representative of the "Times of Ceylon" recently bad an interesting interview with General Sir Hector Macdonald, who few days in Colombo en route to where he has gone to spend short holiday. Let the interview speak for itself:—; eau to Austrafa and beautiful New Zenland."
"Tam just going to pay a burried visit said the General. "I shall be away over three months and don't know exactly where T shall go to when I return to India. 0 far, as you know, I have been in the N ghiris.""
Naturally affairs in the Transvaal very quickly cropped up in conversation, Sir Hector viewed seriously the reverses in the past few days.
~The worst feature of them is that they give the Boers fresh heart to go on with the struggle. 'The wi is over has been over for a tong time. We are now operating against bands and very gradually wearing them down, A reverss our troops gives the Boers a fillip, and it stimulates many men who have' laid down arms, or,, perhaps, never fought against us, to join those still in the field. This is why the news is bad.
"What do you think of the Boer as a fighting nian, General 2"
That is a bard question to answer. You See he does not fight according to any rules of the game. As a matter of fact," added the General laughingly, "we might say that what we have expected hin to Go he has invariably not done, and kas just done what, according to rules, he should not have done, But, undoubtedly, be is brave and clever and cunning. He will walk off if it does not suit him and fight in his own way and time. Then they are a stubborn lot. I remember having a conversation with President Steyn's brother, and he said to me, My brother is a stubborn fellow and will never give in" He was typical of a great many of the Boers."
"In what way do you sce the end, General; by wholesale' deportation "Tam offald there is no other way. Get them out of the country back again when everything, is settled."
Then I mentioned to the General that weird rumours were current in Ceylon about the formation of Boer Horse for the Indian frontier. Sir Hector laughed heart. ily. "No," he said, "that is absurd, of course. But what is being done is the utilising of men who have taken the oath of allegiance in South Africa. At two or three places in South Africa, including Bloemfontein, there are Boers who form corps for defence against the Boers in the field, and this has proved successful."
"Do you think the war is likely to Lo ended scon "Tu a year or so, perhaps. Who can tell? The whole business is necessarily so tedious, and our troops ate operating in such a large country."
"And the patriotism of the Boers?"
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.