DEATH OF WAUCHOPE'S FATHER--ORDERED TO
MALTA--REMINISCENCES--RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS--CYPRUS--APPOINTMENT AS
CIVIL COMMISSIONER OF PAPHO--REMINISCENCES--SIR ROBERT BIDDULPH--THE
SULTAN'S CLAIMS.
In November 1874 Wauchope had the misfortune to lose his father, for
whom, especially since the death of his much-loved mother in the
summer of 1858, he had the closest affection, never permitting any
opportunity to pass without visiting the paternal roof. Though Mr.
Andrew Wauchope of Niddrie was only fifty-six when he died, he had
for some years been very much of an invalid, and was latterly unable
to take any active part in public business. He spent much of his
time in and about his house and grounds, taking a considerable
interest in their improvement; but outside he was well known for his
efforts to improve the position of those dependent upon him, and for
his quiet but consistent Christian character.
He attended for several years before his death the Free Church at
Portobello, then under the ministry of the Rev. Robert Henderson
Ireland. There was no more regular attender of the church than Mr.
Wauchope, who was generally accompanied by one of his daughters, and
by his son Andrew when he happened to be at home, and {53} to the
last the friendship between Mr. Wauchope and his minister was of the
most cordial and kindly nature. We believe he often expressed his
sense of the benefit he derived from sitting under Mr. Ireland's
ministry.
On Mr. Wauchope's death Lieutenant Wauchope's elder brother, William
John Wauchope, then a Major in the Enniskilling Dragoons, succeeded
to the estates, and in some measure this change altered his
relationship to the old home. It could not now be the same to him as
formerly, though he was on the most friendly terms with his brother,
and not unfrequently spent some of his time at Niddrie and Yetholm.
There is little doubt that his father's death, coupled with his own
precarious state of health, brought to his mind a deeper conviction
of the seriousness of life, and led to his forming more pronounced
views of religious truth. But Lieutenant Wauchope, having creditably
won his spurs and fought and bled in his country's service, was not
the man to rest upon his laurels. He was ready, notwithstanding
former wounds, for further service when the occasion might arise.
[Sidenote: Ordered to Malta]
In November 1875 he again joined his regiment at Malta, where it had
been stationed for nearly a year. His arrival among his old comrades
was the occasion of a cordial welcome at the Floriana barracks, and
he at once threw himself with spirit into the whole work and drill of
the regiment, taking a lively interest in the welfare of the men and
also of their wives and children. A brother officer who was then
also a subaltern, and had joined the regiment at Malta a few months
later, says: 'Wauchope was the "Father of the Subalterns" or senior
Lieutenant, and right well he "fathered" newly joined youngsters,
always ready to help them in any way--lending {54} them ponies to
ride and play polo on. I was always,' he continues, 'associated with
him on the mess committee, and served under him, and what struck one
most about him was the thoroughness with which he tackled whatever
was on hand.'
As regards the rank and file, he was a very brother to many of them,
as the following from one of the colour-sergeants will
show:--'Lieutenant Wauchope was always a favourite with the men, and
in Malta he took a deep interest in them and did much for them,
always manifesting a kindly sympathy towards any who were married
without leave, or who happened to be involved in any trouble which
entailed a deduction from their pay. On pay-day, while the sergeant
was paying the men, Wauchope would often sit at the table looking on,
and note any who got only a few coppers on account of stoppage for
support of wife and family, or for other reasons. He would quietly
tell them to wait a little till the company was all paid. Then he
would speak to each separately, giving them a word of sympathy or
admonition, along with a piece of money, expressing the hope as he
dismissed them that they would try to do better in the future. This
was so unusual as between officers and men that it had a wonderful
effect upon them.' Even in their recreations and amusements he
showed an interest, and encouraged them in every possible way. 'He
kept a small yacht while at Malta, and he was in the habit of
inviting the sergeants to an afternoon's enjoyment in cruising about
the harbour for an hour or two.'
[Sidenote: Life in Malta]
With him, care for his men was his first thought; and in commanding
the G company of the 42nd in Floriana barracks, another of his
sergeants observes 'that even in the hot summer afternoons, when the
men were lying {55} down in their beds, he used regularly to sit on
the barrack-room table lecturing them on minor tactics, often, I
fear, more to his own satisfaction than to their edification!'
Of this period of Wauchope's life we have a most interesting sketch
from one who had ample opportunities of seeing his conduct, and
forming a judgment upon the motives and disposition of heart and mind
which governed his actions. Dr. Wisely, who has for many years been
army chaplain at Malta to the Presbyterian soldiers stationed there,
formed a close and intimate friendship with the young lieutenant on
his arrival in the island. He saw much of him, and their
acquaintance was renewed on several occasions when Wauchope happened
afterwards to be there. His opinion is therefore of some value. 'It
is,' says he, 'almost a quarter of a century since I became
acquainted with the late General Wauchope. He was then about thirty
years of age; and although he had been in the Black Watch for twelve
years or more, and had also for a considerable period been adjutant
of the regiment, he was still only a subaltern, and it seemed quite
uncertain when he would get his company. Promotion in the 42nd was
at that time very slow, and I asked him whether he had ever thought
of changing into some other regiment, where he might have a better
chance. His answer was a very emphatic "No." He wished to remain in
the old corps and take what came.
'Wauchope held some special appointment at home, and his regiment had
been in Malta for several months before he joined them after the
Ashanti war. He had been severely wounded in that war. A leaden
slug, fired by one of the savages hidden among the branches of trees,
entered his breast, and it was a marvel he was not killed on the
spot. He told me he bled like an ox. His account of {56} how the
blood at last stopped was somewhat curious. His old colonel, Sir
John M'Leod, came to see him after he was wounded, and on leaving he
presented him with a copy of the Book of Psalms. Wauchope said that
he began wondering whether "old Jack," as he familiarly called his
commanding officer, whom he greatly venerated, was in the habit of
carrying about copies of the Psalms in his pocket to give to officers
when dangerously wounded, and it struck him in such a ludicrous light
that, after the good colonel was out of sight, he burst into such a
fit of laughing that he could not stop--and that, he said stopped the
bleeding! Sir John and Wauchope had a great respect for each other.
Wauchope looked up to Sir John with admiration bordering on awe. The
colonel regarded his lieutenant as a model officer. He told me that
Wauchope's character commanded universal respect, and that his high
moral tone and the thoroughness with which he discharged all his
duties gave him an influence which was invaluable.
'On his arrival in Malta he was appointed musketry Instructor at
Pembroke Camp. The men's shooting did not come up to the standard
which it was thought it ought to reach; and one day Sir John said to
me: "Wauchope is making himself perfectly ill with his anxiety about
it. If he would only be anxious twenty-three hours out of the
twenty-four I would not mind so much, but he is anxious all the
twenty-four hours of the day!"
'At that time, however, Wauchope was anxious not only about his
professional duties, but he was concerned about himself, for he knew
that his life was a most precarious one, scarcely worth a day's
purchase. The slug which pierced his chest had not been extracted.
It kept moving about, and at any moment might cause death. {57} This
he knew full well. He consulted the best surgeons in the island, but
they were unable to do anything. It was not, I believe, till about a
year afterwards that the slug was at last extracted by an Edinburgh
surgeon.
[Sidenote: The drawn sword]
'During this period of Wauchope's stay in Malta, when there was, as
it were, this drawn sword hanging over his head, although he
maintained a quiet exterior, he felt that there was but a step
between him and death. I saw a great deal of him then. He had
brought a letter of introduction to me from his law-agent in
Edinburgh, my old friend the late Mr. Colin Mackenzie, W.S., and from
the first he honoured me with his confidence. He spoke freely of the
possibility, not to say the probability, that his time on earth might
be short, but he showed no craven fear. He said he wished to know as
much as he could about the world into which he might soon be
going--that "undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveller
returns." I have seldom met a man further removed from fanaticism,
and at the same time so full of reverence. From his earliest days he
seems to have feared God. He had not, however, escaped from the
doubts and difficulties raised by the sceptical spirit of the age.
He shrank from taking a leap in the dark. He wanted to be sure that
there was no mistake, and he took the best means of becoming sure.
"If any man will do His will," Christ says, "he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God." This is what Wauchope did. He put
the desire to do God's will into every duty which fell to him. He
followed on to know the Lord, and he came to know the truth of the
Gospel, not only as a truth of faith, but a truth of personal
experience.'
Lieutenant Wauchope was home on furlough more than once during the
period of the 42nd regiment's stay in {58} Malta, extending to nearly
four years, and it was on one of these visits to Edinburgh he was
operated upon successfully, as mentioned by Dr. Wisely.
Though still only a lieutenant, he was appointed to the command of E
company in July 1878, while in Malta. With a wider range of duties
and greater responsibilities, this appointment gave him much
satisfaction, and he set himself to the task of making E company
_the_ company of the regiment, sparing neither time nor money to
advance its efficiency, and at the same time to add to the comfort
and pleasure of his men. To be one of Wauchope's company was
considered a high privilege. Two months afterwards--in September--he
received his full commission as captain. In addition to the yacht in
which he would give them occasional cruises, we are told by one of
his men that 'the company had a good boating-crew, and at a cost of
about £20 he had the best boat built for them that Malta could
produce. On one occasion, when they had some races, Captain Wauchope
steered them in a match with the 101st regiment, but not to victory.
Wauchope's boat, named "The Black Watch," was beaten, but he was the
first to declare that the race was lost owing entirely to his bad
steering.'
[Sidenote: Occupation of Malta]
The occupation of the island of Cyprus by Great Britain in 1878 gave
Wauchope a splendid opportunity for the exercise of his talents, not
only as a military man, but in the capacity of a civil administrator
and judge. The island was taken over from the Turks in July of that
year. Their government of it for centuries had been a curse to the
people and a curse on the land, and it had lapsed into one of the
forgotten spots of God's earth. The advent of British rule proved
the beginning of a new era for both its Greek and Turkish population.
Endowed with a healthy {59} climate and a fertile soil, Cyprus--once
so fruitful and prosperous--may yet rank as one of the most
flourishing dependencies of the Crown. It is full of romance, for
its lovely scenery and relics of the past well entitle it to be
called 'an Enchanted Island.' With mediæval traditions of its
occupation by the Crusaders, and with its still older classical
reminiscences of the heathen worship of Aphrodite, supplanted by the
early conversion of its people to Christianity through the visit of
St. Paul, St. Mark, and Barnabas, not to speak of its repeated
conquest by Phoenicians, Egyptians, Greeks, Venetians, and Turks,
there is no more interesting island to be found in the Mediterranean.
[Illustration: Captain WAUCHOPE at the Age of 30.]
In July 1878 a regiment of Scottish Highlanders was sent to occupy
this fair island of the Orient in name of the Queen. The Black Watch
from Malta, in the transport _Himalaya_, landed at Larnaka, and were
distributed at various points for garrison duty, under the direction
of General Sir Garnet Wolseley, as High Commissioner. Wolseley,
having divided the island into districts, deputed the civil
administration of these to a number of the most skilled of the
military officers of the regiment. To Lieutenant Wauchope, then
thirty-two years of age, was given, with the title of captain, the
charge of the town and district of Papho--the ancient Paphos, where
the Apostles' journey through the island closed, and where Elymas the
sorcerer was struck blind for a time. As assistant-commissioner
Wauchope was well supported by Lieutenant A. G. Duff, a young officer
of his company, who furnishes us with some particulars of their
duties and difficulties there. The post was anything but a sinecure.
He had the superintendence of the revenue under Sir Robert Biddulph,
then Financial Commissioner of the island. In this important office
he set {60} himself with all the earnestness of his nature to the
correction of abuses, the suppression of crime, and the establishment
of law and order, out of which only can freedom and security be
attained. We have it on the authority of Mr. F. H. Parker, the
District Judge of Limasol, that 'not only was he a most efficient
governor, but in those days, when Ottoman judges sat in the Daavi
(District) Court, he presided as a just and capable judge. Though
more than twenty years have elapsed since then, the inhabitants,' he
says, 'irrespective of creed or nationality, still look back on his
civil administration with admiration and deep respect. Even to this
day his decisions in disputed land or water rights are relied on as
_res judicata_, and he invariably decided these after minute and
personal local inquiries.' During his two years' service on the
island--from 17th June 1878 till July 1880--Wauchope acquitted
himself with much judgment and discretion, and the honours thrust
upon him were worthily achieved as they were gratefully given. But
while Captain Wauchope's administration in Cyprus was marked with
justice, it was sometimes of a kind that did not always give
satisfaction. His punishment, for instance, of heinous crimes was
considered by the natives to be of such severity that a complaint was
lodged with the Colonial Office against some sentences where he had
ordered the delinquents to be flogged. On inquiry being made of him
by the Colonial Office as to what he had to say in the matter, his
reply was that 'flogging was the only thing for them, as they richly
deserved more than the punishment they had got, and he thought it was
better for them than hanging'!
[Sidenote: Sergeant M'Gaw's funeral]
His duties did not end in military, or administrative, or judicial
service, for sometimes he had even to act as chaplain in cases of
emergency, as the following instance {61} will show. A day or two
after they landed, Sergeant M'Gaw of the 42nd--who had gallantly won
the Victoria Cross at Amoaful--took ill under the excessive heat and
died. The regimental chaplain was not present, but Wauchope followed
the funeral with his company, and at the grave, stepping forward as
the body was about to be committed to the dust, feelingly addressed
his men in a few appropriate words of exhortation, and concluded, to
the surprise and gratification of all, with an earnest extempore
prayer. Tears, we are told by one who witnessed the occurrence, were
in the eyes of many a stalwart soldier that day, and the incident
made a deep impression at the time and was never forgotten by them.
A sequel to Sergeant M'Gaw's funeral may here be mentioned as another
instance of Wauchope's thoughtful care. Some time afterwards it was
discovered that the Cypriote farmer on whose land the sergeant was
buried, had removed the little wooden head-mark, and not unnaturally
ploughed up the land and destroyed all trace of the grave. The
Government was asked to take action, but declined to interfere. So
Wauchope and some others went on a moonlight night, and after taking
measurements from a certain tree, discovered the grave, dug up the
remains, removed them to Kyrenia, and placed them in what is now
known as the Black Watch cemetery. A pure white marble sarcophagus
now covers Sergeant M'Gaw's grave.
After the long reign of Turkish misrule it will be easily understood
that Commissioner Wauchope and his colleague Lieutenant Duff did not
all at once find things easy. On the contrary, they found it very
hard work. The rascality of the natives was as idyllic as innocence.
Murder and theft were so common that they were scarcely considered
culpable, and this in what has been called an {62} 'enchanted
island,' full of every beauty to satisfy the eye, and every fruit to
satisfy the taste. Even ten years after the occupation by the
British, and notwithstanding all our efforts to restore order and
justice, W. H. Mallock, describing his visit to Cyprus in 1888, says
that 'he found there more crime in proportion to the population than
in any other known country in the world.' In Nicosia the prisons
were full of persons, male and female, confined for murder, theft,
etc. 'In the country districts,' he says, 'the cause of murders has
generally some connection with sheep-stealing or disputes about
boundaries and water rights, or matters equally simple. In the towns
the Turkish murders nearly always originate in some ordinary fit of
sombre but sudden passion, and the Greek murders in some half-drunken
brawl. Curiously enough, a number of these last take place at
weddings. Wine has flowed; quarrelling has arisen out of laughter;
knives have flashed, and in a second or two one knife has been red
with blood. Yet amid so much crime there exists among this degraded
people a whimsical simplicity almost justifying a smile.' One
instance, as given by Mr. Mallock, will suffice to illustrate this.
One of three men implicated in a murder fled to the hut of a
shepherd, and begged to be kept there in hiding. The shepherd, who
had only a slight acquaintance with the man, asked why he wished to
be hidden. On this the murderer, more like a child than a man,
explained everything in the most naïve manner possible. The shepherd
looked grave. He said that this was a serious matter, and that under
the circumstances his protection would have to be paid for. The
murderer replied that the booty had not yet been divided; 'I have no
money,' he said, 'but save me and I will steal a sheep for you!'
{63}
[Sidenote: A Cyprian judge]
It was among criminals such as these, and a population with the
vaguest possible notions of morality, that Wauchope had to deal out
justice. How did he accomplish his task? His friend and colleague,
now Major Duff, tells us: 'His administration of justice was a
marvel, and astonished both Turks and Greeks. He would frequently
sit a whole day in the Konak or court-house, dispensing even-handed
justice. All the evidence had to be taken through an interpreter,
involving much delay, and frequently he sat in this way under high
fever. I have sometimes taken his temperature to find it at 105°,
but he bore all physical pain without a murmur, and no complaint ever
passed his lips.' Papho was considered the most lawless district in
the island; and the administration of justice, in both civil and
criminal cases, in the hands of Captain Wauchope and Lieutenant Duff,
with the aid of an interpreter, involved painstaking discretion of no
ordinary kind. 'The Cadi--a Turkish judge--had a seat on the bench
along with them, and his opinion was always taken, though not always
followed. One incident comes to my memory relating to an execution.
We had passed sentence upon a murderer, but were in a difficulty
about the gallows, and did not know what to do for want of a suitable
rope, but fortunately H.M.S. _Raleigh_ unexpectedly put in an
appearance in the bay, and the bluejackets readily came to our aid in
rigging up a makeshift gallows. The ceremony, however, was not
marked with complete success, as, at the first effort, the rope
broke; but death had supervened, so that it was of no consequence, as
the operation did not require to be repeated. There must have been
some flaw in the rope, as it had been previously tried with a very
heavy man's weight. We never had any difficulty in the
administration of justice. Wauchope's {64} impartial and thoroughly
sound sense of judgment as between man and man, always stood him well
with clients and malefactors.'
One case came before him which in this connection is worthy of being
recorded. A Turk of infamous character, who had been guilty of
horrible crimes, but had escaped punishment under the Turkish rule,
was brought before Commissioner Wauchope on a charge of murder. The
murder was clearly proved, but doubts were entertained whether the
Commissioner would sentence a Mohammedan to be hanged. No such
instance had ever been known in the island before. Wauchope did not
flinch. He pronounced the sentence, and the murderer was publicly
executed. The Commissioner took the precaution, however, of having a
company of his Royal Highlanders on the ground to see that there
should be no disturbance or any attempt at rescue, and all passed off
peacefully.
[Sidenote: Commissioner at Papho]
Besides the judicial functions of the Commissioner of Papho, there
were the fiscal duties of Government. Taxes had to be collected, and
these, with the relative duties of finance and the management of the
post office, were entirely under the personal control of Wauchope and
his colleague. The latter service alone must have involved
considerable labour. Besides this, they had at Papho one company of
the 42nd, camped some little distance out of the town, but near
enough to be readily available when required. So busy were they kept
with these varied onerous duties, that Wauchope and his friend,
frequently working at high pressure, had few opportunities for
recreation. But notwithstanding the pressing requirements of the
moment, and the somewhat circumscribed social aspect of the place,
they were on the best of terms with some of the leading native
gentry: the Greek bishop {65} was particularly friendly, and they
often dined with him at his palace. A worthy old fellow he appears
to have been, who could enjoy a good dinner with a prime bottle of
Cyprus wine. In recognition of his great kindness to them Major Duff
mentions that they 'gave him in return such a banquet on St. Andrew's
night as seemed to gladden his soul.'
Of amusements, or anything in the way of English sports, there were
few or none, even had time permitted. Still, they would not have
been British if they had not introduced among the natives some sports
from the old country. They accordingly started pony races for the
zaptiehs or police of the district. 'Our chief difficulty,' says
Major Duff, 'was to get the Turks and Greeks to run together in the
same coach, and for this difficult task Wauchope was eminently
qualified, as, in addition to all his many sterling attributes, must
be added that of being a student of human nature, without which he
never would have been the leader of men he unquestionably was.'
So much did Captain Wauchope accomplish during his term of office at
Papho, that Dr. Wisely informs us 'the inhabitants looked on him as
an angel from heaven--and well they might, when they contrasted his
righteous rule with the wretched rule of the Turkish officials who
had tyrannised over them. Yet Wauchope was by no means an easy-going
ruler. He investigated with the greatest patience every case that
was brought before him, and spared himself no pains to get at the
truth. This made such an impression upon the Turks, as well as upon
the Greek-speaking community, that all classes alike respected him,
and when the time came for the Commissioner to retire from office,
there was a universal desire expressed that he might be retained.'
{66}
We have been favoured with similar testimony from Sir Robert
Biddulph, sometime High Commissioner of Cyprus, lately Governor of
Gibraltar, who informs us that 'in carrying out his duties Captain
Wauchope showed much administrative ability, as well as great tact
and judgment in dealing with the inhabitants. This enabled him to
steer a clear course through the political agitation which broke out
in Cyprus early in 1879, and which had many adherents in Papho. When
Sir Garnet Wolseley left the island at short notice in May 1879 in
order to command the troops in Natal and Zululand, his departure,
coinciding with the attacks made in Parliament on the Cyprus
administration, caused several of the civil commissioners to send in
their resignations.' Colonel Biddulph, who had been sent from Cyprus
to Constantinople in March 1879 to negotiate with the Porte
concerning the 'tribute,' was in June following instructed by the
Home Government to return and assume the government of the island as
High Commissioner. On his arrival he was met by Captain Wauchope,
who had come with several of the other commissioners to wish him
good-bye before leaving the island. Sir Robert at once realised the
gravity of the situation. 'I told them,' says he, 'that I could not
consent to their leaving all together at this crisis, and Wauchope
willingly consented to remain for, at all events, some months longer.
In September I went home for two months on private affairs, and
Wauchope then went home with me, having resigned his appointment with
my consent.'
[Sidenote: The Sultan's claims]
In the interval, certain questions as to personal claims by the
Sultan to property in Cyprus were presented to the British
Government, and it was decided to appoint a qualified British
delegate to investigate these claims on {67} the spot. On the
recommendation of Sir Robert Biddulph, Lord Salisbury appointed
Captain Wauchope for this somewhat difficult duty, and he and Sir
Robert returned to Cyprus together in November of the same year. In
his official capacity Wauchope explored the whole of Cyprus, making
full inquiries wherever he went as to the properties alleged to
belong to the Sultan, and gathering much information as to the
condition of the people in the rural districts, and the state of
agriculture generally.
'The investigation of the Sultan's claims,' says Sir Robert Biddulph,
'occupied several months, during which time Captain Wauchope again
displayed great tact and judgment in this very delicate matter, and
maintained at the same time very friendly relations with the Turkish
officer who was sent by the Sultan to support his claims. This was
the more remarkable, because every one of the Sultan's claims was
rejected.'
The Government recognised the thoroughness with which Captain
Wauchope had accomplished his task, by conferring upon him,
immediately on his return home in August 1880, the Order of St.
Michael and St. George.
{68}