24th Oct. THE news which we publish to-day is unusually stirring, and will be read with great satisfaction by all Englishmen, using the word in its largest sense, including the English of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and our colonial possessions generally, as it will be, we know, by a great number of our American cousins. A glance at the map of South Africa will show that the Western frontier of Natal marches with the Orange Free State for about 100 miles, and that running parallel to this frontier is the Natal railway to Pretoria. This is a tempting objective to an enterprising enemy, and one which it is not possible to protect in its entirety with the force at Sir G.. White's disposal, without running the risk of weal garrisons being cut off and surrounded, which would necessitate a force being dispatched to their relief, and so compel the British to a definite line of advance through Natal—a line which for many reasons is undesirable, Sir G. White therefore acted wisely in withdrawing—General Symons's force from Newcastle and in disposing of it to cover the important railway junction ab Ladysmith. It is clear from the to the strategical importance "of this telegram that the Boers, fully alive
point, advanced with some 4,000 rifles and "a battery to seize it. They appear' to have selected a strong position within range of the British camp, on which they opened fire, Which looks as though their advance had partaken more or less of the nature of a surprise. However this may be, General Symons "was more than equal to the occasion, for with soldierly instinct he assumed the offensive with brilliant results, The telegrams, however, are not ilite clear as to whether General French'saction took place immediately after General Symons's attack, or was a separate engagement. Presumably Symons telegraphed back to Ladysmith the news of the Boer advance, upon which Sir George White hurried forward with French's Cavalry Brigade and thus reaped the fruits of the infantry soldier's victory.
This fight at Glencoe is of considerable importance. The Boers, firm in the belief that attack and defeat of the British are synonymous terms, have received a rude check, They have been hustled out of a chosen position by a force probably not numerically superior to their own, but this has not been effected without severe loss on our side. Deplorable is the news that general Symons's wounds ate mortal, We can only hope that the worst anticipations may not berealised, and that this gallant soldier may yet live to receive the rewards to which his bravery and skill entitle him. The proportion of losses amongst the officers is unusually heavy. Probably during the advance of our troops through the open country the Boer marksmen selected the officers as special objects for their aim, knowing how much depended on them and their leading. Besides, many of them would be rendered conspicuous by being mounted.
The victory at Eland's Laagte was also a costly one, as the storming of an exceptionally strong position on a rocky hill, held by men who can shoot as straight as the Boers, must be. The capture of prisoners and puno is a proof that it was a valuable victory; and that among the prisoners taken is the nephew of the Transvaal Commander-in-Chief will bring home to the Boers very forcibly what they have brought upon themselves by their insolent ultimatum.
The move of the Channel fleet to Gibraltar is a necessary precaution. When time does not admit of affairs between nations being adjusted by the more delicate machinery of diplomacy, the dispatch of a' squadron answers in a practical manner the same end. In this case it suggests that England will tolerate no interference from any source.
The negotiations which led to the purchase of, or at any rate to the permission to use, Delagoa Bay as a base in the event of hostilities with the Transvaal were from their very nature of a most secret character, and could not safely be communicated to other nations. It is therefore not surprising if the decision to make Delagoa Bay the base of operations may cause some irritation amongst other Powers which is best dealt with by firmness hence the significance of the move of the Channel fleet.
By the acquisition of Delagoa Bay the British advance will be simplified. Durban, the port of Natal, is a wretched harbour, with a bar which renders the landing of men and animals a work of extreme difficulty. It is besides some 50 miles further than Delagoa Bay from Pretoria, the immediate objective of the campaign. But the great advantage of Delagoa Bay is that the main operations of the war will be taken out of the Cape Colony, its dependencies, and Natal, and transferred to the enemy's territory. Not until Sir Redvers Buller arrives with reinforcements and commences an advance from Portuguese territory, can any decisive action be expected, and in the meantime we must not be surprised to hear of small successes by the enemy in Bechuanaland, such as the affair at Vryburg. Eventually, however, the pressure caused by Sir Redvers' advance from the East on Pretoria will draw the main body of the Boers towards the. threatened point, when battle may be expected to take place some 50. miles east of Pretoria. Ofthe result of this engagement there can humanly speaking be little doubt, though victory will not be obtained without considerable loss; for whatever may be the. faults and weaknesses of the Boers, their greatest detractors have never attempted to throw any doubt on their gallant bearing in battle.
27th Oct.
Reuter's telegram as to the pros of the war in Natal, received evening, confirms the news reported from' Saigon that the force from Dundee under Colonel Yule has succeeded in joining hands with Sir George White, and that the whole force is concentrated neat Ladysmith. There was a comparatively heavy loss in Tuesday's fight, and the capture of a whole squadron of Hussars and eight officers is a sensible blow to the small force of British available. It is to be hoped that Sir George White will be able to hold his own until reinforcements can arrive; but our War Office seems to be as incorrigible as ever, and so far from Lord Wolseley's boast being true, that we could dispatch an army corps complete to any desired point in a week, it is now said that. it cannot be at the Cape before Christmas. The fact seems to be that our Government shared the belief of Mr. Chamberlain's supporters generall that if they were firm enough! President Kriiger would give way, and therefore they did not perfect the arrangements that should have been made for action in case the Boers, as is the case, did not give way. They do things, happily, very differently in India. Natal begged for troops, showing much more foresight than the Home Government, they were ordered from India, and almost as soon as they were ordered they were ready to go. If Natal is saved from the first on-slaugh of the Boers, it will be due to the readiness of the Indian authorities, There have been warnings enough of late years of the suddenness with which wars break out, but
any salutary change in the antiquated they have not been enough to produce red-tape methods of the permanent civilians who control our War Office. Distinguished soldiers who know the defects of our system and are burning to remedy them try their hands at the improvement of matters, but the permanent civilians are always too much for them, and the soldiers are removed to other posts when they get to know the ropes enough to make a change.
The earlier Reuter's telegrams that we publish this morning are not reassuring, There have been many who have feared that the present war would not end before other combatants had been drawn into it; the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.