Rhyl Journal

ATTACK BY GEN. HILDYARD. BRITISH LOSSES: 14 KILLED j I AND 50 WOUNDED. The following telegram from ir Redvers Bullei 9N% received at the War Office on '-Nlonday: Pietermaritziburg, 26th Nov., 10-45 p.m. Hildyard, from Estcourt, mad-e a. successful attack on 23rd November with three battalions, one field battery, naval gun, and about 700 mounted troops on the enemy, who were occu- pying Beacon Hill, which dominates Willow Grange and had interrupted his communica- tions. Result of operations, enemy retired and raiilway and telegraph lines restored between Estcourt and Weston. Our loss about fourteen killed and fifty wounded. Hildyard has ad- vanced to a position near Frere. as he hopes to cut off the enemy, who is believed to be retiring on Colenso by Weenen. General Barton from Weston has advanced to Estcourt. As soon as eommunica,tion is restored I will telegraph particulars. So far as I make out the opera- tion has been one for which Hildyard and his troops deserve much credit. The railway ia now open to Frere.

ALL WELL AT LADYSMITH. < WHITE FLAG INCIDENT A 44 EXPLAINED." The following telegram was received at the War Office on Tuesday morning, from General Ptiller. Pi«termaritzburg, Nov. 28. Our last news from Ladysmith is the 24th Nov., All well." An old meesage of the 19th just to hand begins: Joubert has explained the firing on our flag pre- viously reported. Have accepted his explanation as satisfactory. Lethbridge, Rifle Brigade, has died of wounds. Other wounded generally doing Health of troops good. Six wounded Dublin Fusiliers taken in armoured train to the eottth of Colenso sent in here to-day."

GOOD NEWS FROM KIMBERLEY. At 11-35 on Tm-wday night the War Office issued the following:- From General, Cape Town, to the Secretary for War (received 10 p.m.). Cape Town, Tuesday, 6-15 p.m. Kekewich reports from Kimberley, from 18th November to 23rd, some unimportant skirmishes with the Boers. WOUNDED. Captain B-od-ley Lieutenant Hawker; three troopers. All doing well. Health of garrison good. Water supply plentiful. Native reports to Kekewich state the enemy's camps to the south of Kimberley vacated, and Cronje, with three thousand Boers, marching • Ao the south. Boers disappearing from vicinity of Kimber- ley, and enemy seem restless.

ADVANCE OF GEN. GATACRE. From General, Cape Town, to Secretary for War (received 10-35 p.m.). Cape Town, Tuesday, 7-20 p.m. Gataore occupied Bushman's Hoek yesterday with a battalion of infantrv. Main body at Putters Kraal. Enemy retired towards Molteno. Railway: Kimberley line, 26th November, reached mile 606. Telegraph line at Klopfontein a.bout eight miles to the south of Modder last night.

MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN. By direction of her Majesty the Queen, the follow. ing telegram has been sent to the Naval Com- mander-in-Chief at the Cape of Good Hope:- The Queen desires that you will convey to the Navai Brigade who were present at the action at Grasspan her Majesty's congratulations on their gallant conduct, and at the same time express the Queen's regret at the losses sustained by the Brigade.

THE BATTLE OF ENSLIN. A BRILLIANT VICTORY. SAFETY OF THE 9th LANCERS. TPress Association War Special.] Orange River, Monday. The British arms have achieved a brilliant victory. An armoured train sent out to reconnoitre encoun- tered tire Boers at Grasspan. A patrol under L.ieut. Lewis wa fired on. and Lieut Lewis and a private were killed. The division bivouacked for the d night at Swinkspati. At daybreak they stormed tne kopje at Enslin pecup*^ *»T enemy. 1 *o oac- of artillery" oosted on each side shelled me enemy and made splendid practice. The Boers stuck tenaciously to their positions. The Naval Brigade, however, with the Yorkshires, Northamp- tonshires, Northumberlands, and Lancashires, stormed the enemy's positions. A withering fire was sent into them, but kopje after kopje was cap. tured. The Boers made good their retreat. The 9th Lancers attempted to intercept the movement, and succeeded in reaching the enemy, but a severe fire was opened upon them from a kopje, and they were forced to retreat. Remington's scouts also faced a terribly severe fire when charging the enemy. The infantry worked magnificently, taking the enemy's position at the point of the bayonet. The Naval Brigade suffered severely in storming the last position. Captain Ethelstone was killed and Cap- tain Protheroe wounded. Nine others were killed. The Boers were shelled during their final retreat, and must have lost heavily. General Cronje was with the Boers. Thirty of the enemy's wounded have been brought here. Our casualties were not so severe as at Belmont. The wounded were taken away by the hospital train. The engagement was admirably planned. Among the Boer prisoners art Alderman Jeppe and Commandant Rissik, who led a commando. The enemy's strength is estimated to have been 3,000. They retired in a northerly direction. THE LOSSES AMONGST THE OFFICERS. Commander Alfred Peel Ethelston, of the cruiser Powerful, joined the Navy in 1875 as naval cadet, and two years later became midshipman. In 1882 he attained the rank of sub-lieutenant, was promoted to lieutenancy in 1885, and made commander in 1897. As Sub-Lieutenant of the Helicon he took part in the naval and military operations in the Eastern Soudan at Suakin in 1884-85, for which he received the Egyptian medal and Khedive's bronze star. Commander Ethelston was appointed to the Power- ful two years ago Major John Hulke Plumbe, Royal Marine Light Infantry, also killed, was forty-one years old, re- ceived his lieutenant's commission in 1877, and was promoted Captain in 1886, becoming Major in 1895. During the Egyptian war in 1882 he served as Lieutenant in the Royal Marine Battalion, and was present at every action in which it was engaged from tho occupation of Alexandria to the concluding battle of Tel-el-Kebir, where he was slightly wounded in the hand and hip. He possessed the Egyptian medal, with the Tel-el-Kebir clasp and Khedive's bronze star. Captain Guy Senior, R.M.A., killed, was only twenty-four, and had been in the service six years, having joined a-s Second-Lieutenant in 1893. His promotion to Lieutenancy came in the following year, and in June last he was appointed Captain. He had not seen any war service until the present operations. Captain Reginald Prothero, who is returned as severely wounded, holds the rank of Flag-Captain to Rear-Admiral Harris, of the cruiser Doris. Born in 1849. he became naval cadet in 1862, Sub-Lieu- T tenant in 1870, Lieutenant in 1874, Commander in 1889. and Captain four years ago. This was his first war service. Captain Charles Alix Lavington Yate was born in March. 1872. received his first appointment in the Yorkshire Light Infantry in August, 1892; was made lieutenant in February, 1894-; and captain in July. 1899. The wounded officer served on the North-West Frontier of India, 1897-8, with the Tirah expeditionary force, and was awarded a medal with cla.sp. Lieutenant Hugh Clifford Fernyhough was born in September, 1872; joined the army in October, 1893; and was made lieutenant in December, 1894. Lieut. Fernyhough also served on the North-West Frontier of India, 1897-8, with the Tirah expedi- tionary force, and received a medal with two clasps, and saw further fighting in Kamar Pass last year. Lieutenant Charles Harris Ackroyd was born in January, 1898. and entered the Yorkshire Light Infantry as second lieutenant in May, 1899. Pre- viously he was in the Bradford Volunteers. Lieutenant Owen Lewis, 14th Bombay Infantry, Indian Service Corps, who was killed in an armoured train reconnaisance, was born in 1869. His first ,commission was in the Durham Light Infantry. He was connected with a prominent Irish family, one of whom is serving with the Yorkshire Regiment. Mr. Cymbeline Alonso Edric Huddart, senior mid- shipman of the Doris, who is reported to have been killed in the action at Grasspan, joined the service on May 15th, 1897. He was rated midshipman a month later, a few days after he had been appointed to the Doris, the flagship on the Cape Station. He is said to have been acting as aide-de-camp to Captain R. C. Prothero, who was in oommand of the brigade. News has reached London that Lieutenant Arthur Collingwood Burton, 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, died on Saturday in the hospital train on the way to Cape Town from Belmont, where he wa.s wounded in the head at the battle fought on Thursday last. Lieut. Burton, who joined the army in May of last year, was only 21 years of age. Lieutenant Lethbridge, of the 2nd Rifle Brigade, who has died from wounds in XalÍal, was a, young officer, but, lie had seen service in Crete. Lieutenant John S. Stirling, of the 9th Lancers, who was severely wounded on Sunday, was born in le74, and was appointed lieutenant in 1896.

GENERAL ADVANCE OF OUR FORCES. It is to be hoped that the mischief to the "Eastern cable may be speedily repaired, since any day now might bring us news of four battles fought simul- taneously and independently at Modder, Modder River, Arundel, Stormberg, and Colenso. On the west Lord Methuen would seem to have arrived almost at Modder River since he reports that the railway wa.s repaired on the 26th within 17 miles of it, and the telegraph within eight. He is not likely to move far from his rail head, however anxious to proceed, so long as the enemy remains unbroken in front of him, since a single battle might exhaust all the ammunition he can carry without its aid. Com- mandant Cronje is reported to be on his way to meet him, -which is likely enough sinoe he finds himself confrrnt 'd with the necessity which Napoleon onco solved triumphantly, of defeating a column advanc- ing to the relief of the town he is investing. We do not know within some thousands what Cronje's force is, and enn only arrive ppproximately at the numbers with Lord Methuen. We have, however, had suffi- cient proof of the splendid spirit animating the British column, and that counts more than numbers in one's hopes of victory. There is no record of any movement on the part of General French, and he is probably still waiting for reinforcements, not feeling himself strong enough to advance. General Gatacre, whose force is being rapidly augmented, has pushed a battalion towards Bushmans Hoek, on the way to Molteno. He has probably an accumulation of stores at Queenstown, more than sufficient for his needs, and it must be only a lack of troops that delays his movements. That lack, unfortunately, is likely to be felt at every point of the advance into the Orange Free State. In the neat little plan of campaign professing to come from Pretoria, no heed is paid to our two columns who are advancing on Bloemfontein. They are doubtless held to be ac- counted for by the commandoes before them. The rest of the plan is cleverly devised, and is palpably the right strategic solution of the present situation from the Boer point of view, if sufficient troops are available. We can only hope that there are not, and that the incapacity which the Boers have shown of late for delivering the blows which have been planned may dog their steps a little longer.

ANOTHER NAVAL CONTINGENT FOR THE FRONT. [Reuter's Agency.l Durban, Sunday. A naval contingent from H.M.S. Terrible, with two 4.7 guns and some other cannon provided with the special mountings designed by Captain Percy Scott, left to-night for the front. The officers in command are Commander Limpus, and Lieuts. Richards, Wilde, and England, together with Surgeon Lomas. The contingent received a hearty send off on starting from Durban.

SPLENDID CHARGE BY THE GRENADIERS. A POPULAR SONG ON THE BATTLEFIELD. [London "Star" Telegram.] Cape Town, Sunday, 6-30 p.m. A friend just back from Belmont has described to mo the charge of the Grenadiers as the glorious climax of the battle. They dashed to the foot of a practically impregnable kopje on the extreme right. Here was an exhibition of their marvellous grit. Without waiting for the artillery to finish its bombardment of the enemy the Grenadiers threw themselves at them. It was a glorious sight, and it astonished the Boers for tho moment into silence. Then with a yell they poured a fearful fire from their Mausers and Mar- tinis into our men, who were grimly silent under the storm of shells, screaming bullets, whistling and fork lightning, spitting and blazing from the summit. All this was seemingly ignored by the gallant Grenadiers, who scrambled up as if by tooth and nail, keeping wonderful line. There was no hiding behind rocks, no charging by half com- panies, but one grand upward rush under hurtling shells. Them the enemy turned and fled, doubling up like wounded hares as our bullets found them. At last the pent-up emotion of five hours buct forth in one great hurrah. Comrades shook hands with comrvle5 the noises of war were lost for a time in nd the singing of Soldiers of the Queen." On the field of battle was a sight for the gods. if the Boors were to occupv Table Mountain tho Grcmdiers would get there, is th« latest proverb in Cape Town.

LORD METHUEN PROTESTS. BOER TREACHERY AND DUM DUMS. The "Argus" states that General Lord Mefchuerv has written to the Boer Commandant asking him to warn the Boers when wounded not to shoot the officers and men who are desirous of helping them, also to stop the use of Dum-Dum bullets. Lord Methuen als) warned the Boer commandant that he cannot recogTrtse anything but a fair flag of truce. In the cours? of his letter Lord Methuen says:—" I am acting quite fairly as your opponent, and have refused to take with me two men from Kimberley, who were inside the Kimberley laager, because I believed that in doing so I should be taking &n unfair advantage, seeing that they were on parole, although under conditions which were not fulfilled by the Boer commander." After the warning re- ferred to above Lord Methuen mentions that he ha.s twelve men in hospital with wounds inflicted by Dum-Dum bullets, and says, in conclusion, Tc place a white pocket-handkerchief on a rifle and take advantage of your enemy is a cowardly action which neither you nor I can countenance."

THE RELIEF OF LADYSMITH. The military critic of the Morning Post writes —Now that we are beginning to make head against them, it is possible to take an easier interest in ths movements of the enemy. At present they are diffi cult to forecast, owing to their erratic and incon elusive character in Natal. General Joubert has bnen treating his army as though it had & disciplined efficiency, and now that he has discovered that it has 1l). and that it is of no use against an entrenchec position, he is likely to fall back on the tactics of which he was once so fond, and confine his effort! to defensive tactic- and to harassing his opponents line of march. He is likely to make a fight at Colenso, since he has probably mounted big guna to command the bridges, which may make the re- pair of ,horn. if necessary, not an easy matter. But the effective blowing up of bridges is not so simple as it might appear. Of these bridges, that which carries the railway is a five-spanned iron lattice- gii-d-r, carried on high stone piers the road bridge, which crosses the river higher up, has an iron frame- work of five spans. The first business in Natal is naturally the relief of Ladysmith. After that, how- tver, there is a wide choice of plans, conditioned some of them by the intentions of the Boers. If the enemy declin to accept battle, and proves too mobile to be forced into an action, it may fall in with General Buller's intentions to keep him occu- pied and moving in Natal, so that he can offer no assistance to the invaded Free State. Then when the invasion compels a retreat on Pretoria, the Natal field force will get its chance. But it seems unlikely that an attempt will be made to force the passes of the Drakensburg, though the Boers will very pro- bably court such an attempt. The passes will open of their own account when the sound of a marching army is behind them, any-where from Winburg road to the Yaal, without the waste of life that would be needed to force them. We have not heard from Lord Methuen since the ficbt at Grasspan. There is nothing alarming in the circumstance, since he is doubtless waiting for a complete list of our losses, and only our ignorance as to the return of his mounted contingent makes us anxious for news. He was to have advanced again to-da 'v, and rumours are already flying of further successes, but we shall no doubt have the first trustworthy word on that point from himself. We are so far aware only of casual- ties of the Naval Brisrado and Marines at Grasspan, and can only hope that their loss of over a hundred killed and wounded is quite out of proportion to that sustained by the infantry, otherwise it will prove tc have been a dearly-won fight.

FROM ESTCOURT TO THE CAPITAL. It may ho interesting at this stage (says the Westminster Gazette ") to give a brief and general description of the country between Pi-etermaritzburg ind E.-tcourl, a country which may be at any moment the scene of important military operations, and to- wards which thousands of eyes in this country are anxiously turned. The railway as it leaves Maritz- burg runs first, always ascending in a w-esterly direction, through a well-tin-bered and fertile country, towards Zwaartkop, where is the first little roadside station on a spur of the Zwaartkop Moun- tains. These mountains, rugged and precipitous. lie some nine or ten miles to the west of Maritzburg, and in them rise the springs from which the water supply cf the town is derived. The hill-sides, rising steeply along the left of the line, whose long escarp- ment skirts their slopes, are bare and grassy, seamed here and there with deep kloofs, which would offer a serious obstacle to the movements of mounted troops. From the height to which the railway has now reached it is possible to obtain a wide view to the eastward, though on the left hand the horizon, bounded by rugged hills, with occasional deep and wooded valleys, com-es much closer. To the east- ward, however, the country is more open, though at this time of year it is traversed by a network of glit- tering streams, many of them on occasions rising to the dignity of torrents, which cannot be forded until the flood subsides. As we go on towards Howick we mount on to a series of broad plateaus with gently undulating surfaces, the occasional farmsteads dotted here and there giving an air of habitability to the landscape. Soon the country gets mnre rugged, the line begins to descend, and we draw near to Howick, nestling in its rich plantations along the northern bank of the Umgeni River. Hero there is a bridge, whose demolition by an enemy nll,,Tht cause delay, though it would not disorganise the. traffic for so long as the demolition of some othtr bridges to be described later. As the line I (,a i e,, Howick, again asco-nding, it takes us through a well-timbered and cultivated country, black wattle plantations still predominating, till it passes through Tweedio Hall Station, and begins to drop again to Darcrle Road. Here we begin to get into the horse, breeding country, and very soon after leaving Dargle Road Station W3 cross the Lions' River, on an iron bridge supported by four stone piers, the destruction of which would cause most serious interruption to the traffic. As we get near Notting- ham Road Station, the railway continually ascends. This place is chiefly remarkable for its large slaughter-houses, froid which Maritziburg draws a great dea' of its meat supplies, supplies which may have formed a powerful attraction to the foraging parties of the enemy. The country is now barer and more open, the typical Natal landscape, with its rock-crowned hills, stretching on either side on to Mooi River Station, near which is a British force intrenched, and where the bridge and placid river is c-ossed on an important bridge, a structure which must be protected, if pos.ible, against artillery fire, in view of our intended advance. After leaving Mooi River Station the line continues to ascend to Highlands, the highest point between Maritzburg and E-tcourt. The country is generally more rugged and difficult, more suited to Boer tactics, less suited to ours. The iine enters Estcourt by an imposing looking iron lattice-girder bridge over the erratic Bushman River, which has to be crossed again after passing through the little town. The difficulties in the way of moving regular troops between Maritz- burg and Estcourt will now be readily appreciated by our readers.

OUR ARMED STRENGTH IN SOUTH AFRICA. Approximately the number of fighting troops at present in South Africa (including the original garrisons) is as follows (men of the Army Servica ind Medical Corps are not included) :— Natal:— Ladysmith 10,000 Estcourt "j Pietermaritzburg >-15,000 Durban J Total 25,000 Capo Colony Cape Town 500 Methuen's Force 7,000 De Aar and Orange River 6,500 Hanover 3,000 Naauwpoort. 2,000 Queenstown 5,500 Kimberley 2,000 Maf eking 1,500 Total. 28,000 Rhodesia 1,50C Total. 54,50C

BRITISH LOSSES. The following is a summary of British kisses to date Kill'd Wil'd Miss. Mafeking, Oct. 15 2 17 Oct 24 6 9 Oct. 30-31 8 4 Taluna Hill and Glencoe, Oct. 20-26. 48 221 208 Elandslaasrte, Oct. 21 51 213 — Crocodile River, Oct. 22 2 3 4 Riptfont-ein, Oot. 24 12 104 2 Kimberley, Oct. 24 3 21 Nov. 5 — 1 Nov. 16 — 3 — Ladysmith: Farq. Farm, Oct. 28-Xoy 2. 23 134 843 Nicholson's Nek 44 150 Ilill, Nov. 3. 8 20 N, v 3. 1 12 N ,v 1 Nov. 1 — Rhodesia, Nov. 2 — 6 Kenilvvorth. Nov. 4 1 — Selmestdoft, Nov. 4 1 1 Belmont, Nov. 10. 2 4 Nov. 23 59 148 18 Orange River 1 Estcourt, Nov. 15 1 18 45 Mooi River, Nov. 19. 3 Nov. ZI 1 2 — Nov. 22 3 — Arun(iel, Nov. 22 3 — Tustela Drift, Nov. 23 1 Graspan Nov. 25 16 89 ? 2S8 1187 1128 Grand total. 2,603. The above is complete as far as our information permit*, but complete, official details are not yet to hand, and of the number lost at Grasspan only those of the Naval Brigade to hand.

OUR ARTILLERY. THE NEW COLT GUN. Early as it is yet to speak of the part which ouf new artillery weapons have played in the campaign, it is interesting to note that in spite of the cetoiency in the number of guns, the marksmanship of the men and the accuracy of the weapon- has b -on -ill that could be desired. Certainly the Field Artillery has not shown that command of range which the Boer projectiles have developed, but the Naval guns, and those which are fed with small arms ammunition, have given the greatest satisfaction. Of these the new Co,t gun deserves special mention, inasmuch as it i, tile first time it has been used in the British Army, and had previously been employed only in the Hi,pano-Anwrican war by the United States troops, since which time certain improve- ments have been introduced. It is now capable of discharging$80 shots per minute with the greatest accuracy, and the absence of the v%*ter-jacket ren- ders it less liable to injury. The mechanism is simple and compact, and the whole gun weighs gulv ♦gib.- There is. it is understood nnlv on" weapon of this pattern" now -at TSe'TrairtT'TRic its utility has already been thoroughly established. In the course of a week, or, at the outside, ten days, the howitzer guns will be playing an important part in the work of our artillery. They are small, unpretentious-looking weapons, and are in reality a survival of the old mortar. The barrel is short, but the projectiles for which they are constructed are of the most powerful character, and it is only to be regrottJed that they have not yet taken any part in the campaign. A new Hotchkiss gun is being submitted to the authorities, which discharges 700 bullets a minute, as against 650 from the Maxim. Like the new colt, it has no water-jacket, and the mechanism is simplicity itself. The a, I I operator having inserted the ammunition-coil, can leave the gun, which will go on firing until the, supply is exhausted, while the removal of a pin wil) render the weapon usel,ess to the enemy.

HOW THE KOPJES vVERE CARRIED. TJNDAUNTED INFANTRY ATTACK. [Press Association War Special.] Belmont, Friday. The features of the fight at Kaffirs' Kop wr( the magnificent da-h of our infantry and theii constant cheering as they pressed forward un dauntedly to the attack in face of terrific volleys. The Scots Guards went into the action with theii band playing, and mounted the second line of kopjes to the inspiriting strains of a stirring charge. This was the enemy's strongest position, and it was hero that our slaughter was greatest. The Boers had constructed strong shelters of boulders, and themselves snugly screened from our rifle fire swept the advancing ranks with a deadly stream of bullets, The enemy stuck to their positions until the last. One Boer was found in a kneeling position quite dead. Lieut Fryer, of the Grenadiers, was killed while creeping along the bed cf a stream in the enemy's rear. He encountered a heavy cross fire and fell. Many of our men displayed conspicuous bravery in helping the wounded. The enemy's ammunition laager was blown up, and their guns were destroyed. A Boer doctor arrived here yes- terday, and asked for a medical outfit. Among'the prisoners is a German named Hellenbold. Mr. Knight, special correspondent of the "Morning Post," was wounded in the arm. Bitter complaints have been received of the misuse of the white flag by the enemy.

THE BOERS AS MARKSMEN. The military critic of the Morning Post think: the.shooting of the Boers at Grasspan must have been fortunately as bad as at Belmont, for th tot-al from all sources of twenty-four killed, though deeply to be deplored, is a most happily ina.dequate result from four hours' "desperate fighting" between close on 7,000 men. Indeed, it is from "IlE stated point of marksmanship absurdly small, and will go far to encourage furrher employment f a frontal attack against men who are clearly incom- petent to handle their weapons and who have also no curiosity to witness how the bayonet ts u-ed. Indeed, the wonderful success so far of the steel has silenced the tongues which might have been disposed to deprecate the unconcealed effrontery which has been used. But tha.t success has been due as much to bad shooting as to the gallantry behind the bayonet, of which there cannot be the least question. It is indeed the one wholly satisfactory feature of the war that though we have suffered from inferiority in numbers we have in every action, man for man, absolutely outfought and overpowered our opponents, and no advantage of morale or ol position has enabled the Boers to hold their own against the determined valour of the men whose fighting qualities they so absolutely despised, and for whom they had in consequence no outstanding fear. But while the enemy's bad shooting does not in the least detract from the valour, though it aided the success of the men who faced it, we are of opinion that the old hunters who cleared M-ajuba Hill would never have let our infantry within striking distance either at Belmon.t or Talana. Their sons may be of the same obstinate stock, but they are evidently a very different type of marks- men.

THE CAPTURES AT BELMONT. BOERS LOST HEART. [Reuter's Agency.] Cape Town, Sunday, 5-40 p.m. The Boers who were taken prison-ers at Belmont have arrived here. The wounded were sent to the military hospital at Wynberg and others to the convict station, which has been converted into a military prison. They were all in a fearfully delapidated condition, and appeared to have lost heart. The doctors agree tha.t the Mauser wounds are olean ar.d generally easily healed in a month. As evidence of the seventy of the fighting on Thurs- day it is pointed out that of seventeen men who formed part of one company thirteen were wounded. The South African Light Horse has furnished four squadrons for the front. They have been equipped; and horsed and supplied within sixteen days. Capt. "Villars deserves credit for this fine piece of organi. sation. J

WHITE FLAG- TREACHERY. A WAR CORRESPONDENT'S TESTIMONY. [Press Association War Special.] Cape Town, Sunday. Ninety-seven wounded have arrived at Wynberg. Among 'them is Mr Knight, the special corres- pondent of the Morning Post," who was wounded at Belmont. In an interview with the Press Associa- tion correspondent Mr. Knight stated that he accom- panipd a detachment of the Northamptons. When the Boers were 300 yards away and surrounded they displayed a white flag. The officer in command of the detachment ordered his men to rise, whereupon tho Boers fired a volley, wounding Mr. Knight and others. An ambulance tra,in left Cape Town yesterday morning. Another was requisitioned and despatched this afternoon to bring back the Grasspan wounded. The men in the hospital a.t Wynberg are making good progress towards recovery. Among the most hopeful of the patients is an officer who was shot through the jaw, the bullet emerging from the neck, He expects to join his regimant in three weeks.

MOOI RIVER DISTRICT. RAIDING AND PILLAGING. [Press Association War Special.] TSstcourt, Sunday, 11-20 p.m. I have just returned from Mooi River. The troop; there are on the alert, but it is not likely that the will be attacked. Reports as to the strength of the Boers III the district vary, but it is clear that there are many separat.e bands of considerable strength, which are, however, bent only on raiding. Al Richard's Paddock, adjoining Picciones, there is a commando 100 strong, and eight miles down the river, at Dantje Boshoffs, is another commando Mrs. W. P. Woods was told to clear out of her house, and the Boers took a span of oxen and a wagon. Her husband had just left the homestead. Another commando has taken up its quarters at the Natal Stud Company's breeding farm. It has taken years to build up this establishment under, the skilful management of Mr. P. D. Simmonds, and money cannot compensate the "Company for the loss of its valuable stock. A flying column has left Estcourt to intercept and punish these raiding parties of the enemy. It is now almost within striking distance of a large commando. Opposite Highlands the Boers were seen driving cattle from the station mews to their camp. The prisoners captured by the Mounted Police left for Pietermaritzburg. It is now stated that one of them offered £ 2,000 to his captors if they would allow him to escape. A heavy thunderstorm is breaking over the camp. The heat is oppressive. A reliable messenger from Lady- smith states that he gathered from the Boers that they will make a combined attack over the country to-day.

BRITISH ADVANCING TOWARDS LADYSMITH. THE ENEMY RETIRING. [Reuter's Agency.] Estcourt, Sunday, 9-10 p.m. We have left Estcourt for Frere. The railway bridge has been destroyed. The line has already been repaired in six places by our platelayers. The enemy is retiring rapidly. A "Times" second edition telegram, dated Mooi River, Sunday morning, says the Boers between Estcourt and Mooi River are retreating. The line is being repaired at Highlands. Telegraphic com- munication with Estcourt is reopened, and the rail- way line has been re-opened to the Frere. An Est- court message dated Sunday night says there aro many separate bands of Boers of considerable strength which are, however, bent only on raiding. A flying column has left Estcourt to intercept and punish these raiding parties.

ATROCIOUS TREATMENT OF A PRESS MESSENGER. A Reuter's telegram from Cape Town savs:Oiio of the native runners employed by Reuter's Agency to get into communication with Mafeking- and brinjf out despatches has had a bitter experience. He was sent off from Kuruman about a week ago carrying letters and a copy of q Punch" for the beleaguered garrison. Near Vryburg he fell into the hands of the Boers, who tied the poor fellow to -he wheel of a wagon and proceeded for some distance along the road, the victim turning slowly round with the wheel. He was released just before entering Vry- burg, and ultimately managed to escape. There are ■everal others of Reuter's runners despatched to- wards Mafeking, and it is expected ahortty that. they will bring the latest news of t plucky garrison.

Mr J. Herbert Roberts, M P., on A Century's Progress in Wales. At the fortnightly meeting of the Liverpool Welsh National Society, at which Mr A.T.Daviea presided, on Wednesday, Mr J. Herbert Roberts, M.P., gave an address on some aspects of the century's progress in Wales. The past century, he said, had been remarkable for progress in every direction; the seeds had been sown, and the intellectual fields were green with promise. Looking back on the eighteenth century, the lecturer pointed out thatbeyond the trivialities of an immoral Court and corrupt Government there was an unconscious struggle for possession of the new world. It was an age of slumber. Still, if it was twilight in England it was night in Wales, for what was bad in England was even worse inWales. The improvement inWales from that time had been achieved in the teeth of exceptional difficulties, for they toiled on without the incentive of public sentiment. Glancing d.t the manners and customs of the people,MrRoberts said that in mode of living,means of communication, and general standard of comfort the record of the century was one of unmistakable progress. There was an interesting book written by the Rev John Evans, of Jesus College, Oxford, describing his tour in Wales, and published in 1798. Somewhere between Dinas Mawddwy and .Llanfair he described the accommodation provided for travellers in those days in startling language. So far from being able to obtain the comforts, we could scarcely procure the necessaries of life. A few old decayed potatoes and slices of fat bacon, with barley bread, was all the boasted inn could afford for supper." "The windows," he added, "were broken and stuffed with garments the doors were furnished with neither lock nor bolt and had to be secured by passing a couple of large screws though the door to the lintel, a very necessary precaution when travelling." The tourist did not seem to have been much impressed with the resi- dents of certain portions of Merionethshire. The dress and manners of the inhabitants," he said, were calculated to show a side of human nature in almost its rudest state. The covering of the females-males we saw none-was a course linsey bedgown scarcely cut in any shape. At sight of us they fled, and when they considered themselves safe, they set up a kind of laughing noise, accom- panied with ridiculous gestures, which brought to recollection the first reception of the Spaniards by the Trans-Atlantic Indians." At Barmouth the traveller was charged 3d. a pound for mutton and lOd. for a couple of fowls. At Harlech the inn could offer no bed or anything better than a dirty floor strewn with rushes. The writer struck a cheerful note, when he met the hill shepherds re- turning home for the winter, a hardy and happy race of men, who employed the winter days in the prosecution of various crafts. Some would remem- ber Macaulay's impressions of LIanrwst when he spent part of a vacation there in 1821. Writing to his mother, he said All trades and profes- sions here are in the most delightful confusion. The druggist sells hats, and the shoemaker is the sole bookseller, if that dignity can be allowed him on the strength of three Welsh Bibles and a guide to Carnarvon which adorn his window. The grocer sells ropes and the clothes brush is a luxury yet unknown to Llanrwst." A very interesting paper appeared in the transactions of the National Eisteddfod for 1890, upon the rural life of Wales a hundred years ago, written by the late Mr Charles Ashton. He enumerated a number of facts as to the homes, the dress, and the habits of the' agri- cultural labourers in Wales in those times which it would be well for them to remember. The cottages in which they lived were hardly fit for beasts, and the dress and living of this class were rough in the extreme. The annual wage of a farm labourer was from £7 to £10 a year, the latter being the maxi- mum, whilst 4d. a day was the usual wage for threshing or ditching. It was a rare occurrence fOr wages to be paid in coin. The labourer general y lived near the farm and took his wages home in a peck of barley or a pound of butter. Describing trade and industry Mr Roberts said that the Oxford don he had already quoted recorded that in 1798 there were only two threshing machines in North Wales, and no good butter or cheese was made in North or South Wales. The development of the coalfields and tinplate industry of South Wales and the slate quarrying, lead mining, and flannel manufactures of North Wales were glanced at, and the progress of literature, education and religion. As to the future, Mr Roberts said the environment of Wales was indeed changing fast. The stream of knowledge now flowed hard by the door of every cottage in the country. Every branch of the pub- lic service from the lowest to the highest, was open to all who were fired with an ambition to serve their country. The national outlook embraced a far wider vision than before, and they properly claimed the right of sharing in the glories and in the responsibility of the administration of the greatest empire the wo "Id had ever seen. In a word, they had begun a new chapter in their his- tory, and they were now face to face with a host of new influences which bore in upon them from every direction. He had no fear for the future of Wales if she but continued, as in days gone by. to place her affections first upon that power which throughout the century had been her guiding-star jo a higher life—a triumphant religious faith.

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The recent Government audit of accounts of of the Cowlyd Water Board has exposed a some- what serious state of its financial affairs. Shortly summarised, it would appear .that the Board, in order to maintain public favour, it may be pre- sumed, has been making smaller rates than would cover its outgoings, and this has gone on year by year until its overdrafts at the bank on the general and capital account combined, has reached the, for them, gigantic figure of over 932,507. This state of affairs was revealed at a meeting on Friday of the Conway and Colwyn Bay Joint Water Sup- ply Board, when a letter was read from Mr. Wil- liam Griffith, district auditor, reporting in detail the result of his audit.

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RU THIN. HEAVY SENTENCE FOR POACHING,—At Ruthin Petty Sessions, on Monday last, Wm Barker, of Mwrog Street, Llanfwrog, was convicted for catching salmon with a not at Ruthin weir without a licence and also during the close season. Defen- dant, against whom there were previous convic- tions, was sentenced to one month's imprisonment with hard labour. Mr Percival Williams (Messrs Gamlin and Williams, Rhyl), prosecuted on behalf of the Clwyd and Elwy Fishery Board,

LLANDUDNO I Mr Chas Neufeld, the Captive of Khartoum, will ecture at Llandudno, on the night of Friday, Dec. loth, at 7-30, and many of our readers will be glad to know that a special train will run to Rhyl at the conclusion of the lecture. Lord Mostyn will preside. Tickets to be had from Mr Trehearn. I

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