THE SITUATION DISQUITEING.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXXIV, Issue 37, 14 February 1900, Page 2

THE SITUATION DISQUITEING.

GENERAL BULLER'S CAUTION. AN AFKIhTANDER VIEW OF THF AVAR, THE BOERS STRONG AhD CONFIDENT. AUCKLAND, 'His Day. American files to hand by the Moana contain the following w ires I _ mi -. .. San ' FIU!, ' c,sf «- Jan. 21. lhe situation in South Africa continues most disquieting, It is believed in London that the military authorities aro urging General IJuller forward despite inadequate preparations because one vie tory is greatly needed to cheer the Pr-'* t.sh public and for political reasons' General liuller s army Js said to have secured positions at three points en the Tugela, but General Buller's own report shows the difficulty of holding the ground gained and the impossibility of advane ing. Speculation is rife iu London and the geueral tenor of opinion appears not to be optimistic. Operations on the Stock

Exchanges in London and Berlin aie probably responsible for many of tho wild rumours afloat. • Military critics in England and Continental Enrone declare that General buller has undertaken a task quite as serero as the one he first attempted in tho attack at Colenso. The Boer forces offer such a strong resistance that it may take days if not weeks to cover the twenty miles nowstretching between the British army and Ladysmith. ' The Boers bave many ad- ' vantages, and General Buller appears to be using great caution, and now knows the enemy's peculiar methods of warfare better than at first. News from the Afrikanders is not plentiful, bnt the following despatch comes from Aden, dated January 20 :— " American passengers by the steamer Konig from the Transvaal make the following statements regarding the war :— " Tho total of the Boer losses during the entire war, killed, wounded, aud prisoners, including recent battles, does not exceed 800, and less than half the.adnlt Boers in the States are now under arms, tho Government not yet having required the services of all the burghers. The Boers have ammunition for three years, and Pretoria is provisioned for one year. All the Boer victories have been won by forces greatly inferior to the British in numbers. The Boer plan is purely defensive, and they arc confident they can maintain the Transvaal against any number of British troops that can be sent against them."