CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

Manawatu Herald, 14 August 1900, Page 2

CONDENSED CABLEGRAMS.

I «. The Transvaal. KITCHENER CHASING DE WET. News has been received that the Boer General, De Wet, who was thought to have been brought to bay on the hills near Vredefort, in the north-west of Orange River Colony, succeeding in crossing the Vaal river on Tuesday. Lord Kitchener who had been directing the operations for overwhelming the De Wet commando (and was said to be •• tightening the cordon around it "), is in pursuit. Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen's column, which was operating on the right or northern bank of the Vaal river — the Transvaal side — came in contact with De Wet's vanguard on Tuesday. Lord Kitchener has crossed the Vaal in pursuit of De Wet. Lord Kitchener was informed of De Wet's escape across the Vaal by a prisoner who got away from the Boer camp. Lord Methuen encountered De Wet at Venterstroom, and obstinate fighting ensued The Welsh Fusiliers showed splendid gallantry. Several British were killed. BULLER AND BOTHA. General Buller scored a brilliant success at Amersfoort, twenty-five miles north of Laing's Nek. His troops dispersed Christian Botha's four commandoes and captured the heights. Botha withdrew with ten guns. DISCOVERY OF BURIED WEAPONS. Australian Bushmen have disinterred immense numbers of rifles and boxes of well-preserved ammunition, which had been wrapped in blankets, from graves in Orange River Colony. It is supposed that the weapons were intended for future use. A DARING PLOT. A plot has been discovered at Pretoria to shoot all the British officers and capture Lord Roberts. Ten leaders of the plot have been arrested. There is much excitement in England over the conspiracy. The public and Press loudly demand a more vigorous treatment of the Boers and the exemplary punishment of the conspirators. The conspirators intended to set fire to the western extremity of Pretoria. They hoped while the troops were extinguishing the flames to enter the officers' residences, assassinate the occupiers and to convey Lord Roberts to the nearest Boer commando. Horses were held in readiness in the nearest suburb to assist the conepirators in escaping. Many of the townspeople connived at the plot. The indignation in the army is intense Every conspirator heretofor enjoyed the entire personal freedom under the oath of neutrality. Arrangements have been made to court-martial the prisoners, who since arrest have been mutually recriminatory. Major Mixse's new Pretoria police discovered the plot on Tuesday, and arrested the six leaders after dark just prior to an attempt being made to carry out the conspiracy. Other suspects were subsequently arrested. All the prisoners were lodged in separate cells. A number of burghers and Hollanders who maintained communication between the conspirators and the outside Boers are implicated. THE CHASE OF DE WET. The latest news regarding the chase of General Christian De Wet is that Lord Methuen having pushed rapidly ahead has arrested the Boer inarch. Lord Kitchener's division is pressing on De Wet's rear. Lord Kitchener's troops engaged De Wet's rearguard on Thursday, near Lindique. Simultaneously Methuen's guns were heard to the north-west. KAASBROCK'S COMMANDO. Kaasbrock's commando has commandeered the British stores in Orange River Colony between Harrismith and Vrede, and is now advancing towards the Transvaal. MISCELLANEOUS. Owing to the constant sniping at trains between Pretoria and Middlebuig, the farms in the vicinity of the railway have been burned. Dr Leyds and the Boer peace • delegates, who have been on a visit to Berlin, are now going to St Petersburg.