25 AUGUST 1900, Page 2

The only other items of war news of moment are

the conviction of Cordna and Lord Roberts's last proclamation. Cordna was found guilty by the Military Tribunal which tried him, but sentence was deferred for the approval of the Commander-in-Chief. It was rumoured on Friday that the

sentence was one of death, and had been approved by Lord Roberts, but this is not confirmed. In any event, we may feel, not merely that the prisoner had a fair trial— nothing else was possible before a Court of British officers—but that he had every advantage given him, and that there was nothing approaching harshness or vin- dictiveness in the attitude of the prosecution. Lord Roberts's new proclamation is directed against the monstrous breaches of the oath of neutrality that have so frequently occurred. "In future all persons," we quote Renter's summary of the proclamation, " who have taken the oath and broken it will be punished with death, imprisonment, or fine; all burghers in districts occupied by British forces, except those who have sworn the oath, will be regarded as prisoners of war and transported; and all buildings, structures, and farms where the enemy's scouts are harboured will be liable to be razed to the ground." That Lord Roberts's action is entirely justified we do not doubt, but we cannot agree that he was wrong in first trying a more lenient policy. Now that has been fairly tried and failed, the sanction behind the policy of severity is of double force. No one can honestly feel that we are harrying brave and honest men unjustly.