Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JAN. 30, 1900. The War.

Manawatu Herald, 29 January 1900, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, JAN. 30, 1900. The War.

Possibly before these lines are read by the public a decisive action may have taken place in the vicinity of Ladysmith, and put all matters on a very different footing. We, however, desire to utter a protest at the baldness of the news we receive by cable, and to suggest that some alteration should be made in the publication of the military movements so that we get sufficient information or none. What we get now is most harassing and appears to be based on the principal serial stories running through newspapers are run, having a chapter ending at some exciting point, with the notification " to be continued in our next" appended below. When Ladysmith was assaulted the detailer of news worked every one's anxiety up to a high pitch and then dramatically ended by sending General White's message of "am hard ; pressed," with the addition that the ! sun was then obscured. The latest cablegrams inform us that General Warren had captured Spionkop, and then we are told that that position has been abandoned. Surely if it has been abandoned we might have been told the why and wherefore after having been told that its capture was so important. In London the intelligence is read as a serious check, proving that no more information has been sent there than here, and thus it is probable the statement is as much for the benefit of the Boers as it is for us. We expect to learn that the holding of the heights was found to be of little value, the same opinion being held by the Boers, as the garrison, we are told, was very weak. As the Boers have been driven off the kop and the British have ascertained that there are no stores of ammunition or food stowed away there, and the other positions of the Boers can be reached as well from elsewhere, the advantage of holding that kop does not appear, and its abandonment will probably be shown to be a wise course. The best plan appears to be to place very little reliance on the cable news, unless a most decisive action has taken place. It will be remembered that the cable-crammer months ago told us that Ladysmith and Kimberley had only food supplies for six weeks, yet now we are told they have plenty to the end of April ! We are quite content to place our confidence in our generals and recommend the public to do so to, and to accept any statement about the war with more than the customary pinch of salt.