A Similar
Boon To The Partially Conquered Boers Led To Very Different
Results, And The Prolongation Of The War Is Largely Due To This Act
Of Clemency.
At the same time political and military considerations
were opposed to each other upon the point, and his moral position
in the use of harsher measures is the stronger since a policy of
conciliation had been tried and failed.
Lord Roberts returned to
London with the respect and love of his soldiers and of his
fellow-countrymen. A passage from his farewell address to his
troops may show the qualities which endeared him to them.
'The service which the South African Force has performed is, I
venture to think, unique in the annals of war, inasmuch as it has
been absolutely almost incessant for a whole year, in some cases
for more than a year. There has been no rest, no days off to
recruit, no going into winter quarters, as in other campaigns which
have extended over a long period. For months together, in fierce
heat, in biting cold, in pouring rain, you, my comrades, have
marched and fought without halt, and bivouacked without shelter
from the elements. You frequently have had to continue marching
with your clothes in rags and your boots without soles, time being
of such consequence that it was impossible for you to remain long
enough in one place to refit. When not engaged in actual battle you
have been continually shot at from behind kopjes by invisible
enemies to whom every inch of the country was familiar, and who,
from the peculiar nature of the country, were able to inflict
severe punishment while perfectly safe themselves.
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