The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-01-03 00:00:00

NEWS FROM THE CAPE.

The arrival of the Cape mail at Plymouth, on
Saturday, furnishes details of the capture of Beco-
mes and Umkana's strongholds.3.They add little to
what was known before, except that tiloy nal:no tho
officers who were wounded in the assaults. The
‘,..1 r,-..4: nt thA late Prince Imperial has been found; and
the assegai with which he was killed has been given to
the British authorities.

Sir Garnet Wolueley has issued a notice to the
Inhabitants of the Transvaal signifying them that the
old laws against treason and sedition are still in force,
and that those guilty of such offences, of coercing or
Intimidating people to attend meetings, will be
punished without favour.

The Daily New Corresponaeat at Uapetown writes
"The wolcolne news that Secocoeui had surrendered, and
that he is now a prisoner on his way to Capetown, followed
hard upon the successful storming and capture of his
stronghold, and puts a definite end to a campaign which
has been the best planned and the best carried Out of any of
the numerous warlilte enterprises which have taken place
during the past two years in Mouth Africa. To the bare de-
tails of the action as telegraph to you in the language of
the official despatch there is little to athi. Situated
as it was in a strip of rngged, almost waterless, country, in-
tersected by runes ot precipitous mountains, which for
years past had been carefully fortified In the prospect of an
attack, there can be no doubt that the capture of Secocoeni's
stronghold was a task of no ordinary difficulty, This diffi-
culty was much enhanced by the reputation for impregnftr
bitity which had gathered round his fortress in conscuenoe
of the defeat or failure of two cor.ir;t4rittlia bodies of Euro-
peans to effect its capturp.
" To such a pitch had confidence in his impunity grown,
and so audacious were his raids, that the destruction of this
chief became a task of absolute necessity if the European
occupation of the neighbouring part of the Transvaal was to
continue. To this task Sir Garnet Wolseley addrassed him-
self as :op as ever the =elusion of the Zulu campaign set
him hie, and he has carried it to an end with a spirit,
forethought, and success which afford indeed a pleasant
contrast to the incidents of that melancholy bungle.
The arrangements, which have been under the imme-
diate direction of Colonel Harrison, have been e;-
cellent ; the troops have concentrated without a bitch;
In an almost waterless cogntry and over enormous dis-
tances tho 7 have been well supplied, without those huge
tralni of waggons with which recent advances have made us
familiar, Just the right number of troops seem to liars
been taken, and at the right time they fought with a con-
fidence in their General which made a coniparagvely light
job of what might and would have ben very' ugly busi-
ness if there had been the slightest check. When full
details of the Operations become known, it will be found
that this affair against Secocoeni will not be the least meri-
torious of the small campaigns which it has fallen to tb
lot of Eir Garnet to carry to a successful isago,"