NOTES ON THE CABLES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2416, 28 June 1900, Page 32

NOTES ON THE CABLES.

By Majob Kennedy,

Very little news has bean received from the seas of war in South Africa of late, and this state of things is likely to continue for a considerable time to come. Events that are now taking place in China are but the beginning of tho struggle that is to determine the future of the 'Celestial Empire and its dependencies. Cossack or Briton must bo the dominant race in the Far East, and it is but waste of time, of money, and the forces of tho British Empire to enter into a compact with Russia and her ally, France, for the reorganisation of the Chinese Imperial and provincial administration, as such can never take Dlace under international control, and the end of it will be a second Samoa, but on such a scale that it will make a peaceful solution of the international differences impossible, as the vast interests of the contending disputants can never be reconciled by any possible agreement reached in. which the sword is not tho arbiter. The struggle may be delayed a few months or a couple of yeard after the occupation of Pokin by the allied forces that are now either in China or under orders for thai country from choir respective countries ; but the end of the farce, or comedy, ohal is now being played with, the Taku forts, Tientsin, and Pekin as the sta§o, while the changes are being directed from the capitals of the eight great Powers, whose armies and navies are gathering like vultures to devour the Chinese carrion that pollutes the political atmosphere of the flowery kingdom, musl be war.

The despatch of 13 transports with troops from India to the scene of trouble, the additions thai; are being sent from. Great Britain to the land force that serve under the Union Jack in that far-away land, and the two -cruisers that are to go from the Mediterranean to reinforce the British squadron in the Chinese seas, do not indicate that the Imperial Government underrates tho serioubnesi of the situation, or that the preparations of Russia have been unnoticed. Jft is muoh more likely that Gretil Britain is making Her preparations for war against Russia from, her "base in India and across the Afghan boundary than by moving against a Russian forco already in strong positions along the. Gulf of Pechili, for there is no room lo doubt that Russia has at least 100,000 men of her ormy and a considerable naval force already in the Far Ed si. However much we may , wish to avoid swing what is going on over there, the fact of Russia's preponderance compels one to admit that Japan must face the situation, single-handed when it comes, as far as the struggle on Chinese soil will bo concerned, and that Great Britain can best serve the interest of herself and her ally or allies by giving them naval assist onco everywhere, by throwing an ormy across the Hindu EJusjh, ally it with the hordes of Afghan hillmer, who would readily join the British ranks if plenty of lighting was offered as- an inducement, and then seize the Russian Siberian railways, and so destroy the lines of communication on which the Russian forces operating in China against tbe Japanese army would have to depend. That the British and Japanese naval forces are quite capable of preventing any reinforcements or supplies reaching the Russian forces in China from France, or from oversea from any other country, goes without saying, as their ability to do so id unquestionable, and consequently the only difficulty that stands in the way of a final British and Japanese supremacy in the Orient will depend on British readiness to move quickly from India, for whatever comes in the East, the army that holds the Ehyber Pass and is able lo move across Afghanistan and sever the Russian armies of the East from their support and base beyond the Urol Mountains .'s sure to win in the end. There can be only one ending to the struggle between Cossack and Briton in the East if the Briton will but take advantage of time, of position, and of the material at his disposa 1 .

What the Boers have accomplished on a small scale in the Free State in cutting the Hues of communication in rear of the British forces operating in the Transvaal, the British forces can do against the Russian armies should that Power determine to hold China against the wishes of tbe British and their allies. But while the Free Staters are only able to surprise small parties of British at isolated places along a line about 150 miles in length, extending from Winburg road station to "Vereeiriging, the British will be able to throw enough troops across the Oxus River to hold the Russian lines of railway for any period that the general commanding the army of occupation may deem the position of the lures of importance to Great Britain and her allies. The importance of being able to control the lines of communication in its rear and the regularity of the working of transportation for supplies can be better understood if readers will look at the difficulties that would have confronted Lord Roberts if perchance the Bosrs had 10,000 additioral men in the Free State Availing for an opportunity to destroy the railway, and then hold it until sufficient British troopa could muster to drive ftem off before traffic could be resumed. Such a condition of affairs would have made the advance on and capture of Johannesburg and Pretoria almost, if not quite, impossible with the forces Lord Roberts had at his disposal, and he would have been compelled to retire to a position neai* his mum base at Bloemfontein long ago in order to feed his army There can be _no question about the very able manner in which the officers of the Boer armies bavo handled their men during tho campaign, whether they were advancing or retiring ; but while giving the Boer officers and their foreign assistants jrreal credit for their ability in many respects, they clearly failed to realise the advantages that would have accrued to their side if they had taken pain? to destroy the lines of railway, with all the bridges over the Orange River and thence northward, before retiring. Tho seemingly half-hearted attempts that were made to destroy tho bridges really amounted to very little, as the rapidity of Lord Roberta's advance clearly shows thai the damage inflicted on the road bed, bridges, r>nd rolling slock was easily repaired. The Boers failed to appreciate tho value of railways to an army, and particularly to an army like the British, operating as it was. a long way from its base, and dependent upon tho regular arrival of its transports from its base for sustenance. The fairore of tho Boers to destroy the lunnel under Lain 3' s Nek is but another instance of their careless indifference about such very important matters, for while it may be said that the reason they failed lo destroy the Orange River bridges and completely wreck tha road bed and all the plant of the two railways along which their contra! and western columns retired to the north wps on account of the rapidity of the British advance, the same reason cannot be assigned for their failure to completely destroy Lying's

Nok tunnel and render its future use a question of months of toil and the expenditure of many thousands of pounds sterling, thereby completely stopping the British general from using tho Natal railway system as a feeder for his army of occupation in the Transvaal.

The standstill of Lord Roberts'& array at the present time is due to the necessity lo clear his rear and flanks from the presence of the enemy's commandos, as he dare not advance far beyond Pretoria, until he can feel assured that his lines of communication will be secure from the attacks tbat have so seriouply interfered with the forwarding of supplies. In faot, so serious has the positiou become- that Lord Roberts has found it necessary to despatch Generals Buller and Hamilton with combined forces of not less than 40,000 men to assist the divisions under Generals Methuen and Rundle to compel the Free Staters to surrender, while General Hunter's division guards the right or western flank of General Hamilton's forces, and stands ready to .throw itself into the fray if the Boers should attempt to move to the north and west across the Vaal River to join General Botha in the mountains of the north. What the small Free Slaie forces are de-ing along the Free State lines of railway a British force will be able to accomplish along the Russian Siberian railway system whenever Russian ambition for Eastern extension forces the British Empire and her ally, Japan, to demand the withdrawal of the Russian a-rrnies from Chinese territory H.M.S. Dido and Isis, ordered to China from the Mediterranean, are second-class cruiser* of 5600 registered tons displacement and 3500 indicated hoise-power, launched in 1896. Thesa vessels are constructed of steel, and carry Hie following armaments : — Five 6in quick-firers, six 4-.7 in quick-firers, nine 12-pounders, one 3-pounder firar, four _macruiie guns, etc. The Diana, OorL, 3£clipse, Juno, Minerva, Talbot, and Venus are all slnpo of the same class, with the same ai-ma-menb and carrying the same munber of men — 4-70 of all ranks. The Hermes, fiighfiver, and Hyacinth are sistei boats in eve\y sen=o o£ the torm, excepi in pov-er ;>nd armament, in vvhiel' particulars there is considerable points of difference, as the last three voxels have 10,000 indicated Lorse-power and carry olevon &in quick-firers and 15 smaller quick-firers in thoir batteries. These three vessels aie also a covmlo of years newer tl.an the nine vessels named above, as they were launched iv 1888, and. the nine other vessels were launched during ]£S a -95-&6. The speed of all is tha same— 2o knots per hour. 1 he=e sbips are paiticularly suitable for work on the Chinsso coasi on account of tLe shallow draught (21ft being the depth, recorded). TLe vessels are sheathed with wood.