Chronicle, Saturday 24 October 1914, page 43

REBELLION IN SOUTH AFRICA

COLONEL MARITZ AS A SOLDIER. A SOUTH AUSTRALIAN'S EXPERIENCE.

The position in South Africa has been made extremely grave by the treachery of Colonel Maritz, an officer commanding the South African forces in the north-west of the province of Cape Colony. The despicable character of Maritz's defection is clearly illustrated by the fact, that he received £40,000 from the. Union Government to equip his corps, when all the time he was in the pay of the Germans.

There is one man in Adelaide who knows the rebel well, and that is Major V.H. Edwards, who served as a special service officer in the Boer war. At first Major Edwards was provost-marshal- to Colonel, de Lisle, but being stricken with enteric fever, he returned to South Australia. When recuperated he sailed again to South Africa, and was appointed chief staff officer to the column under the command of Colonel White, operating in Namaqualand. White's column, however, was shut up in Garies by General Maritz and his troops. They were unable to move till the end of the war. This prevented Major Edwards from attaching himself to the force. On his way up he reached O'okip, a border town, which, was then being invested by General Smuts, now the South African Minister of Defence. At this place Major Edwards was appointed officer commanding the outer lines round the town. The war was nearing its final stages, and General Smuts, going to meet Lord Kitchener in conference, left General Maritz, the prime mover in the present rebellion, in sole command of his troops. The first thing Maritz did was to send in a note under a flag of truce to O'okip, demanding a surrender. The reply was emphatic — 'No surrender.' A second ultimatum was then sent in to the effect: — 'In the -name of humanity — for the sake of the women and the children - you must surrender, otherwise I'll blow you to __.' The British did not surrender. An incident is vouched for by Major Ed wards, which shows what a cool customer Maritz is. During the siege of T O'okip a mob of goats was noticed coming in towards the outposts. It seemed a good opportunity to secure some useful milk producers or fresh food supplies, and Lieutenant Brooks, who was in charge of a regiment of the 1st Royal Warwicks, instructed his men to drive the animals into camp. This work was undertaken after sunset. All went well for a time, and then there was pandemonium. The Britishers, the better to do their shepherding, had left their guns behind, and after driving the goats a quarter of a mile they were subjected to a galling fire by the Boers. Maritz was the officer responsible for the coup. Brooks said afterwards, 'Every bally goat had a rifle.' Lieutenant Brooks was a brave British officer, and within a few days he brought in eight Boer prisoners. He asked, ''What shall we do with them?' Major Edwards replied, 'We can't feed them, so we had better send them back to their lines.' The prisoners were sent back, with two bottles of whisky for their commander and Major Edwards' compliments. Imagine the surprise of Major Edwards when next day General Maritz's chief staff officer came in under a flag of truce with an invitation to the officer to meet him and 'bust up' the two bottles. The convivial gathering came off, and the officers were 'hail, fellow, well met.'

A few days later, however, Maritz concentrated his force for an attack upon the town of O'okip, and in the encounter, which resulted in a victory for the English, Major Edwards and Maritz exchanged shots at a distance of four yards. Neither was injured. The daring Maritz accompanied by some of his troops, shortly afterwards ventured within 200 yards of the town, and they were hiding behind a tank when the defenders fired. Maritz and his companions got safely away, but they had a narrow escape. While the investment of O'okip was in progress General Maritz wag given a challenge which is surely one of the most remarkable in the history of warfare. Tiring of the slaughter of men, at a time when the stress of the war had lightened, Major Edwards sent word to General Maritz as follows: — 'We have played you at cannon ball and with rifle ball, and now — what about a game of football?” The reply was characteristic. Maritz was willing, but the Britishers did not play, as they were not sure that there was not something sinister behind the ready acquiescence. The letter reproduced in General Maritz's reply to the challenge. A free translation is as follows: — Very noble Major Edwards. Noble-born sir — I would let you know that I have consented to a game of football between you and us. On my part I shall consent to have a cessation of hostilities from to morrow afternoon (12 o'clock) till sunset. To what concerns further details as regards the place and the time when the game shall take place, you must arrange with Messrs. Roberts and Van Rooyen, whom I shall send to you. I have the honor to remain, for S. G. Maritz, General T.V.K., secretary, Concordia, April 28, 1902.