WAR is an awful calamity, and should not be entered upon until all honourable means to avert it had been exhausted. After it has been found impossible to maintain peace, the responsibility of this nation to act righteously towards God and our fellow creatures is still binding on us. It is very manifest that this war was thrust upon this nation by the Transvaal and Free State. It is proved that they have been gathering material for war for the last eighteen years, and that they desired to drive us out of our possessions in South Africa. It was they that broke off negotiations for peace, sent us an ultimatum which was most unreasonable, and immediately entered our territories and began to annex them to their own. This will, we think, suffice to show that we are fighting for our own rights; but still we have had terrible reverses.
Therefore every man who seriously considers our awful loss in this war, and the unaccountable manner in which our brave soldiers have been led into untenable positions where they have been killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, is bound to search for the cause of such disasters. Some find fault with the prudence of our officers. One man pointed out that three of our most serious reverses happened by an endeavour to make night attacks. These three were Nicolson’s Nek, Stormberg, and Magersfontein. This is quite true, and it ought to teach our officers their need of more vigilance, and carefulness in the future. But there is an all-important factor which has been quite ignored by the Press, and to which we desire to draw the attention of our readers. Sir George White, on the Sabbath night, sent out from Ladysmith the officers and men who were slain, wounded, and taken prisoners on Monday at Nicolson’s Nek. General Gatacre marched his small force all Saturday night, fell into a trap on the Sabbath morning, and lost many dead, wounded, and prisoners. On that same Sabbath, General Methuen began the attack by artillery on Magersfontein, sent out the Highland Brigade that Sabbath night which came to such awful grief before day light on Monday morning. These facts speak for themselves to all God-fearing men.
It is certainly the duty of our army to fight on the defensive on the Sabbath day; but to take offensive steps unnecessary on that day is clearly a direct breach of the fourth commandment. Can we expect the Lord of Hosts to go forth with our armies, while we are publicly guilty of violating His laws? The Boers, so far as we have seen, observe the Sabbath day, and hold prayer meetings in their trenches. It has been reported that, at Magersfontein when Lord Methuen began the attack by artillery on the Sabbath day, the Boers were holding a religious service with our shells bursting among them. This does not mean that our artillerymen were seeing them, and that they deliberately fired on them knowing what the Boers were doing at the time; but our men ought to have been worshipping the Most High, instead of beginning to fight a battle on the Lord’s day.
Another thing worthy our serious consideration is that we seem to ignore God entirely in this war. The Boers acknowledged the Most High and held a public fast before they began the war. They publicly, before the whole world, acknowledged that the Lord is the disposer of events, and that it was in dependence upon His almighty aid they expected success. Not a word has been heard from public men, nor from the Press of this country, that would go to indicate our dependence upon God in this terrible war. We have been admonished once and again to trust to our army and that all would end well. Should we not rather be advised to trust in the Lord? “Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord.” This proud, foolish, and boastful spirit would be our ruin were we allowed to get on with it; but the Lord has given us some cause for humbling ourselves, and it is to be hoped that we will humble ourselves before Him. Are we fallen so low as to forget the great Author of our being? Unless we repent of our atheism and of our trampling upon the law of God, our days as a nation are certainly numbered. The sooner we come to our knees the better. The Most High can bring us down in judgment; may He give us grace in mercy to bring down our high looks. We hope that a day of public humiliation and confession of sins will be observed, but if not by the nation, we must observe it in all the congregations of our church.
It is related that the Duke of Wellington acknowledged publicly after his return from the hard and protracted struggles of the Peninsular War, that he realised on the field of battle the good effects of the fast days observed by this nation. We may be guilty of the blood of our dear fellow-countrymen by our ungodliness, in this matter, except we repent. N. C.