ARMS FOR THE ORANGE FREE STATE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 10483, 23 October 1899, Page 6

ARMS FOR THE ORANGE FREE STATE.

All the while the Orange Free State wae negotiating with tite Transvaal and its legislators were discussing whether they should throw in their lot with the sister Republic in the coming trouble or remain neutral, the State was losing no time in replenishing its arsenals. It is asserted that ever since the fruitless conference at Bloemiontein between Sir Alfred MHner and Mr Eruger, the Free State iw> been supplied with anne and ammnifcion. by tihe 'lianevaal Government to an almost incredible amount, until at the present time the Free State arsenal is second only in importance to that of the Transvaal. Mr Schreiner and ids colleagues may be interested to learn, remarks a South African paper, that as compared with the train leads of munitions of war that entered tie Free State by way of Pretoria, the importations via Port Elizabeth seem very small indeed. The last consignment to reach Bloemfontein from tie eastern side consisted of 1,500,000 rounds of Mauser ammuiutiod; the train was loaded up at Pretoria. What the Free Stele Government uxtende to do with all this ammunition it was quite unnecessary to disease. Now, 1£ million rounds of ammunition furnishes 10U rounds per head for an army of 15,000 men, and thie large amount is • only a fraction of the gigantic supplies that have been laid in week by week during the past < three months. /'