon, Katherine Frances, the dearly-loved wife of the Rev. Cecil Hope Gill, M.A.
JUTZEN, C. C. J., Cape Town, October 8, aged 30.
LAYCOCK, B. C., Port Elizabeth, October 2, aged 26.
LONG, E. H., Tarkastad, September 27, aged 24.
SCHMIDT, H. E. A., Grahamstown, Oct. 1, aged 61.
WAITES, G. C., Mossel Bay, October 1, aged 73.
WALKER, Mrs. M., Cape Town, October 10.
WELLS, R. A., Cape Town, October 8, aged 35.

14 November 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BIGALKE, Mrs. R., Kimberley, October 2.
OLDFIELD, Mrs. W. E., Oudtshoorn, October 3.

DAUGHTERS

DA COSTA, Mrs. L., Johannesburg, October 7.
DARRAGH, Mrs. J. T., Johannesburg, October 9.
FRANCE, Mrs. E., Port Elizabeth, October 7.
MARKS, Mrs. J., Cape Town, October 12.
PRIOR, Mrs. C. E., Beaconsfield, October 5.
SHEFFIELD, Mrs. G., Johannesburg, October 9.
SOUTHGATE, Mrs. G. W., Johannesburg, October 7.

MARRIAGES

ALEXANDER J.—URQUHART, T., Kimberley, October 6.
FIELD, A.—WATKINSON, E. J., Port Elizabeth, October 6.
GAVIN, N. H. O.—GAVIN, E., Mossel Bay, October 6.
GRICE, E.—MARTIN, S., Johannesburg, October 7.
HANKIN—STAINFORTH—On November 7, at St. Mary Abbot’s, Kensington, by the Rev. F. H. Joscelyne, Christopher Leonard Hankin, of Bulawayo, son of the late Christopher Brethaupt Hankin, of Turlings Park, Ware, Hertfordshire, to Elizabeth Frances, daughter of the late Major-General F. G. Stainforth, of the Bengal Staff Corps.
IRVINE, F. K.—MCRAE, M., Johannesburg, October 7.
NORTHEN—WINBY—On November 11, at Marylebone Church, by the Rev. Canon Barker, Arthur Northen, eldest son of the late A. Northen, of Hove, Sussex, to Ada Constance, daughter of F. C. Winby, of 47, Portland Place, W., and Pretoria.
SMITH, G.—JOHNSTONE, B., Johannesburg, October 7.

DEATHS

BRISTER—On November 7, at Port Elizabeth, James Brister, aged 66.
GRUNOW, E. W. A., Kingwilliamstown, Oct. 5, aged 16.
JENNINGS—On September 23, at Richmond, Natal, suddenly, Reginald Vaughan Jennings, aged 37, eldest son of the late Rev. N. Jennings, M.A., of Hampstead.
KEMLO, Mrs. A., Butterworth, Transkei, October 12, aged 43.
KING—On November 6, Daniel King, of 32, Pembury Road, Lower Clapton, N.E., and late of Bullard, King, and Co., 14, St. Mary Axe, E.C., aged 78.
MACIVER, J., Willowvale, September 18.
MCEVOY, J. M., Port Elizabeth, October 8, aged 21.
MANNING, Mrs. M., Kimberley, October 8, aged 30.
NUTBURN, W., Cape Town, October 12, aged 50.
VENABLES, Mrs. A. D., Grahamstown, October 11, aged 84.
WATKINSON, T., Oudtshoorn, October 8, aged 74.

Miscellaneous articles on same page:

Private letters received lately in Cape Town from Mashonaland state that the Mounted Infantry behaved splendidly right through the campaign. A Dutch farmer who had been fighting with them says they are excellent shots, and fit and ready to go anywhere.

Mr. E. Hancock, Chairman of the Johannesburg Sanitary Board, was lately the recipient of a magnificent silver epergne and an illuminated address, presented by the officials of the Board, as a token of their high appreciation of his many estimable qualities, and of their good-will towards him.

Major-General H. M. Bengough, C. B., commanding the 1st Infantry Brigade at Aldershot, has been granted a distinguished service reward of £100 per annum. General Bengough, who served for many years in the Middlesex Regiment, took part in the Burmese and South African campaigns, receiving the C.B. for the former and promotion to lieutenant-colonel for the latter.

SOUTH AFRICAN CURRENCY

Some interesting figures relative to South African currency from 1825 to the end of last year have just been compiled by the Cape Colonial Treasury. The grand total of specie imported into South Africa during that period amounts to £22,011,304, while the exports have amounted to £5,187,922; the result is a balance of £16,823,382 specie remaining in South Africa.

To this balance it is necessary to add the amount minted at Pretoria, viz., £403,487 in gold, £60,000 in silver, making a total of  £463,487 coinage of the South African Republic. This brings up the total specie remaining in South Africa to £17,286,869. Of this sum, £8,444,532 was, on December 31, 1895, locked up in bank coffers, and the amount in circulation and hoarded by the inhabitants has been estimated at £9,842,337.

The condition of the circulation is a matter which has engaged the attention of Sir Gordon Sprigg for many years, and it has been ascertained that by the action of the Cape Government in removing gold, silver, and bronze from circulation from time to time and returning it to the Government mint, the currency of the Colony is in a better condition than that of any other British Colony on the same date, viz., at the end of 1895, when the amount of legal tender notes in circulation against which securities are held by the Colonial Treasury was £928,750, while other bank notes not so secured, to the value of £9581, were still in use. This, however, will soon disappear from the currency of the Colony.

Fifty-eight Indians lately deserted in a body from the Benena Estate, Natal, and the ringleaders were sent to gaol for two months’ hard labour; the rest were fined 10s each.

The Transvaal Government has paid out a cheque of £100,000 sterling to its agent for the purchase of mealies. 100,000 bags of mealies are lying at Durban and Port Elizabeth to the order of this Government. The mealies are to be used in feeding starving natives.

At Kingwilliamstown recently, Colonel Schermbrucker and Mr. Warren addressed their constituents. The former, speaking for over an hour and addressing himself mainly to measures to minimize the effects of the threatened spread of rinderpest, strongly urged his constituents to demand a special session of Parliament and the abolition of the duties on meat and breadstuffs. Referring to President Steyn’s speech at the opening of the Raad, he said it looked like using the Customs Union as a means to force the Colony to accept an inequitable railway agreement, and rather than submit he would face the risk of a tariff war. Mr. Warren made a short speech, but he was too ill to proceed. A vote of thanks and confidence in the members was passed.

21 November 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BEAUMONT, Mrs., East London, October 15
FEATHERSTONE, Mrs. J. H., Graaff-Reinet, October 16
GEDDIE, Mrs. A., East London, October 12
PARKES, Mrs. A. R., Graaff-Reinet, October 16
PRICE, Mrs. J., Uitenhage, October 9.
SYFRET, Mrs. A. G., Rondebosch, October 21

DAUGHTERS

ARCHIBALD, Mrs. R., Kimberley, October 18
DYKES, Mrs. J. M., Beaconsfield, October 19
GUILLEMARD—On October 23, at Aliwal North, Cape Colony, the wife of B. J. Guillemard, M.D., District Surgeon and J.P. for the district of Aliwal North
HEATH, Mrs. C., Volksrust, October 3

MARRIAGES

FAGAN, D.—MCCALLAN, B., Johannesburg, Oct. 17
HAWKEN, L.—WHITEHORN, E. W., Grahamstown, October 14
SAVAGE, W.—NEWELL, A. E. J., Kimberley, October 13
SULLIVAN, J.—GRIFFIN, K., Cape Town, October 22
WEINECK, F. W.—SUCKOW, L., Grahamstown, October 14
WENTINK-COCKS—On November 16, at Fauresmith, Orange Free State, Dirk Egbert Wentink, Architect, Government Works, Bloemfontein, O.F.S. to E. M. Mary Cocks (May), daughter of the late Robert Oxenham Cocks, and niece of Miss M. Oxenham Cocks, of Forest Hill, S.E.
WHITE, W.—Eva, L., Vryburg, October 18

DEATHS

DU PLESSIS, C. G., Cape Town, October 16, aged 64
GIBBONS, W. M., Grahamstown, October 13, aged 60.
GRADWELL, D. C., Albany, October 22, aged 65.
JOLLY, Mrs. E. M., Johannesburg, Oct. 18, aged 28.
KIDSON, R. J., Johannesburg, October 6, aged 43.
MACKAY, Mrs. E., Uitenhage, October 12, aged 76.
PEAKE—At Johannesburg, of typhoid, Walter Curtis Peake, A.R.S.M., aged 24, youngest and beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. Peake, St. Nicholas Road, Upper Tooting
STEVENSON—On September 9, in Mlanje, Nyassaland, Gilbert Stevenson, of the British Central Africa Administration, aged 29, son of J. J. Stevenson, of 4, Porchester Gardens, W.
WATSON, A., Grahamstown, October 17, aged 24.

Miscellaneous Articles on the same page:

There was a great deal of sickness in Pretoria according to last mail advices. The typhoid scourge continued unabated, while there were also many cases of dysentery.

The exodus of young men from Australia to the Cape is attracting a good deal of attention in the South African and Australian papers. A recent steamer took from Melbourne 220 young fellows evidently belonging to the better class of artisans. Most of them deposited their valuables in the purser’s custody, and that officer stated that the average amount lodged by each passenger was £30.

A largely-attended public meeting was held at Leydsdorp lately, to consider the advisability of sending a deputation to meet His Honour the President of the Transvaal on his arrival at Pietersburg. Some startling facts were placed before the meeting as to the starvation now existing among the Kafirs on the fields. Many deaths had occurred from pure starvation. In districts the Kafirs were living on roots and field mice, and so dire was the distress in some places that the women were sent round to barter their honour to the white men for food. It was pointed out that the supply of flour and other bare necessaries of life was now nearly exhausted in the various stores in the district, and as transport was unobtainable, unless Government rendered assistance in the matter very shortly, the white population would be in the same state of starvation as the Kafirs.

ENTERTAINMENT

Bon voyage to Miss Harriet Vernon

Good news for comic opera-lovers in South Africa! Mr. D’Oyly Carte is sending out—by arrangement with Messrs. Wheeler-a repertoire opera company, under the management of Mr. Bellamy. The company is booked to sail by the Greek on the 28th inst., and its members include Miss Emmie Owen, Miss Dorothy Vane, Mr. George Thorne, and Mr. Scott Fishe (who is just now playing the title role in the Mikado). Mr. Weathersby will stage-manage the company, which will open on Boxing Night in Johannesburg.

Mr. Wilson Barrett’s version of Mr. Hall Caine’s novel, The Manxman, which was produced at the Lyric Theatre this week, differs from that with which playgoers are familiar. To her father’s house, Pete now brings his erring wife and the child which she has brutally told him is not his, and there he learns from Philip’s own lips the terrible truth that the man who has wrecked his happiness is his bosom friend. There, too, he is enabled to exercise a magnanimity which borders upon the Quixotic by freely forgiving both his wife and her lover and leaving them to the punishment of their own consciences, while he goes off to bury his grief in South Africa.

An operetta entitled On the Veldt—the redundant “t” is the publishers’, not mine—is to be brought out by Messrs. Curwen and Sons, Cape Town.

Mr. Hugo Gorlitz, the Manager and Director of the Theatre Royal, Johannesburg, was badly hurt while riding his bicycle there recently. As he was turning a corner near the Theatre Royal a man on horseback dashed into him. The machine was wrecked, and Mr. Gorlitz, was thrown violently to the ground and severely bruised and cut.

Lady Halle will shortly publish a volume of extracts from letters written to her by the late Sir Charles Halle, forming a complete history of musical events in England between the years 1869 and 1895. Sir Charles Halle was engaged upon this book at the time of his death.

Just before leaving Cape Town for England, Mr. Sims Reeves was presented with a birthday ode, from which I extract the following:--

The warmest wishes of the World of Art,
In which so long you took a foremost part,
And millions more of men and women, too.
Whom you have charmed with song, will follow you;
And through long years this ever will be true,
“The greatest Tenor England ever knew.”

The Pretoria theatre has been renovated. It will be completed next month, and, although not large, will be one of the coziest theatres in South Africa. It will hold over 600 people.

When the mail left Johannesburg Judah was being played at the local Standard Theatre by the Sass Comedy Company.

Miss Agnes Delaporte has been visiting Barberton, to the great delight of music lovers there. Of course, the fair Agnes warbled “One Day, Margot,” from La Cigale, and brought down the house therewith. With Miss Delaporte were Miss Mina McDonnell (vocalist), and Signor Renzo (‘cellist).

Of course, Miss Amy Coleridge was interviewed in Kimberley, but it is interesting to learn that the lady does not rate quite so highly as her husband (Mr. William Haviland) the taste of South African audiences. In her opinion, there is still a good deal of pioneer work to be done by enterprising companies who desire to raise the prevailing taste of audiences above the level of modern farcical comedy. At the same time, she is not indifferent to the fact that Shakespeare’s tragedies and many of the best class of modern plays can always draw cultured audiences in such centres as Cape Town and Johannesburg; and her opinion of Kimberley was so high that she looked forward with much confidence to the staging there of Othello and The Merchant of Venice.

It was very kind of Miss Abbey St. Ruth to invite me to witness, on Friday week last, a copyright performance of an original four-act drama, The Key to King Solomon’s Riches, Limited, but, unfortunately, I was not able, through a prior engagement, to be present. The cast included Miss Agnes Paulton and Mr. Harry Paulton, jun., and a friend of mine who attended tells me that it was fine fun to watch the mummers parading about with their ‘scripts in their hands and with a back ground of no particular scenery to speak of. From a copy of the “argument” with which I was favoured, I gather that The Key, &c., is something of a thriller, with a fine South African flavour about it. The second act opens in Matabeleland, the first scene “showing the interior of a typical mine manager’s house” on the Shangani Mines, the alleged property of the Key to King Solomon’s Riches, Limited.” The second scene of this act “shows a stamp battery and gold mine in Matabeleland, in full work.” The authoress of this curious piece is Miss St. Ruth, who is not altogether unknown to OLD STAGER.

CHEAP FREE STATE COAL

A number of coal properties in the Free State, in near proximity to Klerksdorp, consisting of nine farms in three groups, are at present held by a financial firm, and a scheme is now being developed to combine them into a large working concern, with operations on an extensive scale. Careful calculations have been made proving that the coal can be raised and delivered on the Transvaal side of the river at a working cost of 8s. 6d. per ton, the usual price charged to consumers being 24s. 8d. per ton. This scheme, if carried through, will help greatly in the development of the gold fields, and further news as to the matter will be anxiously looked for.

It is said that a Rand Syndicate may yet prosecute the search for coal near Coega, their operations being suspended owing to the Jameson episode. Search should also be made near Balmoral.

In Natal it is likely that a branch line will soon extend to the Bluff, so that Durban will be provided with convenient coaling staithes as at Blyth, Sunderland, and Shields, the situation highly favouring the scheme. The railway will also enable a project for erecting villas to be carried out, the situation being charming.

The Market Concessions Company, Johannesburg, have appointed Mr. J. M. F. de Wit Chief Marketmaster of Johannesburg, in succession to Mr. J. Smuts. Mr. de Wit has been connected with the market from its establishment. Previous to his departure and relinquishment of office, Mr. Smuts was presented by the Market Company with a bonus of 100 guineas, as a mark of the Directors’ appreciation of his services.

28 November 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BLACK, Mrs. C. W., Mossel Bay, October 21
HARVEY, Mrs. Cathcart, October 21.
LOMAS—On November 20, at Marloes Road, Kensington, the wife of J. E. H. Lomas.
ROGERS, Mrs. W., Johannesburg, October 19.
ROSENBERG, Mrs. P., Cape Town, October 23.
SANDHAM, Mrs. J., Kimberley, October 23.

DAUGHTERS

CARTER, Mrs. A. W., Winburg, O.F.S., October 25.
TALLERMAN—On November 25, at 22, Pembridge Villas, W., the wife of Phineas Tallerman.
TERRY, Mrs. T. W., Port Elizabeth, October 25.
WATSON, Mrs. J., Kimberley, October 26.

MARRIAGES

BLANCKENBERG, J. H.—KRIEL, H. T., Johannesburg, October 19.
CLARKSON, W. J.—GLEESON, M. A., Kimberley, October 21.
DEWAR, A.—MACLEAN, K., Johannesburg, Oct. 21.
EXTON, H.—CANNELL, M., Port Alfred, October 20.
HIRTZEL—KILGOUR—On November 21, at St. Michael’s, Dawlish, by the Rev. W. P. Alford, M.A., Vicar, assisted by the Rev. A. N. Everard, M.A., and the Rev. V. Kelan, B. A., Curates, Charles Henry Hirtzel, of Johannesburg, S.A.R., eldest surviving son of George Hirtzel, Esq., of Dawlish, to Kate De Villiers, daughter of Henry Kilgour, Esq., of Ceres, Cape Colony, and niece of L. Wiener, Esq., M.L.A., of Cape Town.
JOHNSON, J. C.—KING, F., Kingwilliamstwn, Oct. 21.
THOMPSON, J.—CONRADIE, M.C., Cape Town, Oct. 27.

DEATHS

ATKINSON—On November 13, at Perth, West Australia, after a brief illness, C. Randall Atkinson, aged 30, the beloved son of C. E. and S. Atkinson, of Beckenham, Kent.
CAIRNS, J., Johannesburg, October 19, aged 33.
DIXON—About March 26, in the Mafungabuzi district, Matabeleland, killed by natives during the rising, Wastel George Brisco, only son of G. H. Dixon, Armathwaite Hall, Cumberland, aged 27.
LUCAS—On October 24, at Mafeking, Bechuanaland, Francis Ambrose Lucas, of typhoid, aged 35.
MCFARLAND, G., Kimberley, October 25, aged 51.
PRINSLOO, L. J., Pretoria, October 23, aged 61.
SCHILLING—On November 20, at Government House, Cape Town, Sydney Edward Schilling, Lieutenant Royal Irish Fusiliers, A.D.C. to Lord Rosmead, High Commissioner, second son of the late George Schilling, of 58, Crystal Palace Park Road, Sydenham, aged 27.
TOFT, S., Johannesburg, October 17, aged 46.
TYRRELL—On November 20, at 11, Rose Hill, Dorking, Richard Joseph Tyrrell, late of the City of London and Brockley, aged 63, the beloved husband of Emma Tyrrell, deeply mourned.
VEVERS—On November 14, at Johannesburg, through an accident, John Aubrey, eldest son of John E. Vevers, of Yarkhill Court, Hereford, aged 20.
ZEEMAN, Mrs. J. C. M., Cape Town, October 30, aged 40.

Miscellaneous articles on the same page:

There is not one road radiating from Cradock (says the Cape Register) which is not now rendered dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians by ostriches.

Amongst the bequests of the late Mr. J. W. Solomon, of Port Elizabeth, are the following:--Ladies’ Benevolent Society, Cape Town, £200; Dispensary, Cape Town, £200; Infirmary, Robben Island, £200; Somerset Hospital, £200; Mayor of Cape Town for distribution amongst the poor without distinction of creed or nationality, £200.

REV. WILLIAM FORBES

The Rev. William Forbes who has lately been recruiting his health in Scarborough, and who returns to South Africa today in the Dunvegan Castle, is to be the subject of an illustrated article in the next issue of the Evangelical Magazine. From an advance proof of the article in question we learn that Mr. Forbes was educated at Hackney College, and became pastor, in 1887, of Alma Road Church, Sheerness. At the end of three years, however, he proceeded to Berkhampstead, and thence to Devonport. In 1889 he was invited to become the pastor of the Congregational Church in Cape Town, a position which the history of the Cape Colony shows to have been one of great importance. The article concludes as follows: “The conditions of religious life in the Colony are very different from those of old; but there is still much to be done by men who hold the Congregational idea of the Headship of Christ, and who desire to bring rich and poor, white and coloured alike, to enjoy the liberty of the children of God. Mr. Forbes has been labouring in this spirit for seven years, and has found opportunities of doing good service to many besides those who are regular attendants on his ministry. As he stated at Leicester, he has had 1500 letters of introduction brought to him, principally by young men. His experience in his English pastorate enables him to advise and encourage these strangers in a strange land. He is now on his voyage out to resume his work, and we may claim for him the sympathy of all who have sent sons or daughter to the stirring life of South Africa.

By-the-bye, the Rev. William Forbes met on Thursday afternoon, at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, a number of friends connected with the Colonial Missionary Society. After refreshments, Mr. Edward Unwin, who presided, expressed the increased interest of the Directors of the Colonial Society in South Africa, to which they were now largely pledged. Mr. Forbes referred to the isolation from which their Churches in South Africa had suffered in recent years, and to the relief felt by the new policy of the Colonial Society. He pleaded for greater interest on the part of the home Churches in young Englishmen, “who are arriving by hundreds in a land where life is monotonous and where drink is cheap, where bread is taxed and brandy let in free.” A conference followed on the special difficulties now surrounding the native Churches, owing to the failure of harvests, plagues of locusts, and the rinderpest scourge. The Rev. W. J. Woods, B.A., offered special prayer, commending Mr. Forbes to God’s protecting care.

5 December 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

COMPTON—On November 24, at Nebraska Mansion, Eastbourne, the wife of G. W. Compton, of Kimberley.
GREEN, Mrs. C., Johannesburg, October 30.
HUTCHINGS, Mrs. W. H., Pretoria, November 2.
LANGTON, Mrs. J. H. A., Cape Town, November 5.
NELSON, Mrs. W., Kimberley, October 28.
PRIEST, Mrs. J. T., Avondale, October 31.
SIEGENBERG, Mrs. H., Johannesburg, October 24.
SMITH, Mrs. E. G. Kingwilliamstown, October 27.

DAUGHTERS

JOSEPH, Mrs. F., Port Elizabeth, October 28.
STEYTLER, Mrs. H. de F., Johannesburg, October 30.

MARRIAGES

BARRY, F. G.—HEPPELL, M., Heilbron, O.F.S., October 27.
LAPPAN, J.—BAILEY, S.A., Johannesburg, Oct. 28.
MATHEWS—SLATER—On December 2, at Wetheral, Carlisle, by the Rev. Canon Mathews, Rector of Bassingham, Lincoln, and father of the bridegroom, assisted by the Rev. S. Falle, Vicar of Brampton, and the Rev. William Blake, Rector of the parish, Stewart William Mathews, late Rhodesia Horse, to Lucy Erskine, third daughter of J. Bedwell Slater, Esq., of Wetheral.
MILES, G. H.—GAMBLE, A., East London, October 26.
MOIR, J. T.—MORRIS, D. E., Potchefstroom, October 27.
PORTER, F.—GOSSMAN, A., Johannesburg, October 27.
STAMP, C. E.—WOOD, V. P., Johannesburg, November 2.

DEATHS

ABRAHAMS, A. J. G., Grahamstown, October 29, aged 56.
ARUNDEL, C. S., Johannesburg, October 23, aged 55.
BUCK, S. J. T., Queenstown, October 31, aged 31.
DESMOND, Mrs. E. D., Uitenhage, October 24, aged 26.
GRADWELL, D. C. Albany, October 22, aged 65.
HILSON, T., Johannesburg, October 27, aged 26.
LITTLE, Miss M. D., Johannesburg, October 28, aged 19.
PINNEY—On December 3, at St. Aubyn’s, Hassocks, the Honourable Francis Bertrand D. Pinney, late Collector of Customs, Cape Town, and Member of the Executive Council, Cape of Good Hope.
SPICER—On November 4, at Randfontein, South Africa, of typhoid fever, Edmund John, third son of the late Rev. Newton John Spicer, Rector of East Woodhay, Hants, aged 35.
SWEENEY, E., Cape Town, November 3, aged 55.

IN MEMORIAM

In loving memory of Frank Leon VOGEL, the beloved son of Julius and Mary Vogel, who was killed on the morning of December 4, 1893, while serving with Major Wilson’s force against the Matabele.

Miscellaneous articles on the same page:

The patriarchal member for the Klip River Division in the Natal Legislature, has been sued for his Club subscription. He lost the case before the Magistrate, whose decision has now been upheld by the Supreme Court.

Lately the natives at the Star Gold Mining Company’s mine, Johannesburg, struck work. The Zarps were sent for, and put the natives into the compound, from which they were brought out in batches of about a dozen each and taken by the police and white employes, armed with drawn swords and with sjamboks, to the shafts and made to enter the cage. They worked under compulsion.

The Transvaal Explosives Company has completed arrangements for the manufacture of the greater portion of the explosives required by the mining industry. An enormous new factory is to be erected at Modderfontein at an approximate cost of £900,000, and it will be six times larger than any other explosive factory in the world. Although the bulk of the raw material will be imported as heretofore from Europe, the finished ingredients will be almost entirely manufactured on the spot.

RHODESIAN JOTTINGS

Mr. Harry Rogers lately returned to Bulawayo from the Tati Concessions.

A young Canadian artilleryman named McKenzie, who had been seriously hurt by a fall from a horse, shot himself the other night at Bulawayo.

The Bulawayo Memorial Hospital expenses average £1000 monthly. The average number of patients is 80. Eggs cost in October £100, and bread £260.

Several of the murderers of white men have been captured in the Bulalema district, and the different Native Commissioners are on the tracks of several more.

The white population of Melsetter is 400; Umtali, 350; Umtali Road, 250; Salisbury, 600; Victoria, 270; Enkeldoorn, 200; Alderson’s Column, 700; other posts, 200, making a total of 3000 only, 700 of whom are military new comers.

When the last mail to hand left Bulawayo (October 24), Captain Macfarlane was suffering from fever, and was obliged to lay up at the Hospital; whilst Lieutenant Frazer, of the 7th Hussars was rapidly mending, and Lieutenant Armstrong was convalescent.

John Cumming Magurga, of Mancazane, Bedford, Cape Colony, has been appointed Tuli and Mandabele interpreter. Magurga, who is a Fingo, is well-known as a linguist, and speaks English, Dutch, the Colonial Kafir dialects, Sechuana, Zulu, and Mandebele. He was educated at Bedford, by the Rev. David Frazer.

The Wesleyan Church at Bulawayo was lately the scene of a very enjoyable entertainment given by the members of the Wesley Institute. At eight o’clock one evening the visitors began to assemble, and very soon the building was crowded, though not uncomfortably so. The ladies were in great force, and quite put to flight the idea that nearly all had gone down country.

Lord Rosmead has sanctioned the plan formulated by Mr. Sam Lewis, President of the Miners’ and Prospectors’ Association, Bulawayo, that prospectors should be given Government arms and ammunition, and in case of a further outbreak to place themselves under the authority of officers commanding forts in the various districts. The few remaining prospectors will each be armed forthwith with a Martini and one hundred rounds.

A high wind lately played sad havoc with the more flimsy structures to be found in Bulawayo, and even did considerable damage to the solid buildings where they were in a particularly exposed situation. In the latter category was the Queen’s Club pavilion, which was deprived of its roof. At the remount stables, one horse and three mules were killed by sheets of galvanized iron from the roof being hurled against them. One of General Carrington’s mules was also injured. The stable boys very pluckily got all the animals outside, or many others would probably have been hurt.

A correspondent of the Cape Times lately completed a journey of 100 miles through Rhodesia by way of Shiloh, Inyati, and Bembesi. He saw numerous natives on the verge of starvation. He also saw many warriors in small parties of twos and threes, armed with assegais, axes, and in splendid physical condition. He believes that these last are from the Mlumewani Hills, a stronghold lying between the Matoppo Range and Inseza Valley. He considers these men to be a distinct menace to the safety of prospectors, who should only work in the immediate neighbourhood of the forts until the police organization is complete.

In Bulawayo, the first steps have been taken towards the formation of a club, to be called the Bulawayo Savage Club, on the lines of the Savage Club of London. The movement was initiated by Mr. Lowinger, who has been inspired by the success of the Owl Club of Cape Town, of which he was a most active member, to found a similar club in Rhodesia. The object of the club is to bring together local votaries of art in its broadest sense. “Of course,” says a Bulaway paper, “with the reduced population of Bulawayo, big things cannot be expected for some time, but the great thing is to get the club started on the right lines, and this there is every chance of doing with Mr. Lowinger at the helm.”

Writing under date October 29 a Bulawayo correspondent says:--“Small parties of prospectors, each consisting of about four white men and a number of Cape boys and carriers, are already going out into the various districts, partly on account of the enormous high rate of living in town, partly because there is absolutely no work of any description for them to do. Stands keep up their value. Three together sold at last Saturday night’s sale for £3100 (bare veld, no buildings); a suburban stand fetched £325, and another £600; while the Nurses’ Home, which was sold to dissolve a partnership, and on which was erected a most ghastly-looking edifice, realized £1900. Ox-wagons, which cost when new £80 to £120, were being sold yesterday for £3, £5, £5 10s., the highest bid being £10 10s. The wood and wheels alone in most cases were worth more than that.”

12 December 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BRADFORD, Mrs. W. R., Kimberley, November 10.
BROWN, Mrs. W. M., Johannesburg, November 2.
DOWSON, Mrs. R., Johannesburg, November 6.
LIMBRICK, Mrs. R. W., Port Elizabeth, November 8.
MANN—On November 27, at The Park, Parham, Wickham Market, Suffolk, the wife of Arthur Stanley Mann, late of Umhlatuzi, Zululand.

DAUGHTERS

GREEN, Mrs. A. F., Cape Town, November 10 (twins).
KRUMMECK, Mrs. P., Beaufort West, November 9.
MCLACHLAN, Mrs. H. R., Johannesburg, November 3.
MILLS, Mrs. W. S., Graaff-Reinet, November 7.

MARRIAGES

BLACK, R. St. G.—WRIGHT, B. I. H., Grahamstown, November 3.
COWAN—PHILLIPS—On October 21, at Concordia, Namaqualand, Michael Waistell Wilmshurst Cowan, M.B., C.M., eldest son of Michael Waistell Cowan, M.D., R.N., Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets, Leigh Lodge, near Worcester, to Myra, daughter of T. Phillips, Esq., Concordia.
DE VILLIERS, P. J.—PENTZ, L., Cape Town, November 10.
DUNCAN, A. A.—BAIN, K., Johannesburg, Nov. 2
GLANZ, G.—CANE, J., Beaconsfield, November 3.
OLIVEY—MESHAM—At St. Andrew’s Church, Ashley Place, Westminster, by the Rev. J. S. Northcote, Robert Hugh Olivey, eldest son of Colonel Walter Rice Olivey, K.C.B., to Annie Margaret, only daughter of the late Arthur Mesham, of Natal.
SLACK, W. R.—WILLIAMSON, K., Pretoria, Nov. 2.
WHITE-WHITE—On December 1, at St. Peter’s Church, Brockley, by the Rev. C. H. Grundy, William Blomfield White, Chief Officer S. S. Inyoni, to Jessie, second daughter of the late James Tench White, of Canterbury.

DEATHS

BERESFORD—On July 25, at his residence, 8, Pearson Street, Port Elizabeth, after many years’ intense suffering, Captain the Hon. Ralph Aubrey Dupres Beresford, youngest son of the late Lord Alfred Beresford, aged 46.
BELL, J. B., Johannesburg, November 6, aged 35.
DUNCAN, W. D., Cradock, November 4, aged 40.
GAUM, W. S., Johannesburg, November 4, aged 36.
HAMPSON, J., Queenstown, November 2, aged 73.
HIGH, J., Kimberley, November 3, aged 59.
JOEL, Mrs. J., East London, November 1, aged 69.
KITCHING, Rev. B. L. W., Walmer, November 7, aged 32.
MARTIN, E. A., Johannesburg, November 7, aged 23.
PHILLIPS—On December 5, at Southport, Sir Henry Lushington Phillips, K.C.M.G., aged 71.
SHEPSTONE—On November 15, at Pietermaritzburg, Natal, Florence, the beloved wife of Henrique Shepstone, C.M.G.
SUTHERLAND—At Pretoria, Transvaal, Douglas, second son of the late George Sutherland, of Kilmalcolm, N.B., aged 26.

Miscellaneous articles on the same page:

At a public service at Emfundisweni, Pondoland, the other day, nine babies received the rites of baptism, and were named as follows:--Mine, Reinet, Winifred, Elliot, Xata, Abednego, Annie Planche, Alice Lilian Moti, Olivet Netta, and Johnson Bema.

Mr. M. M. Loubser, the popular President of the Port Elizabeth Amateur Athletic and Cycling Union, who lately returned thither from a trip to Europe, was welcomed back at an entertainment given in his honour, where he was presented with a handsome punch bowl in token of the esteem in which he is held in local athletic circles.

THE SERVICES

The Transport Department of the Admiralty have arranged with the Union Steam Ship Company for the Spartan to convey to Cape Town about six officers and 450 men, women, and children, and 50 to 60 men, women, and children for Natal. The Spartan will sail from Southampton on Tuesday next, the 15th inst. She will also call at St. Helena on the outward voyage to take on troops from that island to Cape Town, and will call at St. Helena homewards to bring reliefs from Cape Town to that Island.

Here is a portrait of the late Lieut. S. E. Schilling, of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, news of whose death we announced a few weeks ago, on receipt of a cablegram from Cape Town. Lieut. Schilling was aide-de-camp to Lord Rosmead, and when the mail left Cape Town on November 18, he was lying seriously ill at Government House, with an internal complaint, and arrangements had been made for an operation to be performed upon him. He joined the Army from the Militia in 1890, and was attached to Lord Rosmead’s staff in May of last year. The deceased gentleman, who was in his 28th year, was buried with military honours.

It is the intention of the South Africa Company to apply for permission to confer its war medal, just sanctioned for the operations of 1893, on those who have assisted in quelling the recent rising; and if this be granted, a large contingent of officers and men will come in for it, including, of course, Prince Alexander of Teck, who received his baptism of fire as a subaltern of the 7th Hussars.

The 9th Lancers, by last accounts, had settled down comfortably at Pietermaritzburg, and had given up the idea of active service. It was a great disappointment to all ranks when they arrived to find that, instead of going to the front, as was expected, the orders were for them to be landed at Maritzburg; but they accepted the situation with soldierly good feeling, and received a most cordial reception.

The 2nd Battalion King’s Royal Rifles were to have gone to India this winter. They were lately, it may be remembered, sent to South Africa, and it has now been decided to retain them at the Cape in case any further troubles should arise.

What has become of Colonel Raleigh Grey’s C.M.G. decoration? On last New Year’s Day, while the gallant Colonel was dashing across the veld with the Jameson raiders for Johannesburg, the announcement appeared here that the Queen had conferred the C.M.G upon him in recognition of his services in Rhodesia. He will be out of Holloway about New Year’s Day, ready to take up his really well-earned distinction, if it be still there for him.

A kindly act on the part of Captain O’Callaghan of H.M.S. Philomel, is reported from Port Elizabeth. When the vessel left that port one afternoon recently, a stoker named George Cowd was lying in a very critical state owing to weakness of the heart. Outside the harbour the vessel experienced rough weather, and fearing that the consequent motion on board might accelerate the sick man’s death, the captain put back into port. The case, however, was a hopeless one, and at eight o’clock that night the stoker quietly passed away.

Captain Holford, one of the Prince of Wales’ equerries, who recently succeeded General Ellis in office, and is now with H.R.H. at Hall Barn, has had an unusually long spell off duty. He went to South Africa to escort his sister, Lady Grey, when she rejoined her husband, who succeeded Dr. Jameson as Administrator of the Chartered Company.

IMPORTANT BANK TEST CASE

In the Supreme Court at Cape Town the other day, before the full Bench, the case of the Colonial Government v. National Bank, S.A.R. was heard. Mr. Shiel was for plaintiff, and Mr. Innes, with whom was Mr. Benjamin, for the defendant.

This was a special case set down for the decision of the Court in the following terms:--The plaintiff was the Assistant Treasurer of the Colony, and the defendant was the National Bank of the South African Republic, which had a branch in Cape Town and another in Port Elizabeth, the head office being in Pretoria. It had a capital of £1,200,000, and under the provisions of the Colonial Act of 1864, as amended by that of 1884, the Bank was a joint stock concern, and was indebted to the Colonial Government in the sum of £501, being 1s per £100 on the subscribed capital. The defendant’s plea was that the Bank was not a joint stock concern, and therefore not liable. On this point the decision of the Court was now asked. After argument, the Chief Justice said that under Schedule B of the Act of 1864, an annual licence was imposed on every joint stock company carrying on business in this Colony, and no doubt the defendant company would have been liable under this schedule had it not proceeded to define what the meaning of “joint stock companies” was. The domicile of the Bank was in Pretoria, where the meetings of Directors were held, who had the power to establish branches wherever they thought advisable. In the case of Hepworth, quoted in the argument of counsel, the Court looked upon the articles of association and not at any resolution arrived at by shareholders. Under all the circumstances the judgment of the Court must be for the defendant, with costs.

Their Lordships concurred, and the Court adjourned.

In Bloemfontein the other night, the Criterion Hotel was completely gutted by fire, and a visitor at the hotel named Stoddard was burnt to death.

Speaking at Queenstown, recently, the Hon. J. Frost said he was not going into the question of the South African League, nor had he any intention of joining it. He hoped the League was going to be a success, but he did not think it advisable to stir up any more race feeling in the country. The two races had got to live and work together somehow, and the more amicably they did it the better it would be for all concerned.

The charitable contributions of Port Elizabeth and Cape Town recently received a welcome augmentation to their funds through the liberal bequests of the late Mr. J. Soloman, who was for many years a resident of Port Elizabeth, but lived the latter part of his life in Hamburg. Among others, the Ladies’ Benevolent Society received £1000, the Provincial Hospital £500, and the Jewish Community £200. Altogether the various charitable institutions of Port Elizabeth and Cape Town have benefited to the extent of £3300.

19 December 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BRAND, Mrs. R., Kimberley, November 16.
BUCHAN—On November 21, at Sidlaw Cottage, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, Mrs. James S. Buchan
DEAN, Mrs. W. J., Beaconsfield, November 13.
FELGATE, Mrs. J. W., Molteno, November 17.
GARDEN, Mrs. J., Winburg, November 16.
IMPEY, Mrs. F. W., Alexandria, C. C., November 15.
WALLACE, Mrs. H. E., Grahamstown, November 13.

DAUGHTERS

HARRIS, Mrs. J. C. Cape Town, November 20.
MCDONALD—On December 8, at Nevis Bank, Fort William, the wife of Mr. John McDonald.

MARRIAGES

BRIGHT, W. J.—MACRAE, A. F., Cambridge, Nov. 11.
DOE-ANDRE—On November 12, at St. Augustine’s Church, Port Elizabeth, South Africa, by the Rev. W. Quirk, Francis Blackburn Doe, eldest son of Rev. J. H. Doe, M.A., late Vicar of Eaton Bray, to Margaret Gertrude, fourth daughter of J. Lewis Andre, F.S.A., of Sarcelles, Hersham, Sussex.
HUGHES, W.-WESTAWAY, A., East London, Nov. 11.
KYLE-SMITH—On December 11, at Durban, John Tullis Kyle, third son of William Kyle, Millar Bank, Uddingston, to Jessie Grace, only daughter of the late Alexander Smith, Slater, Glasgow.
MEDLICOTT, J. E.—WEBB, A. L. W., East London, November 10.
NOBLE, J. N.—FRASER, C. R., Johannesburg, Nov. 11.
PIGG, A. H. G.—DAVIES, E. M., Barberton, Nov. 9.

DEATHS

CARR-GOMM—On December 10, at Simonstown, Cape Colony, Eardley Culling Carr, R.N., 1st Lieutenant of H.M.S. St George, second son of Mr. Carr-Gomm, of The Chase, Farnham Royal, Bucks, aged 35.
CHESTER—On December 14, at Johannesburg, from typhoid fever, Douglas James Chester, formerly of the City of London, aged 42, deeply mourned and lamented.
CLEMENTS, W., Grahamstown, Nov. 14, aged 77.
GALLON, Mrs. R., Palmietfontein, Nov. 14, aged 65.
OTTO—At Natal, South Africa, Grace Grey Miller Brown, wife of William Otto, and daughter of the late Matthew Brown, of Saltcoats.
SOGA, J. T., Taungs, Bechuanaland.
TAYLOR, Mrs. J., Mount Ayliff, East Griqualand, November 1.

IN MEMORIAM

SPILLANE—Lottie, the beloved wife of W. G. Spillane, who died at Pietermaritzburg, December 14, 1894.

Miscellaneous articles on the same page:

Mr. James Brister’s will, which lately reached the Master’s Office at Cape Town, contains many charitable bequests and legacies. A feature of the latter is that many of them are to be paid monthly. Dr. Hutcheon is a legatee to the tune of twenty guineas.

At a meeting of the Provisional Committee formed for the purpose of relieving the distress in the Zoutpansberg district, held the other day in Johannesburg, letters were read from Mr. Briscoe, the missionary of the Wesleyan Church, Pietersburg, in which he stated that there were 400,000 people in the district, and if they only got starvation allowance—1 lb. of mealies each per diem—it would take 300 bags of mealies per day to supply them, so that the quantity sent up by the Government would only furnish food for 10 days. It was pointed out that the poverty of many widows, children, and old men in the district was such that they had not the wherewithal to purchase mealies.

NERVES AND STIMULANTS

As our readers are aware, Sir J. Gordon Sprigg is a teetotaler, and when he met his constituents at East London the other day, he gave his experiences during the trying times which he, in common with all South Africans, has lately passed through. Mr. Malcomess had said that as the animal man possessed nerves, he consequently required a stimulant; but Sir Gordon Sprigg did not agree that it was necessary for the nervous system that a man should drink. He added:--“At one time I thought myself I had nerves, but when I reflect upon what I have gone through during the last seven months or so, I begin to doubt whether I really have any at all. That, I suppose, is the reason I do not find it necessary to take any alcoholic liquor. Either I have no nerves or else they are strong enough to sustain me without the adventitious aid of liquor.” Sir Gordon added that he was not, however, a professional teetotaler, and whether it was good for them or not, he believed that the great majority of people would still continue to drink.

In Natal, regulations have been published permitting chilled meat to be carried over the railway from Harrismith to the Transvaal.

The other day Mr. Lukas Meyer, member of the First Raad and ex-President of the New Republic, celebrated his fiftieth birthday. His eldest daughter, Miss Lettie Meyer, is shortly to be married to Mr. Lodewijk de Jager, of Ladysmith.

THE LADIES

It will be welcome Christmas news to Doctor Jameson’s myriads of friends to hear, on reliable authority, that he seems at last to have turned the corner, and is, saving relapses or other unforeseen circumstances on a fair way to recovery. Until Tuesday great anxiety was felt concerning his condition; the extreme weakness, coupled with great despondency, interfered materially with any progress towards recovery. The knowledge that his officers are still at Holloway is a source of perpetual worry and anxiety to Doctor Jameson, and he would not be the man his friends know him to be if this were not so. One can only wish and hope for the best, and trust that Government will not wait until more valuable lives are in danger before the officers who are still retained at Holloway are liberated.

I am very glad to be able to state that Mr. William Knight, of Witwatersrand fame, is rapidly recovering from the dangerous malady which attacked him some time ago. He had already grown so weak that the least exercise was an effort, when he consulted a celebrated physician, well known to several of the leading men in South Africa, for the cures he has effected. Since then, about three weeks ago, Mr. Knight’s recovery from the worst symptoms has been very satisfactory.

Our young folk will be having a gayer time than ever this Christmas, and South Africa is, as usual, well to the fore with entertainments.

The news of the destruction by fire of Groote Schuur, Mr. Rhodes’ uniquely beautiful residence in Rondebosch, has come as a great shock. Placards of immense size, reporting “Mr. Rhodes’ house burnt down,” dealt the first blow, and then, little by little one realized that the five words contained on the placards had spoken absolute truth. Although I have never seen Groote Schuur, many friends have been visiting Mr. Rhodes there, and from all came the same most enthusiastic accounts, and occasionally a vivid description of the interior of the house and the exceptionally liberal hospitality dispensed there by its generous and large-minded owner. If ever a place deserved the designation of “Liberty Hall,” it was, indeed, Groote Schuur. Not only luxurious rooms and servants were at the disposal of the visitors, but horses and carriages and coachmen all complete. There was no necessity to fit in one’s plans or movements with other visitors’, each did exactly as he liked, or went where he liked, and thereby best pleased his host.

When the mail arrives, may we have the reassuring news that at least some of Mr. Rhodes much-prized treasures and curiosities were saved. It will certainly be interesting to know the origin of the conflagration, though there is but poor consolation attached to that.

Just when one commenced to think that the chapter of troubles in the book of Rhodes had come to an end, comes a fresh calamity, which is quite out of one’s reckoning. Stoic and strong-minded as the world knows Mr. Rhodes to be, the destruction of the home of which he was so proud, and which, to bring to such great perfection, he had spared neither pains, trouble, nor expense, must be a very sore and heavy trial to him. Could he rebuild the house and re-collect all the countless valuables and curiosities which it contained, with the sympathy of the people, friends, and admirers of all nations that goes out to him in his loss, I think that even a more beautiful Groote Schuur than the last one would be the result.

The Cycle Carnival in Johannesburg has been an emphatic success. It brought together the biggest number of people ever known to have assembled at one time at any one function in Johannesburg. That seems to me to be saying much, for the Johannesburg citizen is nothing if not a pleasure-seeker. Where there is fun there he is to be found, and whatever he may have to miss occasionally, sports rank first and foremost on his programme of pleasure. From all accounts, the floral decorations of the “steeds” and their riders—in addition to effective and appropriate fancy costumes adapted by the latter—were superb. No wonder the prizes were substantial in value, and competition very keen.

Influenza, the fiend, is busy amongst South African friends. With sincerest regret I heard that Mrs. Kirkwood and Mr. and Mrs. J. Macalister were attacked by that hateful malady. Mr. James Kirkwood, of Johannesburg, has been visiting some South African friends in Somersetshire. I hear that he thinks of leaving for the Cape during the month of January. All the nicest people are returning to South Africa, away from this uncertain climate, best described as the “unexpected.”

To all my readers I wish a very happy and bright Christmas INKOSIGAS.

26 December 1896

BIRTHS

SONS

BAUMKEN, Mrs. G., Cape Town, November 21.
DE KOCH, Mrs. J. J. G., Carnarvon, November 25 (twins).
KOLVER, Mrs. W. A., Johannesburg, November 20.
RUSSELL—On December 18, at Ravenscourt Park, the wife of John Addison Russell, of 39, Rylett Road, W., and 49, Victoria Street, S.W.
SWIFT—On November 25, at Kirkdale House, Pearson Street, Port Elizabeth, Cape Colony, the wife of B. P. Meade Swift.

DAUGHTERS

BLAINE, Mrs. T. L., East London, November 19.
DELL, Mrs. A. H., Johannesburg, November 20.
MARSHALL, Mrs. J. H., Johannesburg, November 24.
ROBERTSON, Mrs. J. M., Walmer, November 21.
SURMON, Mrs. M. W., Grahamstown, November 19.
WEATHERBY, Mrs. E. W., Kimberley, November 22.

MARRIAGES

EAGLESTONE, W. W.—LOWE, M., Johannesburg, November 17.
HINDS, H. A.—DEARY, A. M., Kingwilliamstown, November 17.
MACKAY, A. B.—DAVIS, B. F., Johannesburg, November 18.
WENTINK, D. E.—COCKS, E. M. M., Fauresmith, November 16.

DEATHS

BEATTIE, R., Kingwilliamstown, Nov. 18, aged 45.
CARTER, F., Grahamstown, November 15, aged 36.
COLE, A. W., Wynberg, November 26, aged 73.
CROZIER—On December 18, at Bognor, Eleanor Caroline (Nellie), eldest daughter of the late Frederick William Crozier, of Australia and South Africa.
FROST, Mrs. M. D., Port Elizabeth, November 21, aged 65.
GUEST, J., Port Elizabeth, November 21, aged 85.
JONES, J. H., Johannesburg, November 27, aged 46.
KNIGHT-BRUCE—On December 16, at the Vicarage, Bovey Tracey, George Wyndham Hamilton Knight-Bruce, D. D., Assistant-Bishop of Exeter, and Vicar of Bovey Tracey (late Bishop of Mashonaland), aged 44.
MARTINIUS, J. H., Kookfontein, District Clanwilliam, November 19, aged 34.
SMIT, W. S. Claremont, November 24, aged 72.
STEAD, Mrs. A. R., Port Elizabeth, November 19, aged 43.

Miscellaneous articles on the same page:

The Maritzburg bakers have announced that in future the price of a pound loaf will be 5d.

A serious mining disaster occurred at Glenluce Mine, Witwatersrand, the other week. The timbering of the mine gave way, and entombed eight men. On the debris being cleared away, it was found that four white men and two natives were killed. The remaining two escaped the falling timbers by crouching in a corner of the shaft, where they remained wedged in for eight hours. The names of the European victims are William Willow, Jonathan Spedding, Edward Tanner, and Henry Millington.

NOTES FROM SOUTH AFRICA (From Our Own Correspondent)

KIMBERLEY, November 30

I don’t think that anything has ever been more closely read, or has created a greater interest in South Africa, than the ample review you gave of the new book, “Sunshine and Shade in Rhodesia,” just published by the great South African traveler, Mr. Selous. I think the public are much indebted to the author, who has certainly thrown much light on what was very shady in many respects before the book appeared. It must not be forgotten that Mr. Selous writes as an eye-witness of what he saw and shared in, and he has been sufficiently long before the public to make his statements of undoubted reliability. He has succeeded in correcting many erroneous impressions that existed in regard to the movements of the Hon. C. J. Rhodes and Dr. Jameson, and the policy of the former and the action of the latter will now be better understood and better thought of. The intelligence we have lately received of Dr. Jameson’s health has been a source of great anxiety from one end of South Africa to the other, and the general feeling is that the Imperial authorities have been much too tardy, in view of his bad state of health, in releasing him. It was no part of the duty of the Home Government to imperil his health by continuing his imprisonment after it was seen that it had given way. The hope now is that he is free, and that freedom and fresh air are invigorating him. He was always a great favourite in Southern Africa, and were he to pay the country a visit, he would meet with a most enthusiastic welcome.

I am sorry to have to report that the rinderpest continues to spread, although it has not crossed the Orange River just yet, and it is to be hoped that it will not get into the south country, or the result will be terrible in the extreme. Already the country north of the Orange is in a shocking state through rinderpest ravages. In some parts the people are in a state of semi-starvation. No one, either veterinary surgeons or cattle farmers, have yet discovered how to deal with the pest at all effectively. Every now and then we hear of remedies having been discovered to alleviate the sufferings of the animals attacked, or to prevent their taking the disease, but they invariably end in failure. The vets. and the Agricultural Department have made no end of mistakes—mistakes which, in many cases, have tended to spread the disease, and make it more intensely virulent. Tomorrow there is to be a special meeting of the various local Rinderpest Committees in Kimberley, when delegates will attend from Kimberley, Barkly West, Hay, Herbert, Du Toit’s Pan, Campbell Douglas, Belmont, and all the outlying districts. The great question to be settled is, shall shooting cattle still go on, or shall the pest be allowed to take its course? Dr. Hutcheon, the Government Vet., told an interviewer on Saturday that public opinion had grown very strong against Government shooting cattle, and he was of opinion that if the shooting was to be given up, the vast body of police now guarding the border should be at once dismissed. They were an enormous expense, and if the disease was to be allowed to take its own course and every cattle owner left to look after his own herds, the police could be of no use. It would be better to save the police expenditure, and use the money in the end to compensate those who lost cattle. The cost of keeping up so enormous a body of police was far greater than the cost of compensating those who lost cattle from the disease would be. He was clearly of opinion that some of the medicines used had had much effect in checking the disease. He said the same of inoculation—the inoculated animal gets the disease in almost as virulent a form as the non-inoculated one. Besides, farmers are not careful to use pure virus.

It is somewhat difficult to follow the Doctor’s reasoning; the utmost you get from it is that the Doctor, though a very fair vet, in a general way knows very little about the rinderpest. He is all speculation and experiments, and from the day the pest appeared, he has been continually changing his opinion, and the advice he has given one day has been superseded by something totally different on the next.

Both Hutcheon and Armstrong, the two vets., attribute the spread of the disease to the Orange River Free State. Telegrams bring the unpleasant fact that 85 cattle were shot on Thursday on Mr. Anderson’s farm Rooikraalsfontein, and nine on Saltspanfontein, the property of Mr. Viljoen, on Friday. This morning the news reached us that the flocks of goats in the Free State had been attacked by the pest, and were dying very fast. Fears were entertained that the sheep would get it next, and in that case the flock-masters would soon be ruined, and the wool-dealers as well.

It is reported from Calvinia that an immense quantity of wool—some thousands of pounds in weight—has been destroyed by heavy rains. It is a pity that Calvinia should be flooded whilst this part of the world has none.

The agitation on the cheap food question is as brisk as ever, and gathers strength as it goes, and “The People’s Shilling” Fund to provide the sinews of war for a campaign in various constituencies in order to influence members on behalf of cheap food and the remission of bread and meat duties, is mounting up to a good round sum.

Sir Gordon Sprigg arriving at Kokstad on Saturday afternoon, met with a hearty reception, and was presented with an address, signed by Europeans and Griquas. He arranged to receive a deputation today.

Our store and shop keepers are making grand preparations for Christmas, and are already advertising Christmas presents. On Christmas Eve the Du Toit’s Pan Road will make a grand display.

A new paper, entitled the Diamond Fields’ Mining News, of which Mr. Tiller is the editor, has been started by a limited liability company in Kimberley. Kimberley ought to have two papers at least, and I think you will join in wishing the new venture success.

We do not get many breach of promise cases in South Africa, but one of a highly sensational character was tried and decided at Pretoria last Monday—Hart v. Myer Yates. The defendant had acted towards the plaintiff in a most heartless manner, but, notwithstanding the unpleasantness of appealing to a court of law under the circumstances, she had the pluck to do it, and was rewarded by the High Court of Pretoria with very substantial damages, which the defendant will have to pay. The case was so bad in all its details that the Chief Justice, in delivering judgment, gave the defendant a well-deserved slanging.

“Cape Town by Night” is affording the Press of the city lots of material for sensational articles. The morals of the Cape Metropolis never did take a very high flight. The clergy and some of the members of the Y.M.C.S. are doing battle with the evil, and it is to be hoped they will succeed.

It is gratifying to know that Mrs. Saul Solomon, the widow of the once leader of the House of Assembly, is gathering material for writing a memoir of her late husband’s career. It will be an interesting and a useful book. He was a skilful statesman and a brilliant speaker.

Those to whom Captain Penfold, who was Harbour Master in Cape Town for 17 years, and who was obliged to throw up that berth through ill-health, is known, will be glad to hear that the air of Kimberley has completely restored him. He is looking as robust and jovial as ever, and is now connected with the De Beers Mining Company.