The further Blue-book on the concentration camps pub- lished on
Saturday last furnishes additional proof of the terrible difficulties with which the authorities have had to grapple, and the energy, zeal, and sympathy with which Mr. Chamberlain and Lord Milner have addressed themselves to the task. The candour of the reports leaves nothing to be desired, and while due weight is attached to such draw- backs as the habits of the Afrika,nder Dutch and their peculiar susceptibility to infection, it is admitted that the dietary is low for adults, and the tent system difficult to reconcile with the requirements of modern hygiene. But it appears that as far back as November 8th -Mr. Chamberlain had begun to urge the desirability of breaking up the large camps and establishing new ones on unpolluted soil, that these suggestions are being actively carried out, that huts are to be substituted for tents, and that additional nurses and medical attendance are being provided. More than once in his despatches Mr. Chamberlain has insisted that no expense must be spared,, while Lord Milner very properly maintains the right of the British authorities to move to the coast all refugees except those to whom Lord Kitchener promised the eption of remaining or going. The figures show that while the deplorably high death-rate continued in October, a slight improvement is observable in November. When the history of the camps comes to be fairly and honestly written, we believe that though there will be found, as in the case of all war measures, much cause for pity and sorrow, there will be nothing for which the nation need feel ashamed.
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