The Transvaal.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 185, 6 August 1901, Page 3

The Transvaal.

Loxdon% A.UgU3t 2. A commandant n<tar Krugersdorp offered to send to British camps the feinale relatives of recent surrenderees, and the nff-sr was aocepted. Lacking provisions, a oommando with two guns entered Portuguese territory at Guanetz and met 800 Portuguese troops, who demanded their surrender. Lord K'Uiener reports that 200 Boers surrounded, captured, and afterwards released a patrol consisting of twenty Yeomanry at Doom river, in th» Orange Colony. After the pitrol had surr. ndered the Boers shot a'l the native scouts accompanying the patrol, and also killed a wounded Yeoman in mistake for a Cape boy.

Genera! French reports that Commandant, Kruitzinger has written announcing his intention of shooting all natives in the British employ, whether armed or unarmed.

Many cases of cold-blooded murder of natives are occurring in Cape Colony. The main. forces of the Boer* ate within a quadrilateral area, bounded by lines drawn from Beaufort West to Da Aar, thence to Stormberg, and by Qiu-enstown to Beaufort West. They a-e split up into numerous bodies of from ten to 150. Another group are in the Herschel and Altwal North districts, while smaller collections are situated to the west. The farmers everywhere sup. port the enemy. .

Duplessis, a Boer, has been arrested for murdering Lieutenant Neumeyer in the Rouxville district in 11)00. Vanrhyn, who was a member of the Cape Legislature, together wrth several farmers at Vanrhynsdorp, has been arrested for treason during the invasion of Cape territory last January. The prisoners were admitted to bail.

The £60,000,000 Loan Bill has passed through committee. " Lord Stanley stated thit between April Ist and the end of July the war cost twenty-five and three-quarter millions, the expanditurein July totalling a million and a quarter p«r week.Speaking on the Loan Bill, Sir M. Hicks Beach said the bums voted for the war would suffice till the middle of February or longer if things went well. It was unlikely that it would be necessary to borrow again this financial year. Already the War expenditure had been considerably reduced* while there was reason to anticipate a still larger reduction soon. This remark is interpreted in the lobbies to mean the early recall of 40,000 troops. Featheratohhaugh scoured the fertile country between Rustenberg and Zeertfst, and found hundreds of farmsteads quietly pursuing the work of agriculture. !Se

m&do large captures of stock, and immense quantities of concealed grain and mealies were removed or destroyed. A laager at Joubert's farm was sv * prised on July 29. Seven Boers were killed..and seven captured. The British came off soathless. Sargeon-Major Burns, of New Zealand, is ■convalescent, tod has returned to duty. August 3. The censor stopped the foil-wing Reuter nussage from Btanderton on July sth:—*' Driving in a cart with four greys, General Botha and his secretary recently brought to Colonel Walter Kitchener at Platrand Kruger's reply to Botha's proposal for surrender as folio wb, addressed to Botha, De Wet, Be la Rey and Steyn,« continue fighting.' Allevia '. tion will be sent when needed." ! Lord" Stanley, Financial Secretary to the War Office, stated that natives were employed by both sides for scouting. He presumed they were unarmed. If they were armed on the occasion mentioned in Lord Kitchener's despaoh, it was contrary to a'l instructions.

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, dealing with the Colonial Officer's vote, c'.o-ely inquired into the South African airuatioi).

Mr Chamberlain, in a weighty- speeoh, said that regular war and guerilla war hid been succeeded by the third stageruffianism, brigandage and outrage, requiring a change in attitude towards its authors. Lord Kitchener's new policy of establishing block houses on the lines of communication, separating fighters from surrenderors, and re-establishing conditions of peace in protected districts, had been so successful th-it Lord Kitchener believed that it would be possible to send send home a con 3 derablo number of troops at the end of Septe r.ber. Mr Chamberlain prore ;ded to announce severe methods deuling with incursions into pro ected areas. Begirding Kruitzi ger's threats, the Government hid telegraphed to Lord Kitchoner that such acts and killing the wounded were contrary to civilised warfare. Those committing or authorising'them were to b. court.nanialled, and if found guilty wore i to suffer the penalty of death. (Loucheers.) General trench had been insr.ruoted to inform of ttii decision. Mr Chamberlain added that th military situation was more hopeful than f >r a long time past. The speech provoked intense hostility on the part of the Irish party. Mr Chamberlain's crushing retorts to their interruptions greatly aggravate 1 Mr Murphy, the memb r for Kerry East, who declared that Mr Chambeilain had shed enough blood to swim in. The obstructionist tactics were mainta ned until six o'clock in the morning. The London Gazette announces that the King has accepted the resignation of Major Karri Da vies of the Companionship of the Bath in accordance with his evn-eswi wish to serve his Majesty without reward* Elliott's column was frequently sniped at. on th«:march from Bethlehem, Rei z and Frankfort to Klerksdorp. Farming was everywhere in evidence, but the majori y of the farmers deserted their homes on the news th*t the British were advancing, and preceded the columns under the protection of Voater's commaudo.