THE BOER WAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2387, 30 November 1899, Page 68

THE BOER WAR.

£HE NICHOLSON'S NEK DISASTER.

& STAGGERING BLOW.

(Per Mail Steamer at Auckland.)

1 * \ Despatches from London under date of October 31' brought the following startling news: — The War Office has received a despatch from General White, commanding

the British forces at Ladysmith, reporting that the Royal Irish Fusiliers, Mountain 'Battery No. 10, and the Gloucestershire E.jgiroent were surrounded in the hills by the Boers, and, after losing heavily, were obliged to capitulate. The following is the text of General White's despatch to the /War Office: — "Lad3-smith, October 30, 10.45 p.m. I have to report disaster to the column sent by me to take a position on the hill to guard the left flank of the troops. In these operations to-day the Royal Irish Fusiliers, No. 10 Mountain Battery, and the Gloucestershire Regiment were surrounded in the hills, -and. after losing- heavily, had to capitulate. Casualties have not yet been ascertained. One of the .Fusiliers employed as hospital orderly came in under a flag of truce with a letter from the survivors of the column, who asked for assistance to bury the dead. I fear there is no doubt of the truth cf the report. I formed fthe plan in the carrying out of which the disaster occurred, and I am alone responsible for the plan. There is no blame whatever to the troops, as their position was untenable." «

Other despatches of the same date {October 31) state that, while minor reverses were not wholly unexpected, nothing like the staggering blow General Joubert delivered to General While's forces yesterday was anticipated. The full extent of j the disaster is not yet acknowledged, if it | is known, at the* War Office. Hie loss of effective men must be. appalling to a general who is practically surrounded. Two of the finest British regiments and a mule battery deducted from the Ladysraith gar-a-ison weakens it about one-fifth of its total strength, and alters the whole situation very materially in favour of the Boers, «vho have again shown themselves stern lighters and military strategists of no mean order. The disaster cost the British from ' 1500 to 2000 men and six 71b screw guns ; J and, as the Boer artillery is already , stronger than imagined, the capture of i these guns will be of great help to the ' Boers.- From the list it will be seen that j 42 officers were made prisoners, besides a ' newspaper correspondent (J. Hyde). ■ The interest in the news was universal, pervading all classes and conditions of the London populace. Newspapers extras were j gagerly read in business houses, in the " streets, and by women in their cairiages. j Then there was a rush to the War Office, .which by noon was surrounded with pri- , Vate carriages and hansoms, while many of j *he humbler classes of people came on I foot — all waiting and watching for the J names they .held dear. Never was the old ) saying, " Bad news travels quickly," better ] exemplified here than to-day. /By noon gloom and bitter sorrow prevailed through- j out the British metropolis. At the Go- ' vernincnt offices no effort was made to ! conceal the feeling of dismay, prevailing, j One official said to a - representative of the , 'Associated Press : "It is inexplicable, and > I am sorry to say its moral effect is in- I estimable. We have lost heavily in many i .wars, and have had regiments almost i wiped out, but to have regiments captured, j and by Boers, it is terrible." An official j in the War Office said to a representative j of the Associated Press : " The disaster is j more likely due to the craze of our younger ,' officers to distinguish themselves and ob- ] iain mention in the despatches and earn the Victoria Cross than to the fault of that splendid Indian- veteran, General White, m spite of his avowal." As the- day wore on j the crowd around the War Offices welled to enormous proportions, and at Gloucester, the home of many of those engaged, the wildest excitement prevailed. Special .editions of the local newspapers were speedily exhausted, and the "same thing .occurred at Bristol and other towns in that county. Coming so soon after the engagement at Reitfontein, where the Gloucoetershires suffered heavily, this fresh disaster tironqht the keenest sorrow to ; ■households aH over the county whose name the regiment bears. The disaster had an immediate effect on the Stock Exchange, .where consols fell £. South African .securities dropped heavily, Rand lines falling two points.

The afternoon newspapers made only brief editorial comments on the news from 'Ladysmith, but their headlines voiced a feeling qf general, sorrow. The tone of the editorials can be "summed up in the following statement of the St. James's Gazette: — "It is evident the patriotism and fortitude of the nation are to be tested an real earnest by the operations in Natal. (Against great odds General White had a difficult task set hi-a, and we must take the disaster with the dogged coolness which Britons know how to display. We shall pwait the final result without apprehension." The Globe calls upon the British Empire "to receive this bitter and unpalatable piece of news w.ith the spirit of £ praat nation that relies upon its invincible reeerves of strength." While the announcement to-day of the arrival of General buller at Capettrwn was received by the Pritish with unfeigned satisfaction, " it is pointed out that the General cannot end the war without an army corps, and some of the troops which are to compose it have not even left England for, South Africa.

THE OFFICERS CAPTURED

LONDON, October 31.

In o. second despatch following that in ■which he announced the capture by the Boers of his two regiments and the Mountain Battery, general WJiite says:

The folio-wing is a list of the officers taken prisoners to-day: — Staff-major Adye. Irish Fusiliers. — Colonel Carleton, Major Munn, Major Kincaid, Captain Burrow, Captain Rice, Captain Silver, Lieutenant Heard, Lieutenant Southey, Lieutenant Phibbs, Lieutenant M'Gregory, Lieutenant Holmes, Lieutenant Kelly, Lieutenant Dooner, Lieutenant Kentish, Lieutenant ICillchan, Lieutenant Jendume, Chap]ain Mathews. Of the above Captains Rice and Silver and Lieutenant Dooner were wounded.

Gloucestershire Regiment. — Major Humphrey, Major Capel, Major Wallace, Captain Duncan, Captain Conner, Lieutenant Bryant, Lieutenant Nesbitt, Lieutenant Ingham, Lieutenant Davey, Lieutenant Knox, Lieutenant Temple, Lieutenant Radice, Lieutenant Breul, Lieutenant Hill, Lieutenant Smith, Lieutenant Mackenzie,

Lieutenant Beasley, Lieutenant -Gray. Of the above Captains Duncan and Conner were v, ounded. " Royal Artillery.' — Major Bryant. Mountain Battery. — Lieutenant Wheeler, | Lieutenant Nugent, Lieutenant Moore, I Lieutenant Webb. J INCORRECT INFORMATION. SAN FRANCISCO, November 1. Very extensile telegraphic reports have been received by the press of this and other cities from London daily i but as the English newspapers, and even, Parliament, have been misled as to the real nature o ( the so-called victories they have been duped by second-hand facts. The Boers are said to have suffered heavy losses, but later accounts, -while confirming the^ facb of British victories, gave additional information that the English also suffered -very heavily, that General Symons had died of his wounds, and that a body of Hussars had been captured by the Boers. Later still came news that the wounded had been left by the British to fall into the hands of the enemy, and that General Symons had died in captivity. It was evident from the advices from London that the English people were much disturbed at the losses, as well as at the discovery that they had been duped by incorrect information from the front. The statements made by Field-marshal Wolseley on the situa-' tion were sharply criticised in the House of Commons, and the public manifested their resentment at what was termed an evident 4ttempt to create a false impression of the state of thingp — even the truth, which was not calculated to encourage hopes of a speedy termination of the war, and embraced an account of a great slaughter of English officers, was better received than partially suppressed reports of fighting, and then, by a strange revul- \ sion of popular sentiment, the Commander- ' in-Chief was charged with having gone to _ the other extreme, and caused unnecessary alarm. I PRESS COMMENTS. ' On the date of the sailing of the steamer | for Australia the following despatch was 'received: — "London, November 1. — An | ominous curtain has again descended upon

affairs in Natal. No despatch, except the official telegrams of General Sir George Stewart White, has thus, far been permitted to mention the disaster, and no telegram from Ladysmith has been received in London since the advices from the British commander. This gives rise to the belief that communications have already been cut, in which event some time must elapse before the details regarding the British losses are received. If the War Office officials have received information on this point they have refrained from publishing it. General White's estimate that the British losses .were a,bqufc 90 is evidently ftuite

separate from the probable losses in killed or wounded among the 'captured battalions. On this point there is -the greatest suspense among the relatives of prisoners. It is supposed the stampeding of the mules meant the carrying away of the reserves of ammunition, and that the troops capitulated after firing the rounds each man carried. In the absence of news the morning papers are reduced to speculation as to how the disaster occurred. The general opinion is that *the misuse of cavalry was the real reason for falling into the Boer trap. Apparently there was no cavalry to watch over the safety of the missing column."

■The Morning Post, pointing out how near the British were to " still greater disaster," says: ''In capturing the column the Boers also had the Devonshire Regiment practically at their mercy, and a little more daring Would have made a bad busi-

ness much worse, and, seeing that a force strong enough to scoop up a couple of infantry battalions could have put itself practically betv__n Sir George White and his camp, we may be very thankful that things to-day are not more serious than they are. The lesson has been a severe one. It is humiliating to find a nation of farmers beating soldiers at their own game. But the sooner proper respect is had for- Boer strategy and tactics the better for our fortunes in Natal." This sobering note is struck by all the morning papers to-day, together witn expressions of determination

to carry the matter through at whatever cost. The Daily Chronicle, referring editorially to the situation, says : " After the patent failure of the campaign and the terrible humiliation of the British army, we can only vaguely hope that Sir George White, in 'the hard days that lie before him, may be able to hold Ladysmith. Retreat would be an undertaking which the imagination fails to grasp. If this war is to be a war of vengeance Aye shall have to wipe out a disaster before which the memory of Majuba Hill fades away. The Empire is face to face with a repulse comparably only to the surrender of Burgoyne to the* embattled farmers of our American

', colonies. If the catastrophe calls for some- : \ thing better than music-hall patriotism, ' • we may come to reckon it as a timely lesson \ well learned for the good of our souls." ' j The Daily News bays: "If it is found j ! possible to move stores Sir George White •; will probably be ordered to withdraw up- ! lon Colenso. If the order is not given it > \ will be because the removal of stores would . ' be too risky." j The Morning Post calls attention to . Sir George White's use of the word "capi- ' t ulation, remarking that it suspects the woi£ was used carelessly. It says: "We prefer to assume that the column fought

until it was cut to piecraQ^^HaTl the ammunition was gone. Capinßraon is a word of shame. Troops in the field cannot capitulate . without disgrace, and disaster is not necessarily dishonour." The Times says :— " We have met with a considerable reverse. It is for the nation to show that it can bear ill fortune with courage and dignity." ! There is no general desire evidenced on the part of the morning papers to criticise Sir George White harshly pending the arrival of further details. On the contrary, the disposition is to admire his manly courage in assuming the full responsibility. THE GLOOM RELIEVED. LONDON, November 1. The gloom caused by the British disaster at-Ladysmith was in a measure relieved by to-day's story giving an account of ( the heroic stand made by the decimated battalions until their last cartridges were exhausted. The British nerve was momentarily shaken by General White's use of I the word " capitulate " in his first telegram, but now that it is known that the Gloucesters and the Dublin Fusiliers fought i against overwhelming odds, and upheld the best traditions of the British Army, the tension has been relieved,- since there is no longer any ground " to dread that the loss of life was accompanied by dishonour. Details to-day show the catastrophe in j brighter aspects. Full battalions were not I engaged, therefore the list of prisoners is materially reduced, while the disaster now appears to have been not so much in consequence of weakness of defence in the plan of action as of misfortune, whereby the | column was deprived of its ammunition. Still, it seems incomprehensible why the plight of the iuckless column was not known at headquarters, as the scene of the surrender was only about three miles northwest of Lady&mith, and Lieutenant-colonel Carleton must have expected relief to reach him, or. instead of attempting to occupj' a defensive position, he would have retraced his steps to Ladysmith when ne had suffered the loss of his ammunition.

Apart from General White's statement that the losses are very numerous, there is nothing to indicate the extent of them except the reisorts that a soldier who brought the news to Ladysmith said that the British dead and wounded were lying in heaps, and that hundreds needed doctors. This, however, is hardly borne out by the long list of captured officers. The concluding sentence of General White's despatch relative to the safety of Ladysmith was received here with a certain reserve, in view of the fact that similar official assurances were given recently at Dundee and Glencoe, and there is intense anxiety

■ for news of some renewed attack which may not be mentioned in the despatches. General White's despatch, telling aiy the ■ fighting at Ladysmith on October 31, reads as follows : —""I employed all the troops here except the obligatory garrison before j the works. I sent a mountain battery and j the Royal Irish Fusiliers and the Glouces- j ters, to take up a position on the hills, in i order to clear mv left flank. The force i moved at 11 o'clock yesterday evening. ' During the same night, alarmed by the firing, the battery of mules stampeded with , some of the guns, which, however, I hope Ito recover. These two battalions have not i yet returned, but are expected this afternoon. I detailed two brigades and a division consisting of fbld artillery and five battalions of infantry, aided by the cavalry under General French to attack the position, upon which the enemy yesterday were moving their guns. We found this position evacuated. B\it our force was attacked with consideiable vigour with what I believe were Geneio! Joubert's main troops. They had many gins and great numbers of men. Our troops were all in action. We pushed the enemy back several miles, but did not succeed in leaching his laager. Our losses are estimated at between 80 and 100 men, but tho^e o'i the enemy must have been much greater, cur guns appearing very effective. After bring in action several hours I withdrev/ the troops, and they returned unmolested to their cantonments. The enemy were in great numbers. Their gun ranges were further than our field guns. I now have some naval guns, which have temporarily (silenced, and I hope will permanently dominate, the enemy's best guns, with which he has been bombarding the town, at a range of 6000 yards." RISK OF FOREIGN COMPLICATIONS. NEW YORK, October 25. A Tribune cable from London says:— lt cannot be doubted that the superfluous proportion of the army despatched under General Buller to the Cape with the activity that prevails points to the expectation of possible serious coYnplications with foreign ' Powers. Russia and France are the Powers indicated. To have a British fleet in readi- \ nefcs and to despa-tcli a large force to the j Cape under a commanding officer and •; Btaif who -would direct the British Army ', in the event of a European war would be ; regarded as an extremely wise and prudent . move on the part of the Government. The j Persian Gulf is the point where it is most . likely that any active complications will centre. As in the event of war the Suez Canal would be blocked, the Cape is England's natural route and halfway house to India and Persia. The foreign ofeces ai

Great Britain and Germany have never been on more friendly terms/ This fact* must be taken into account by thoso seeking to forecast the future. Despatches from the Continent to the Daily Mail say. that the French fleet has received instructions to watch the movements' of the Bx'itish Mediterranean squadron, and that the Italian fleet is under orders to concentrate in the Bay of Spezia. The extent of British preparations revealed by to-day's-information causes a strong reiteration of the rumours of serious foreign complications. It is now said Rear-admiral Lord Charles Beresford will command the Mediterranean squadron. The details of the activity at the dockyards and naval -stations 'are coming in hot and 'fast. The Associated Press learns, however, that whether or not Great Britain seriously fears Russian or French aggression, the naval preparations have been under consideration for several months, and it was the Admiralty's intention to put them in force as soon as war was declared, deeming it necessary to increase the active strength of the navy in order to insure a large fleet of transports against every possible contingency. Whether later developments have transformed the Admiralty precautionary measures into preparations for a naval demonstration, necessitated by European hostility, is the question of the hour, and it is as much a mystery tojnany high naval officers as to the public. The exact condition of affairs consists of ordering naval reserves to be in readiness to join their ships at 24 hours' notice, while all cruisers of the reserve class have b«m ordered to be ready to sail in the same time limit. These vessels, although at the dockyards, are never out of commission, and are always supposed to be ready for immediate manning. A dozen cruisers, ranging from 6000 to 11,000 tons, are now only awaiting word to embark crews. In addition to these preparations, the work on uncompleted vessels is being hurried day and night, special attention being paid to the cruisers. This is taken by the authorities to indicate that Great Britain intends to form a menacing flying squadron, using the term " menacing " because the naval force at sea now is ample to convoy troop 3, and is capable of preventing any interference m. South African waters. While British officials do not conceal their knowledge of German, French, and Russian antagonism, and their irritation thereat, they do not give the slightest hint that European hostility will crystallise in any overt a«t ; but the belief that Great Britain is on the verge of a crisis, or even conflict, far greater than that in the Transvaal has many supporters, though lack of all official confirmation favours the conservative views that the remarkable military and naval activity is due to a desire to take thorough precaution, which, 'though ominous, have at present no special bearing upon Great Britain's European relations.