authorised to spare no expense in the matter of breaking up the camps into smaller units, transferring them where possible to Natal and Cape Colony, in strengthening the medical, nursing and administrative staffs, and in the provision of rations and extra comforts. When the year closed these things were receiving vigorous attention, though, of course, it was impossible for those responsible for the camps wholly to please either the burgher inhabitants of them or exacting critics in England. The broad fact is that throughout the year Great Britain was at enormous cost (in July, for example, the expenditure on the camps alone was 169,5461.) giving shelter, food and clothing, medical treatment and education to the children of almost the entire Boer non-combatant population of the two Colonies-for only a relatively small proportion of Boer women and children remained with the burghers in the areas of country, chiefly to the north and east of the Delagoa line, yet to be cleared by our troops. A study of the medical reports shows indisputably that the mortality among the children was greatly aggravated by the ignorance and, in some cases, by the indifference of the Boer parents to the value of child life, for there is some evidence that among the lower classes of Boers there was neglect and wilful opposition to measures for the restriction of disease. It would take up too much space to give the statistics of death; a few examples will suffice. In July there were 93,940 burghers in camp, of whom 46,366 were children, and of the children 1,124 died. In August, when a severe epidemic of measles prevailed, there were 105,347 whites in the camps16,695 men, 36,427 women, and 52,224 children. The deaths of whites were, men 62, women 271, children 1,545. In September the figures were in camps 109,418 (including 54,326 children), and the deaths were, men 119, women 328, and children 1,964. Since then there has been a diminishing mortality, but an ever-present danger of a recrudescence of epidemic. A feature of the new arrangements as to the camps is that those remaining in the Transvaal and in the Orange River Colony are to be under the control of officers with special experience in dealing with plague and famine camps in India.

The renewed activity of De Wet and his success at Tweefontein in the early hours of Christmas Day had no effect in checking the resumption of industry, and the situation at the end of 1901 was not without its encouraging features. The lines of communication had for some months past been unbroken, though there were probably several thousand Boers yet in the field in the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony; every week, as the lines of blockhouses were increased, saw them cooped up in narrower spaces; Cape Colony was said to be almost free of commandoes; the Natal borders were held inviolate; rapid progress was made in the reorganisation of civil government and the restarting of industry and agriculture in the former theatre of war; Rhodesia was recovering; in fact, throughout

South Africa the New Year opened amid many signs of the commencement of that process of recuperation which Lord Milner warned the people must of necessity be slow, not so much because of the material destruction the war had brought in its train as because of the moral effects of its prolongation. Though no person of authority ventured to say when the fighting would definitely end, the universal impression was that the time and opportunities had arrived for constructive statesmanship to rebuild the edifice of South African life on the new foundation of British authority throughout the conquered and revolted territories.

Concerning Rhodesia a few definite particulars should be added, for the stagnation produced by the war has not been unrelieved during the past twelve months. The total output of gold in 1900 was 91,640 oz. In 1901 the output (on an approximate calculation of the December returns) reached about 170,000 oz. The administrative system under Mr. Milton and the Legislative Council has worked well. There has, naturally, been no marked development politically or industrially, for the energies of no mean portion of the white male population have been expended in the service of the Crown against the Boers; but measures have been taken by the British South African and other companies for assisting the settlement of European agriculturists and importing live stock. The Legislature also has passed a Masters and Servants Ordinance for the regulation of labour conditions. The problem of the importation of labour has received attention, and measures are in train for attracting Indian immigrants.

THE STORY OF THE WAR.

At the opening of the year the activity of the Boers on the eastern line beyond Middelburg took the form of simultaneous night attacks, under the direction of CommandantGeneral Louis Botha, on Belfast, Dalmannutha, Machadodorp and other smaller posts. These were everywhere repulsed. The plans of the enemy, as stated by Lord Kitchener, whose despatches are the principal source of this narrative, which may therefore be depended upon for its general accuracy, were then as follows: Hertzog was to proceed to Lambert's Bay and there meet a ship bringing mercenaries, guns and ammunition from Europe, while De Wet was to go south by De Aar and join Hertzog in a combined attack upon Capetown, Botha invading Natal with a picked commando of 5,000 men as soon as he heard that the junction had been effected, Durban being his objective. In pursuance of this plan there had been a concentration of Boers in Ermelo, Carolina and Bethel, where there were large depôts of supply. Lord Kitchener therefore deemed it essential to sweep the country between the Delagoa Bay and Natal Railway lines, and concentrated columns at Mooi Plaats, Baps

fontein, Bulfontein and Springs, with Lieutenant-General French in command. Meanwhile, the Pretoria-Middelburg line was reinforced and the country cleared so that other small columns could join in the sweeping movement. General French moved eastward on January 28 and forced Beyers' commando from strong positions commanding the valley of the Wilge River. Having encountered little further opposition he entered Ermelo on February 6 and learned that a determined attack had been made on General Smith-Dorrien moving down from Carolina, the British losing 23 killed and 52 wounded. Finally, General French drove the enemy into the corner south-east of Piet Retief. The result of the movement was that Botha's intended invasion of Natal was completely frustrated; but Botha, with 3,000 men succeeded, by a night march, in passing through General French's lines, moving north across the railway into the Roos Senekal district. Though cooped up he had once more evaded capture. During the progress of General French's movements the Boers had, however, lost 296 in killed, 177 prisoners, 555 surrendered prisoners, 8 guns, 784 rifles, 199,300 rounds rifle ammunition, and a very large number of horses, cattle, sheep and waggons, while an enormous quantity of grain and forage had been seized and destroyed. The British had lost 5 officers and 41 men killed, and 4 officers and 108 men wounded.

Meanwhile the men forming the commandoes which were to follow De Wet reassembled at Winburg, and on the 23rd were led across the railway line, making for the Doornberg, where there was a Boer stronghold. Lord Kitchener sent two columns against them under General Knox from Kroonstad, and General Bruce Hamilton from Leeuwkop; but De Wet broke up his laager, dashed between the two columns before they were in striking distance, and rushed southward for the Tabaksberg, with General Knox hot upon his heels. General Knox caught up the rearguard at the Tabaksberg and fought an action. During the chase Lord Kitchener had ordered Bruce Hamilton's troops to Winburg and entrained them for Bloemfontein, with the hope of intercepting De Wet on the BloemfonteinLadybrand line. Bad weather, however, was fatal to celerity of movement, and as De Wet was able to shake off Knox, who was hampered by transport movements, he crossed the Bloemfontein-Thabanchu line near Israel's Poort. Rapidly outpacing Knox and Bruce Hamilton, his commando (2,300 men with 2 guns) swept southward to Cape Colony.

A new disposition of troops then became necessary. Knox and Bruce Hamilton's forces were called back to Bloemfontein and entrained for Bethulie; the troops in the Aliwal district. were reinforced; and a strong mobile column placed at Naaupoort. Additional mounted infantry (900 men) had at this juncture arrived from England and were sent there, and Lieutenant-General Lyttelton was transferred from Middelburg to

Naaupoort to direct the operations against De Wet, who, after a rest in the De Wetsdorp district, marched towards the Orange River east of the railway. His object had been to cross at Norval's Pont; here he found his way blocked, but he turned towards Sand Drift. This was on February 4. Troops were sent from Naaupoort towards the drift, but they were too late, meeting the Boers coming south from the drift and driving them westward. Knox and Bruce Hamilton followed the Boers through the drift and a vigorous pursuit was made, in very bad weather and over sodden ground, which made transport most difficult. On the 14th Plumer got into touch with the enemy, who left large numbers of waggons and much ammunition behind him. He declined to fight and dashed on with the object of finding Hertzog; but the several British columns headed De Wet off to the Orange River again, west of Hopetown. The river was in flood. It seemed that at last De Wet was run down and cornered, but a portion of his force crossed the river notwithstanding the flood, while De Wet, with the remnants, dashed past Hopetown towards Petrusville, where he was joined by Hertzog's commando, and by a series of rapid marches and baffling changes of direction was "lost" between Britstown and Strydenburg, eventually crossing the Orange River again, without opposition, between Sand Drift and Colesberg Bridge. Hertzog, it appeared, had reached Lambert's Bay, but had found no ship. De Wet's invasion of Cape Colony had been thwarted; he had lost 200 prisoners (besides killed and wounded) and all his guns, ammunition and waggons. On the other hand, while he was being pursued northward and through the Orange River Colony again he had left Scheepers' and Kritzinger's commandoes in Cape Colony, and though they gained few recruits they had many sympathisers, who rendered them better service as guides and news-bearers than if they had actually joined their ranks.

In the early days of February Lord Methuen had been dealing with a determined incursion of the enemy from the south-western part of the Transvaal into Griqualand; Generals Babington and Cunningham had been on the track of Delarey and other commandoes in the west; on the Standerton-Heidelberg line there had been constant encounters with parties of railway-destroyers and train-wreckers; and on the Delagoa line Major-General Kitchener had been engaged with Boers in the Roos Senekal district. Meanwhile Lord Kitchener had been strengthening the chain of fortified posts along the railways, so as to release as many men as possible for the work of hunting down the enemy, and had established organised camps where surrendered burghers and their families could live under British protection, these places of concentration being eventually taken over by the civilian authorities.

We left De Wet flying northwards through the Orange River Colony with Lyttelton's columns in hot pursuit. Plumer

caught up his rearguard at Fauresmith on March 4. De Wet was then twenty-four hours ahead on the Petrusburg Road. But by the time Plumer reached the Modder on the 7th, De Wet's force had vanished, and whither De Wet himself had gone was unknown. During the progress of this pursuit General Lyttelton had crossed the country between the Orange River and the Thabanchu-Ladybrand line, the Boers keeping on the run and evading our pursuit, though losing 70 prisoners, over 4,000 horses and many cattle. Concurrently, also, Colonel Williams had conducted similar operations to the south-east of Heilbron, capturing large quantities of grain and ammunition. In the lull that followed the dispersal of De Wet's force Lord Kitchener reorganised the mobile troops in the Orange River Colony, dividing the Colony into four districts, each under the control of a general officer responsible for dealing with any concentration of the enemy, and for systematically clearing the country of horses, cattle and supplies. The southern district was given to General Lyttelton, the central to Major-General Knox, the northern to Major-General E. L. Elliot, and the eastern to Lieutenant-General Rundle. It is needless to follow the work done in these districts in detail during the latter part of March and in April. It is enough to say that steady progress was made in clearing the country.

In the Eastern Transvaal incessant rains, inaugurating the South African winter, which lasts from April to September, had made the general eastward movement under French, who had been sent thither again, extremely slow and difficult; but as the country was traversed it had been well searched, and several buried guns and stores of ammunition had been discovered. The Luneburg-Utrecht route was, however, abandoned as a line of supply, and the troops fell back gradually towards Natal, a column being left to move down the Blood River Valley and clear the country to the right of General French's advance. At the same time columns under General Smith-Dorrien and Lieutenant-Colonels Campbell and Allenby were operating on the Swaziland border, where an organised force of Boers were attempting to break north. In one attempt they lost 2 guns and several prisoners. Columns from Vryheid, where General Hildyard was in command, were sent down, and coming into contact with Grobelaar's commando drove it upon General Dartnell's column. An engagement resulted and some loss was inflicted on the enemy, who fled into the broken country eastward, being followed by light columns without wheeled transport. Parties of the enemy were caught up near the Zululand border, guns, waggons and stock being captured, and the enemy for the time being demoralised, 200 of them crossing into Zululand and surrendering to the local magistrates. By the end of March some of the troops were recalled, but the work of clearing the bush country around Vryheid was continued. On April 13 General French resumed his command at Johannesburg, and the columns