JOTTINGS ON THE WAR.

Evening Star, Issue 11133, 8 January 1900, Page 2

JOTTINGS ON THE WAR.

[By Coloxkl Morius.]

As I warned my readers, the Boers are not going to lose the command of the entry into the Free State via Colesberg without making strenuous efforts to prevent its passing out of their hands. V. e have now received rqports of no less than three engagements and several skirmishes. On the Ist (Monday) there was an engagement, of which we have received no details, save the one incident, in which twenty-live New Zealanders were nearly cut off, ut were rescued by Major Robin, but as the Boers' killed are stated to be fifty men it must have been rather a serious affair. Again, on Thursday, the 4th, there was an at lac!: by the Boers on our left Hank to the north of Colosbevi:, with the object of reopening communication via Botha's Drift, on the Orange River, which is some fifteen miles bejow Novval's Pont railway bridge—that is, to the west. Botha's Drift means that there is a ford at this point, av.d the Boers '.avc evidently got a waggoyi bridge here. Their communication with this important point has been cut ofJ by our troops, and 1,000 Boers, at 5 a.m., made* an effort to force a way through our lines, about three miles north of (Jolesberg, and attacked our lejt flank. From this we learn that our troops round Colesberg must have invested the town on the south, (lie west, and the north sides, and our left flank has extended to the northeast, for Botha's Drift lies to the north-east of Colesberg. It is open to the Boers, then, only from the north-east to the southcast. The attack utterly failed, and although the enemy fought well and stubbornly they were driven back to Colesberg shortly after 9 a.m., after losing fifty killed and nineteen captured. A squadron of the Inniskillen Dragoons charged through them when they came on the open, and drove them into a kopje. Here they defended themselves, but were driven into cover by shelling, and from this cover they were driven by a party of dismounted mounted infantry, who charged into the cover and drove them out with the bayonet, and then they gave up the attempt and returned to the town. All our troops behaved well, and the New South Wales Lancers arc especially mentioned. The Boers are said by the cable to be still in strength to the south-west. This should, 1 think, be read as south-east that is to say. towards Plewman, on the railway. The Household Ca.valry (Life Guards and Blues), which left the Cape to reinforce General Methuen. have now been ordered, with a field battery and the Ist Essex Regiment, to reinforce General French.

On the. 6th "General French in for e assaulted the liners round Calesberg. He found them, with two guns, live miles r-ortii of Hie town." Thus runs the cable, tut it is difficult to understand what liners iiwse were. From their being found live milcn to the north of the- town I should thinkthat this must be a party sent to reinforce the enemy, for our troops are only three miles north of Colesberg, and this party could not therefore have issued from the town. Take it all in all, we are doing very well at Colesberg, and should the Boers think that there is a probability of the town being invested entirely I believe they will evacuate it at once.

We have some account of the sortie from Mafeking o nthc 26th ult., which was heard of through Boer sources. Evidently the sortie failed through treachery. The Boers were forewarned, and doubled their forces during the night. In spite of the greatest gallantry the British failed to scale a fort which they found impregnable, and suffered a loss of eighteen killed and twenty-' three wounded. Colonel Baden-Powell makes no mention of Lords Edward Cecil or Cavendish Bentinck, so that part of the Boer report is wrong, but it is curious that only the day before the date of this cable Lord Edward Cecil is reported to be recovering from his wound.

The Boers once more disregarded the rules of civilised warfare, and used explosive bullets at Mafeking, and also plundered the dead and wounded.

General Bullcr.is still shelling the Boer position at the Inhlawe Mountain, with no less than eighty-three guns. He also made a reconnaissance in force.on Friday, the sth, in hope of drawing the Boers from their stronghold, but failed. The encmv will not come out and light. Tliev know that if they lie in wait we shall assault their position, and thus" give them the advantage. With the guns that he has, however. General Bnller ought to be able to make their position'too hot for them, and drive them out. and it would not then be necessary to risk the lives of his men by an assault. On two occasions already, once at Magersfontein and once on the Tugela, our shelling had driven the encmv to the joint of evacuation, when, ignorant of this fact, otir troops were ordered to the assault ai d failed. It is devoutly to be hoped that such a thing may not happen again.

rri -d Later. The Boers have reoccupied Dordrecht. This is ( the town which the Cape Police, under Captain Montgomery, took iroin the Boers a short time a«o, and then, evidently by orders from General Gatacre, evacuated and took up another nost near the railway. As a matter of fact, Dordrecht is too far to the east, and away from the railway and line of advance to be of much strategical value to either party. The Boers who have reoccupied it are probably onlv a foraging party.

The British prisoners in Pretoria are being guarded'by 300 foreigners, as all the burghers have gone to the front ! This sliows"that the resources of the Transvaal in men are exhausted. I have no doubt that large numbers of Boers have quietly quitted llieir commndooes and gone home to their farms. Doubtless threats and pressure will be brought to bear to bring them out again to the front. Urgent s'eps, no doubt, but which will not endear their rulers to the Boers, a fa-et which will at once be demonstrated as soon as the Boer forces berin to fall baclf. A cable states that Lord E Cecil is suffering from fever, not wounds, which accounts for the curious anomaly mentioned above.

During the voyage of the Dunottar Castle from England, bearing Lord Roberts, the sentry discovered a, suspicious-looking man loitering near the cabin, and upon being searched a revolver was found on him. Again the members of the new Yeomanry force at Montgomery found two Boer spies, who had joined their rank", and whom they almost lynched, breaking the jaw of one and the nose of the other. We rre told a day, or two ago of the attempt of twelve or fourteen . foreigners to join the Yeomanry, who were, suspected to be Boer spies. It seems astonishing to find so many men ready to risk a shameful death for the Boers, but it must be remembered that, with the gold mines in their hands, they have the possession of n.mplc funds, and can offer rewards for sen-ices, enough to tempt any number of foreign officers and men for secret service.

The German steamer Bnndersratter had, it appears, 7,000 saddles on board, concealed in food stuffs! Ample justification for her seizure. The Hertzog, another German steamer-bound for Dekgoa Bay. has been seized and sent to Durban. The search for contraband of war is now being conducted, as it should have been before the smuggling into Pretoria was discovered.

There" is a report from London, but as yet unconfirmed, that General French has victoriously entered Colesher k g; and General White reports that the Boers, in considerabW force, attacked Cajsar's Camp, about three miles west of Ladysmith, but were repulsed everywhere, although the fighting still continues. Undoubtedly, as General Buller presses the Boers in front, so certainly thev will make desperate efforts to take 'Ladysmith before they arc driven back, and they will concentrate their efforts on this object, making simply a passive opposition to General Buller, .and keeping close in their entrenchments. A few days should now bring definite news from the Natal border.