United States or Italy ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
When Schalk Burger, the Acting President of the Transvaal, and the rest of the Government were driven across the Delagoa Bay Railway by Bruce Hamilton in December, Park, who was in command of the solitary British force north of the line, aided by a column from Belfast, made an unsuccessful attempt to capture the wandering Government.
Schalk Burger should assume the acting Presidentship, since Mr. Kruger's advanced age and feeble health did not permit his risking the hardships attendant on a warlike life on the veldt. It was decided Mr. Kruger should go to Europe and Messrs. Steyn and Burger should move about with their respective commandos. They were younger men and the railway, would soon have to be abandoned.
And now the Boer cause appeared to be visibly tottering to its fall. The flight of the President had accelerated that process of disintegration which had already set in. Schalk Burger had assumed the office of Vice-President, and the notorious Ben Viljoen had become first lieutenant of Louis Botha in maintaining the struggle.
On January 19, on which day Warren moved to Venter's Spruit three miles from Trickhardt's Drift, they were in occupation of the whole line from Vaalkrantz to the Rangeworthy Heights. Fourie was in command of the left, Schalk Burger of the centre, which included the important features of Green Hill, Spion Kop, and the Twin Peaks; and L. Botha of the right, in which was Bastion Hill.
One of the first acts was the appointment of five assistant commandant-generals Piet Cronje, Schalk Burgher, Lucas Meyer, Daniel Erasmus, and Jan Kock all of whom held high positions in the Government, and were respected by the Boer people.
Joubert put into Ladysmith 200 derelict Indian coolies from the Natal collieries, an act which was perhaps justified by the code of war, which sanctions the employment of any means by which the difficulties of a besieged town can be increased; but a subsequent attempt made by Schalk Burger during Joubert's advance on the raid towards the south, to saddle White with the Indian refugees from the Transvaal was successfully resisted.
About the 15th of January, 1902, I obtained information that our Government were being chased all over the country, and had now encamped at Windhoek near Dullstroom, to the south of Lydenburg. At the same time I received an order from Acting-President Schalk Burger, stating that he wished to see me.
The black-list includes the present vice-president, Schalk Burger; the vice-president of that date; Eloff, the son-in-law of Kruger; and the secretary of the Volksraad. Apparently every man of the executive and the legislature had his price. A corrupt assembly is an evil master, but when it is narrow-minded and bigoted as well, it becomes indeed intolerable.
By B.J. Vorster, jun., one of the concessionaires, on behalf of Eugene Oppenheim, on or about August, 1890, the following: To Jan du Plessis de Beer, member of the Volksraad for Waterberg, £100; Schalk W. Burger, member of the Volksraad for Lydenburg, now member of the Executive Council, £100; P.L. Bezuidenhout, member of the Volksraad for Potchefstroom, £100; J. Van der Merwe, member of the Volksraad for Lydenburg, £100; A.A. Stoop, member of the Volksraad for Wakkerstroom, £50; F.G.H. Wolmarans, member of the Volksraad for Rustenburg, £50; J.M. Malan, member of the Volksraad for Rustenburg, Chairman of the first Volksraad, £50; N.M.S. Prinsloo, member of the Volksraad for Potchefstroom, £50; J.J. Spies, member of the Volksraad for Utrecht, £70; B.H. Klopper, Chairman of the Volksraad, £125; C. van Boeschoten, Secretary of the Volksraad, £180.
The guns which had tormented Thorneycroft for so many hours, and which were the chief cause of his retirement, were withdrawn, and Schalk Burger's commandos oozed away towards Ladysmith. But there was, however, a stalwart and not inconsiderable remnant of burghers who responded to Botha's expostulations, and stood fast as a forlorn hope determined to win back Spion Kop and the Twin Peaks.
Word Of The Day