NOTES ON THE WAR.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 10758, 11 September 1900, Page 5

NOTES ON THE WAR.

{By a> ke-Meiie£a of tke Inxelxjgekob ' Beajjch,- South Aeeioa.) The latest news from the seat of war is of more than ordinary importance. General Hamilton's division, /during the fighting at Lydenburg, was reinforced by two infantry battalions, the Ist Leicestershire (17th) Regiment and the Ist battalion of The King's Royslßifle Corps (60th Foot). Dragging a battery of guns to the top of a steep- hill wiiich commanded the Boer position, they opened fire, and compelled the Boers in front of General Buller's forces to abandon theii' positions and retire to the north and east whereupon Generals Dundonald and Brocklehurst, at th.i head of the cavalry of General Buller's ariay, entered Lydenburg. Once again the British were-deprived of the fruits ol their efforts, as the Boars, in their usual style, had withdrawn their guns and .stores, a part .going north to Erugersport' and the remainder to Spiti&op. Further to the wc-', in the vicinity ol Johannesburg and Kr.. .-crsdorp, the Boers are again becoming troublesome. The cables state that Com-,, mandant Theron, a member of the Transvaal First Raad (i.e., Parliament) had gathered about 700 men in the hills to the south of Johannesburg, and later cables state that he was joined by that .great Boer soldier, De Wet, the combined commands numbering about 1800 men. Following up the same raiding tactics, which has made De Wet famous, Theron has hsen making attempts to derail trains and otherwise destroy the lines of communications, but, owing to the vigilance of General Hart's troops. Theron has not only failed: but has been' promptly punished on many occasions. The latest encounter took place nesir Kjugersdorp last Thursday, where the Boers left a number of killed on the field. Amongst them was one whose poclsets contained a. letter from General De Wet containing important information. This letter has given rise to the belief -that it -was the corpse of Theron, -but, as there is no further evidence to support this belief, it is hardly worth considering, as the Boers are jaecuiiar in their ideas of discipline, and the rank and file may know as much about what is going to ba done as their Commandants, and in this ease the corpse may be that «£ a burgher who was a friend of De Wet. For the first time since the British forces entered the Transvaal a force lias been sent to the eastward from the Natal border, and WakkerstrooDQ, twenty-three miles due east of Volksrust, lias been occupied by a force und«er General Hildyard. Wokkerstroom is about twenty-eight miles north-by-west from but owing to the roughness of the country the shortest road between the two places is forty-two miles. The situation in the south-eastern districts of the Transvaal needs attending to, and it would be a matter foi* congratulation if we were assured that General Hildyard's command t»".ir largely composed of mounted men, but, unfortunately, there is little chance of this bsing the case, as that gallant officer is in command of tie 2nd Brigade of the 2nd Division.

CABLE NEWS.