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WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.

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WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA. WHITE'S FIGHT FROM DAWN TO DUSK. FEUPERB GALLANTRY. On Mondny afternoon, after a morning of painful suspense, the War Office issued to the public the fol- lowing despatch from Sir George White, showing how the Ladysmith garrison rolled back the wave of attacking Boers and at the end of a great day's fight stood where it did before the battle started. I:> To say that the news of the victory was received throughout the country with deep relief and keen satisfaction would be to give but a very faint idea of its extraordinary effect on the public mind. It is not too much .to say that nine out of every ten people were, while hoping for the best, prepared for the worst. This is the official telegram. From General Buller: FRERE CAMP, January 8. Following message just received from General White: LADYSMITH, Sunday (2 p.m.). An attack was commenced on my position, but chiefly against Caesar's Camp and Wagon Hill. The enemy were in great strength, and pushed their attack with the greatest courage and energy. Some of our entrenchments on Wagon Hill were three times taken by the enemy and retaken by us. The attack continued until 7.30 ip.m. One point in our position was occupied by the •enemy the whole of the day, but at dusk, in a Very •heavy raiastorm, -they were turned out of this posi- tion at the point of the bayonet in the most gallant manner by the Devon Regiment, led by Colonel Park. Colonel Ian Hamilton commanded on Wagon Sill, and rendered valuable services. The troops have had a very trying time, and 'behaved excellently. They are elated at the services'they have Tendered (to the Queen. The enemy were repulsed everywhere with very heavy loss, greatly exceeding my side, which will be ^reported as soon as lists are completed. MENTIONED BY GENERAL WHITE. Of the two soldiers so prominently mentioned in the foregoing despatch, Colonel Ian Hamilton was born. at Corfu in 1853, and was educated at Welling- ton College. He served with the 92nd Highlanders in the Afghan war of 1878-80, and was twice men- tioned in despatches. In the Boer war of 1881 he was -severely wounded, and again mentioned in despatches. In the Nile expedition of 1884 he served with the 1st Battalion Gordon Highlanders, and was captain of, the guard to Major General Earle. More active service awaited him in the Burmese expedition of 1886, aud he served with the colnmn which marched to the relief of Chitral, his conduct in that campaign gain it, im his C.B. In the Tirah campaign on the NonSf-West Frontier he commanded the 3rd Brigade. He greatly distin- guished himself at Elandslaagte. He has written a few books, one ,of which is en- titled The Fighting of the Future." Colonel C. W. Park, of the 1st Devons, who led the great bayonet charge, went through the Afghan war of 1878-80 and the operations round Kabul. He was promoted to be major in 1897, and quite recently, on October 9, was made lieutenant-colonel, and promoted to the command of his regiment. A REMINDER OF PLEVNA. The story of the struggle for Wagon Hill recalls Skobeleff's desperate assault on the Green Hill redoubt at Plevna. This work was carried by the Russians, but only at the cost of terrible losses. A torrent of men," says Mr. Archibald Forbes, who saw the battle, swept over and into the Turkish entrenchments. There were a few minutes of despe- rate meUe; then the Turks gave ground, and the R Miins swarmed into the redoubt." During the fol owing night the Turks again and again attempted to reconquer it. With day they renewed their efforts, and finally regained their lost position after 48 hours of almost continuous bloodshed. My regiments," said Skobeleff, when he came bask, no longer exist." DIARY OF THE LADYSMITH SIEGE. Ladysmith had, up to Tuesday,been invested for 68 days. .Vs. On November 2, three days after the disaster of Nicholson's Nek, the Boers closed in, communication by wire and rail was cut, and the town has since been beleaguered by the enemy on all sides, and inter- mittently bombarded. The following is a diary of the principal events of the siege: November 3.- Sharp cavalry action to the south of the town, near Besters. Free Staters roughly handled. November 9.-Boers assaulted the town in force, but were repulsed with heavy losses. British casualties insignificant. Grand salvo of lyddite in honour of the Prince of Wales's birthday. November 19.-Invalids and a number of women and children removed to a neutral-camp near the racecourse by mutual consent. c, November 21.-Sharp skirmish near Lombard's iSop Nek. December 8.—Daring sortie under the direction of General Hunter. Boer 96-pounder and howitzer blown up and a Maxim captured. British loss, one killed and three wounded. December 10.—Second sortie. Surprise HilI cap- lured by the Rifle Brigade and Boer howitzer de- fStroyed. British casualties about 60. Many Boers bayoneted. December 18.-Sir George White reports an in- crease of enteric fever and dysentery. Seven men tkilled and 12 wounded by shells. December 22.-Nine men killed and 16 wounded by shells. January 6.—Determined Boer assault repulsed on ..very side with great loss. BOERS DISCONCERTED. By the courtesy of the editor of the Morning Post, a contemporary has been enabled to print the fol- lowing illuminative telegram from their Ladysmith correspondent, Mr. John Stuart: LAPYSMITH, Jan 2. (By runner to Frere Camp, Jan. 6, 7.30 p.m.). 0 C The Boer shelling slackened towards the end of last week, but was renewed vigorously yesterday. To-day three men were killed and "yesterday two. The Bulwana gun fired 11 consecutive shells yesterday afternoon, the previous record having been seven. The naval guns replied effec- tively, and also shelled the Boers in the nek between Bulwana and Lombard's Kop. It is reported that the Boers are withdrawing their waggons behind Biggarsberg. The Boers are utterly disconcerted. They get bread cnce a week, and coffee is very short. The Free Staters are indignant at the I arbitrary assumption of authority by the Transvaal officers. They complain bitterly that no captured cattle are served from the commissariat, which only supplies them with mealie meal. The Transvaal officials inform them that if they want cattle they must go to Ladysmith and get it. All the Boers are extremely frightened at what the Kaffirs call Buller's "paraffin guns," and intend to give one battle and then retreat to Majuba. But I fancy that they will attempt to defend the Biggarsberg line. The Biers have stretched wires across the roads, which ring electric bells near the piquets when they are touched. Louis Botha and Ben Yiljoen are acting as supreme commandants in Natal. General Joubert and ,General Burger have gone to Pretoria. BOERS PLAYING AT QUOITS. This morning (wired a Laffan's correspondent at Modder River on Saturday) the captive balloon located some new trenches constructed by the Boers about three miles out, where they have mounted two suns. Yesterday evening they tired some shells from these in the direction of the Guards' piquets, but without result. The Naval Brigade gunners exchange a few shots with the enemy morning and mening. On Thursday an officer of the Marines, .named Hays, saw a ptrty of Boers playing quoits in front of the trenches at the base of the kopjes. A civil judge from Kiniberley is co-operating with the military court, here. A number of suspects have been examined. To-d.-iy witnessed the completion of the ti,ird pontoon bridge across the Modder. The news nf General French's success near Colesberg has been posted in camp'and received with enthusiam. AFTER THE LADYSMITH BATTLE. The situation in its material aspect (remarks Mr. Poenser Wilkinson of the Morning Post) is what it »:ts on the eve of the battle. Ladysmith is still in- vested, Sir George White's force still urgently needs H-lief, and the difficulties which confront Sir Redvers j ;\llle are as great as they were before. Indeed, in i wo fespects the situation is worse, for Sir George \Vhite's force on Saturday must have expended a large sunount of ammunition, which until the relief of Ladysmith cannot be replenished, and must have '!ost a number of officers and men, a loss not counterbalanced, as far as Ladysmith is concerned, by the larger losses of the Boers, for the Boer I force was much more numerous. But in war the • moral forces, or as it is perhaps better to say, the spiritual forces, are more important than ihe physical, and Saturday's battle must have had a great effect on the spiritual element in both the contending camps. The British troops, so long cooped up in Ladysmith, so long harassed by bom- bardment and watchfulness, have bad the chance to face the enemy in conditions which were leas unequal than those they have hitherto experienced, and of proving that they can resist a most desperate and determined attack. The result must be that their con- fidence in themselves and their leaders is renewed; they feel again that they are men, and better men than the Boers. The Boers, on the other hand, have learned what attack means; they have found out by trial what it is to go through what the British have so often gone through: an attack on a prepared position. If they are not shaken they are in a con- dition of readiness to be shaken. for they have the sense of failure in their hearts. Now, therefore while the effect of the repulses of Saturday is fresh on them and before the consciousness of failure has disappeared, is the time for Sir Redvers Buller to make his attack. THE MILITARY SITUATION. The great attack on Ladysmith (observes the Times) has happily failed, and the garrison, in spite of its privations and the long strain of the invest- ment, has most gallantly upheld the traditions of the British Army. The several ceunter-attacks which were delivered and the final bayonet work of the 1st Devonshire prove that the spirit of Sir G. White's troops remains undiminished. The troops," he reports, have had a very trying time and behaved excellently." This tribute is certainly well deserved, and at a time of great depression the conspicuous bravery of the dfcvoted and much- enduring garrison of Ladysmith will evoke a sense of gratitude and of pride throughout the nation. The troops, says Sir G. White, "are elated at the services they have rendered to the Queen." They have certainly earned the right to feel elation after their great success of Saturday, and the Queen and the country Will remember their services. Mili- tary history supplies few instances of forces com- mitted to the defence of such a miserable position as Ladysmith. From some points of view the closest parallel is, perhaps, that of the Austrian Army in 1805, which, instead of occupying the strong line of the Inn River where it could have awaited with confidence the arrival of its Russian allies, was conducted to Ulm to be quickly isolated and lost. The communications of Plevna were cut by October 24, 1878, and the place fell on December 10; but Plevna, its resources apart, was an infinitely more defensible position than Lady- smith, isolated since November 2. We have not yet come down to half rations," states the Times special correspondent; but the greatest difficulty is medical accommodation for the wounded and sick." This also was one of the most dire needs of Plevna, and after the recent fighting it will be terribly felt at Ladysmith, where the losses must have been severe. Painful suspense is inevitable until the list of casual- ties can be transmitted, and in the circumstances delay cannot well be avoided. While the result of the fighting on Saturday is necessarily gratifying, it cannot be said to hate changed the situation in Natal. Sir Redvers Buller's demonstration and the large expenditure of shells to which the enemy made no reply," cannot in the least have relieved the pressure upon Sir G. White. If it could have been turned into an attack, or if on Sunday the expected advance had been made before the Boers had recovered from their repulse, there might have been a substantial gain. As it is, the military results of the gallant efforts of the Ladysmith garrison depend upon the impression, moral and material, made upon the enemy. Sir G. White reports the loss of the Boers as greatly exceeding his own, and it is difficult to see how heavy losses could have been avoided in such a prolonged attack so repulsed. It is not at present possible to estimate the casualties, and moral effect is an unknown quantity. The gross and palpable illusions which were cherished before the war in some quarters as to the effect which small losses would produce upon the Boers have been so completely falsified by events that speculation on the subject is idle. On the other hand, we cannot (continues the Times) ignore the fact that the expenditure of ammunition by the garrison of Ladysmith must have made a heavy deduction from the available supply, and that the garrison will be hampered by a large addition to the number of wounded for whose care it must be difficult to make proper provisions. The repulse may suffice to deter the Boers from further attacks of this nature; but it must necessarily reduce the offensive power of the garrison. The situation in Northern Natal depends upon what the large force under Sir Redvers Buller can accomplish. THE DUKE OF CONNAIYGHT ON'THE WAIL The Duke of Connaught, speaking on Saturday at a meeting held at Newport, 'Isle of Wight, under the presidency of Princess Henry of Battenberg, to promote the local fund in connection with the equipment of the Imperial Yeomanry, said the addition to the British forces in South Africa of,, intelligent men who had become efficient Yeomanry and Volunteers would be an enormous advantage to any general who had command of them. After- wards, acknowledging a vote of thanks to Princess Henry and himself, the Duke said that on Monday he would assume the command of her Majesty's forces in Ireland. Perhaps he would have liked to assume another command. It was the duty of the soldier to obey, however, and so far as in him lay no stone would be left unturned to make his residence in Ireland popular among the Irish people and the troops under his command. "THE LORD MAYOR'S OWN." At the Armoury-house, City-road, on Saturday, the Lord Mayor of London attended in state to swear in the men of the Honourable Artillery Company attached to the battery of quick-firing guns which is being sent out to South Africa in connection with the City of London Imperial Volunteer Corps. About 50 of the men had been previously enrolled, and between 50 and 60 were sworn in on Saturday; more than 20 will be sworn in privately later. At the conclusion of the enrolment Lord Denbigh, Lieutenant-Colonel commanding the Honourable Artillery Company, said the present was a great event in the history -t' rir of the company. He only hoped that this move. rnent, might be the turning point in the attitude which, in his opinion, had too long been adopted in certain quarters towards the volunteer forces of the land-an attitude that had been too much one of toleration and too little one of en- coiirftgi'ment. Lord Colville of Culross and the Lord Mayor-afterwards spoke. The Lord Mayor and Sheriffs of London on Saturday afternoon re- ceived at the Guildhall the colours of the 2nd Bat- talion Royal Ftisliers (City of London Regiment), which is now serving in Natal. The colours have been deposited with the City authorities for safe keeping while the battalion is in the field. MORE TROOPS FOR THE FRONT. The transport British Prince sailed from the .Roviil Albert Dock on Saturday with 13 officers, ,Ai I; men, and 347 horses, composing the mounted infantry detachments of the 2nd Gloucester, 2nd Worcester, and 2nd Royal West Kent Regiments. The War Office announced on Saturday |he detailed organisation of the four brigade divisions of field artillery which are being formed for South Africa, giving 72 more guns (18 of them howitzers) with 2630 officers and men and 2134 horses. The transport Britannic sailed from Southampton for Cspe Town on Sunday with 1103 officers and sol- diers—the 2nd Battalion Cheshire Regiment and de- tails—for Cape Town. It has been resolved to raise a corps of gentlemen to serve in South Africa as n.ounted infantry,-and to form an integral part of the Imperial Yeomanry. THE OPERATIONS ROUND COLESBERG. The following telegrams have been received at the War Office from the General Commanding at Clipe Town; CAPE TOWN, January 5. French reports 4th January: Left flank about three miles from Colesberg to the north attacked by MOO of the enemy early in the morning, squadron of the 6t.h Dragoon Guards furnishing picket charged effectively, but large number of Boers gaining ground by opening with rifles and quick-firing artillery guns, two companies of the 2nd Berkshire and four com- panies of the 1st Suffolk, expeditiously assisted by Royal Horse Artillery (attacked them). Meantime 10th Hussars and section of Royal Ho rse Artillery on the right flank by their combina- tion caused withdrawal of many, but few hundreds held out. on kopje. Our heavy are prepared the advance 'bf 150 mounted infantry who pushed on under cover of ground, and dismounting captured kopje and 19 prfioners. Erie ii- y's loss 50. liters disclosed to-day fresh position five miles sVova Colesberg, to the north, with two heavy guns. Ene.rv.yB evident effort to-day was to reopen cOm" tpumcation with Bactu.

MAPS OF THE WAR.

CARNARVON QUARTER SESSIONS.

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WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA.