CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

Manawatu Herald, 15 February 1900, Page 2

CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

«» The Transvaal. WITH GENERAL BULLER. Lieut. -General the, Hon. N. G. Lyttelton, who commands the Eifle Brigade in the Ladysmith relief force, has reported, that there were no facilities for the effective use of artillery on Vaalkrantz, the hill thirteen miles tp south-east of Ladysmith, which was carried hy the British infantry on Tuesday lasfc. He also reports that- had the advance been pressed it would have been an extremely difficult matter to maintain communication with the general army. From the particulars available it seems that the British troops have Avithdrawn to Frere, thirteen miles to the south of Tugela, and seven miles south of Chieveley, the former base of operations. Boer troops have crossed southward over the Tugela, and have occupied Broy's farms, which are within an hour's ride of Chieveley. This manoeuvre on the part of the enemy, combined with their operation in Zululand, has created an impression that they contemplate making a wide turning movement upon General Buller's army via Greytown. DISCOVERY OF A MASKED BATTERY. With regard to General Buller' s retreat across the Tugela, it now appears that a reconnaissance made from one of the captive balloons revealed the fact that the enemy had cunningly masked about a dozen guns at Doornkloof, in a position commanding the Ladysmith . road, and had the British troops ad- . vanced thus far their losses must ; have been disastrous. When the Boers were shelling the British troops on Wednesday last a ' shell from a hundred-pounder struck [ a rock on which Prince Christian Victor (a grandson of the Queen) ! was sitting. The concussion knocked > him down. [ PREPARING TO GO ON AGAIN. Lieutenant Winston Churchill correspondent of the " Daily Mail v cables that General Buller is r preparing to make a fresh advance. ; KIMBERLEY. i ; News has been received that the • Boers have been bombarding 1 Kimberley with a six-inch gun since 1 the 7th inst. It also appears that the assailants J are increasing in number, and have ■ moved their trenches closer to the . town. The garrison is eating horseflesh. [ NEAR COLESBERG. \ With reference to the recon- . naissance made by a force of Austra- ; Han and Tasmanian troops on Friday ! last towards Colesberg under Major } Cameron, it is reported that the L courage o>t, thafc officer -vyas conspicuous. From additional details it appears . that Corporal WhiMaw rescued a dismounted comrade under heavy r fire. ' Many narrow escaped- are reported bullets penetrating the clothing, r helmets and water-bottles of the . men. Mr Hale 3, correspondent of one of the West Australian newspapers, 3 ha 3 bsen missing since the. reconnaissance. Major Cameron's advance party was supported by a troop of Inniskilling Dragoons and fifty j Victoria Mounted Rifles. The . former were hotly pursued to within 1 two miles of the British outposts. [ Later on fifty New South Wales Mounted Infantry, under Lieutenants ■ Holmes and Logan, assisted by the ■ Inniskillings and artillery, cleared the Boers from the hills near \ Slingersfontein thus enabling a large convoy to proceed. Twenty West Australians discovered the Boers placing a gun . near Slingersfontein. The colonials were shelled from a hill, and the Boers, attempting to block their retreat', approached to within two hundred yards and demanded .their surrender. The Australians, however fixed bayonets and shouted defiance. Sergeant Edwards and Trooper Hutchison and White galloped under a hot fire past the enemy, and reported the serious position to the commander of the camp. They expressed confidence that their comrades would repel the Boers. The Australians subsequently returned with three of the number wounded. It is believed the Boers suffered considerably, one being shot at a distance of nine yards. The Australians have been warmly commended, i The version of the reconnaissance on Friday published in the " Daily Mail" states that „ the Tasmanians repulsed the Boers, disabling twenty of them. Six of the Tasmanians are missing. * The Victorian Mounted Infantry were hotly engaged by the enemy, but retired under a severe fire without loss, the Boers losing fourteen. The latest information as to the situation in the vicinity of Colesberg shows that the Boers are not surrounded, as implied in one of last week's cablegrams, but hold the whole of the northern part of the district.

, Their positions extend in a semicircle east and west, and present a strong front thirty miles in length, with a full line of communication extending back across the Orange river into the Free State. A Maxim and Vickers gun which were annoying the British forces near Coleskop was silenced by the explosion near it of a lyddite shell of tremendous power. One enormous boulder was lifted into the air to a height of fifty feet from its original position. The Westralians returned to camp when it was dark. One had been killed— shot through the head while bandaging a comrade's wounds. WAR" CORRESPONDENTS. Dr Hales, of the Perth " Daily News," was, it now appears, captured by the enemy. A Reuter despatch says that Mr W. J. Lambie, correspondent of tbe Melbourne " Age " and Sydney "Daily Telegraph" was killed during the reconnaissance. Mr Lambie, was a well-known Australian journalist. He took part in the Soudan campaign of 1885, and was also at Samoa during the first war. VALUE OF COLONIAL HELP. The Capetown correspondent of " The Times " says that the more I colonials sent to South Africa the better. The continual stream of troops into the country is producing an incalculable moral effect on the Dutch settlers. RECENT PURCHASES OF ARTILLERY. A memorandum which was meant to be secret, but the contents of which have been disclosed, has been presented to the Transvaal Volksraad showing that previous to the outbreak of the war the Boers had secured no less than two hundred and thirty pieces of modern artillery. PROPOSED MEMORIAL IN LONDON. The " Spectator " proposes the erection of a conspicuous monument to the colonies in commemoration of the devotedness of the daughter States to the interest of the Motherland. MISCELLANEOUS. In reference to the seizure of the J. B. Robinson Company's Bank at Johannesburg, it transpires that President Kruger seized the bank offices, aud transferred the accounts of all customers to the Transvaal National Bank. The New South Wales "A" Battery of Artillery left Capetown for the front on Sunday. The Mayor witnessed the departure. The men's smartness in handling their guns was favourably commented on. Lord Roberts lias dispatched a second telegram to Presidents Kruger and Steyn, in which he complains of the wanton destruction of property by the Boers in Natal. Sir Alfred Milner's reoent proclamation announcing that Great Britain would refuse to recognise the forfeiture of property in the Transvaal and Free State after its heavy taxat on by the Republican Governments for war purposes has had a reassuring effect throughout South Africa. WITH LORD METHUEN. Field-Mar3hal Lord Roberts, in reviewing the Highlaud Brigade attached to the Kimberley relief force at Modder river, said that the regiments would soon have a chance pf avenging Magersfontein. He had, he said, no doubt about their success, but it would not be a walk over. The men are very enthusiastic. The press .censors have indicated that there will be but little news for" a few days. This is interpreted to mean that Lord Roberts is about to strike a blow at the enemy. BRITAIN'S ARMAMENTS. The Japanese Government allows Great Britain to acquire four big Elswick naval guns. Another foreign Government, it is announced, allows [Britain to retain a hundred Maxims. Twenty thousand men are working day and night at Woolwich arsenal. The British authorities have purchased five thousand horses in Hungary. LADYSMITH. Another reassuring heliograph message has been received from Ladysmith, to the effect that the garrison will be able to hold out for weeks yet. TRIAL OF DISLOYALISTS. The disloyal settlers who were lately captured at Sunnyside by Lieutenant-Colonel Pilcher's expedition to the north-west of Belmont have been committed for trial. BOER COURAGE. One of the incidents of the engagement at Vaalkrantz, north of the Tugela, was a plucky rescue of a Maxim- Vickers gun belonging to the Boers. . . The British troops were about to seize the weapon, then a Boer officer named Viljoen drove up with a team of horses, in the midst of lyddite shelling, and with a splendid dash carried it off almost under their eyes.