CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

Manawatu Herald, 18 November 1899, Page 2

CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

r+ : The Transvaal. General Sir Redvers Buller, the Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in South Africa, has decided to relieve Sir George White's garrison at Ladysmith without delay. As a preliminary to crossing, the Tugela river and engaging the Boer army which now invests the position a strong force will be gathered at Estcourt, thirty-three miles to the south of Colenso and about fifty miles from the beleaguered town. It is expected that by the end of the week this plan will be so far forward that a force of 4000 men will be under arms at Estcourt. There is considered to be a prospect of again opening up communication with Ladysmith, as it is reported that the Boers have not re-occupied Colenso. The investment of the the town is being conducted on very loose principles by the enemy especially to the southward, although their number is estimated to be 18,000. Lieutenant R. j. Hooper, journeyed from Estcourt to Ladysmith, and traversed right through the Boer lines, ultimately rejoining his regiment, the Fifth Lancers. MAFEKING. ! It is estimated, according to the late reports, that there are fully seven thousand Boers around Mafeking although not long ago it was said that the majority had withdrawn, in order to strengthen the besieging force under Commandant Cronje at Kimberley. The garrison, under Colonel BadenPowell, has, however, constructed excellent entrenchments, which minimise their losses in the engagements. Mud walls have also been thrown up, which resist the sixty-tour and ninety-four pounder guns of the enemy by whom 200 sheila were wasted in one day. A report from Mafeking states that on the 31st October, despite British artillery fire, the investing Boers attempted to capture a cannon that had been mounted on a kopje (hillock) at one corner of the town, which is laid out in almost a square. The attack was repulsed with heavy loss to the Boers, but also at considerable cost to the defenders. Six men were killed on the British side, including the captains of two of the garrison companies. News from Mafeking states that despite the protest of the garrison the Boers persistently shelled the hospital and women's laager on the 31st of October. KIMBERLEY. Colonel Kekewich who is in command of the Kimberley garrison, reports that the enemy were repulsed at Kenilworth with heavy loss. A Ma^yn, gun did considerable execution killing ra of them in one spot. Tb*t|tsst despatch received from Kimberley states that the Boer artillery are still bombarding the town from a distance of eight thousand yards (more than four and a halt miles), but are doing no material damage. The bulk of the shells fall into the heaps of debris from the diamond

mines, and are there buried, while many of them fail to explode. The Right Hon. Cecil Rhodes, who is with the garrison at Kimberley, has about a thousand men employed in road making operation within the town. LADYSMITH. News from Ladysmith up to the 9th instant has been received. It is stated ttiat the Bder guns had been silenced for four honrs. It is bslicved the enemy suffered severe lossses by. the artillery fire. They are also said to be in sore straits for want of food, The iatest news from Ladysmith shows that the Boers have renewed the" bombardment with increasing intensity. General Jotibert, it is stated, hopes to persuade the Boer commandos to endeavour to take the town by assault. General White and his forces, however, are confident of being able to hold out against any attack within the power of the enemy. The Heliograph messages sent from Ladysmith to the British outposts south of the Tugela river contain no information beyond that with regard to the harmlessness of the bombardment, . The failure of the garrison not to send further news in regard to their position is possibly owing to the fact that the enemy's heliograph at Fort 1 Wylie ( near Colensd, might intercept the intelligence and turn it to account. From the fact thdt reinforcements are being hurried up to Durban and to £stcouft it is evident that General Sir Redvers Buller regards the relief of Ladysmith as a matter of urgency. OCCUPATION OF BELMONT. A commando of Free State burghers has taken up a strong position at Belmont, with thd object of resisting the advance of the British forces which are being mobilised at De Aar for the relief of the beleaguered garrison at Kimberley. Belmont, situated close to the western Free State border, is about thirty miles north of the Orange river. It may be remembered as a spot from which the Republican Government distributed arms and ammuntion amongst the colonial farmers. It was here that on Saturday last the enemy ambushed a party of sharpshooters from the Northumberland Fusiliers who were out on a reconnoitering expedition to discover the burghers' laager. Besides LieutenantColonel C .E. Keith-Falconer, Lieutenant C. M. A. Wood, ot the same regiment, aide-de-camp to the Governor of Cape Colony, also met his death in the engagement. The deceased officer was a grandson: of the famous Jefferson Davis, President of the Cornfederated States in the American Civil War. REINFORCEMENTS. On Tuesday eleven transports have so far arrived at Capetown with fourteen thousand troops on board. Of these about six thousand have been sent on to Durban to be employed in the relief of Ladysmith. The balance will be required for the expedition to relieve Kimberley and Mafeking. and the general advance into the Boers' country. FURTHER HELP TO BE SENT. Another infantry division, consisting of eleven thousand men, is being mobilised for service in South Africa. It is estimated that when these troops arrive at the Cape Sir Redvers Buller will have upwards one hundred thousand men available for his opera - . tions, including the local contingents. Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Warren, X.C.8., will command the infantry division of eleven thousand men that is now being mobilised in England. The and Battalion of the Royal Irish Fusiliers arrived at Capetown on Wednesday. They will join the troops under Major-General H. J. T. Hilyard. FRANCE AND ENGLAND. CABLE CENSORSHIP. , A censorship is applied to all official telegrams at Capetown with the exception of those transmitted from Portugal to Delagoa Bay. Even code messages are submitted to the same process. The Frence newspapers have taken umbrage at this, and in their comments describe Portugal as the " acomplice " of Great Britain. The feeling of irritation against Great Britain is universal in France just now. Owing to the bitterness of the Anglophobia exhibited, the bulk of those Britishers who usually go for the winter to Nice, in the French portion of the Riviera, have on this occasion patronised San Remo, another water-ing-place, just within the Italian boundary. BLOCKADE OF THE COAST. The British squadrons off the coast of South Africa are keeping vigilant watch to prevent the landing of supplies for the Boers. News has been received that H.M.S. Magicienne, a third-class cruiser of 2950 tons met the French merchant steamer Cordova within seventy miles of Delagoa Bay, and called upon her to heave-to. The officers of the Cordova held upon their course until the Magicienne fired two blank cartridges across her bows, when they hove-to and" submitted to examination. After having examined the Cordova's manifest the officers of the ' warship allowed her to proceed on her vogage The French Newspapers are clamouring for an apology from Great Britain in connection with the Cordova incident, and also for the payment of an indemnity, to the owners of the vessel. MISCELLANEOUS. The authorities at Cape Town have seized a plant for the.working of the wireless telegraphy system, which was being imported for the Transvaal by a vessel that arrived at that port. The newspaper " Asservatore Romano "—hitherto the official organ of the Vatican — now declares itself to be an unofficial journal, except in regard to the announcement of matters of fact. The paper in question adds that the Vatican has decided to remain neutral with regard to the Transvaal.

RELIEF OF LADYSMITH. The Standard has been informed that General Sir Redvers Buller, Com-mander-in-Chief of the British army in South Africa, has gone up-country from Capetown. It is said that bis plans for the relief of Sir George White's column, now under siege at Ladysmith, have been completed. The Daily Mail states that MajorGeneral Lord Methueri, one of the divisional commanders, who arrived at the Cape on Monday, has started for t the North, accompanied by his staff • officers. THE LATEST. :j REPORTED DEATH OF GENERAL -* l; JOUBERT. The Natal Times publishes a telegram from Delagoa Bay that General Joubert was killed in action before Ladysmith on Thursday last. It is reported the Free State troops before Ladysmith are returning hotr ward, fearing the Basutos will invafß their country. n l ' DEFENCE OF MAFEKING. The natives report that many Boers have left Mafeking for Pretoria. Later reports of the bombardment -j of Mafeking show that Colonel Baden*! Powell, by the medium of night surprises, prevented the enemy constructing trenches at en echelon. The Boers on 31st were bombarding a kopje at the corner of the town on which the cannon were mounted. They were allowed within 600 yards, when Colonel Walford, of the South African police, opened fire ,^vith the Maxims, the rifles pnfilading the enemy who were simultaneously caught by the shrapnel fire from the town. The Boer casualties were a hundred. The Boers in the Buluwayo district attacked Chief Khama, but. were repulsed by the natives. The Boers lost 300 killed and wounded in the second encounter at Besters, 7th inst. The British casualties were slight. LADYSMITH. The bombardment a^ Ladysmith continues. Despite the display of the Geneva flag, the Boers bombarded a Catholic sanatorium, killing two civilians and wounding several nurses.* There are nearly 10,000 British troops at Estcourt, and an early for- „„„,. ward movement is expected. Mafeking reports state that Lieut, Murchison killed Parslow, the Londqn Daily Chronicle's correspondent there, as the result of a revolver accident. Several war correspondents repeat the report that Joubert was killed, but the War Office has received no news of his death.