On Wednesday was published a despatch from Lord Roberts mentioning
the names of officers and men who have distin- guished themselves in South Africa, but who have not been previously mentioned. Lord Roberts recalls with special praise the way in which the Indian contingent was de- spatched to South Africa complete in every detail, and he expresses the hope that the attachment to the Crown and. Empire shown by the native Princes and gentlemen who at a critical time rendered valuable assistance may not pass unrecognised. The help given from Rhodesia—Rhodesia sent fifteen hundred men, or at least 12i per cent: of :the European population—is also gratefully acknowledged. In regard to- the length of the list Lord Roberts says "I trust the foregoing list of names will not be thought too long, when the numbers engaged (some two hundred and fifty thousand), the length of time covered by the opera- tions, the severe fighting (especially in the earlier stages of the war), and the very great hardships cheerfully borne by all ranks are taken into consideration." That all those whose names are included have done good service to their country we do not doubt, but at the same time we cannot help thinking that the honour of being "mentioned in de- spatches" is being reduced by these very long lists. We are getting near to a state of things in which not being men- tioned will be, if not actually a disgrace, a sign that an officer has not done well. That would be most undesirable from every point of view.
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