Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-10-12

ao,yricb,cd 1890 by The Associated Press.
Tondop, Eng. Oct. THE scope of
,,oat Britain's military preparations
an scarcely be grasped by the mere
jsading of the individual items that
uuear from day to day. A fair idea
| their immensely can be gained from
/ M semi official statement that for the
I,ansport of the army corps about 10
hrs Of from 1900 to 1000 tons burden
/ 70 reouired, not including score or
nore Of transports already on the way
4 the Care. II these vessels effectively
fisemhark their cargoes of men, horses
[nd eu,linment within five weeks from
{heir date Of sailing, the programme
I'M have fulfilled the forecasts of the
MAJ optimistic British military ex-
4erts. II all the troops arc able to
| ske thor places as component parts OF
he army corps by tho end of Novem-
[er they will have done, according to
Ina best available opinion, remarkably
ral The disembarking of Gen.
Bhafter' s army from its 81 transports
not forgotten by British officers.
although the vessels to be employed
h The Cape service are of considerably
anger average tonnage than those
iEhich carried the Americans to San
taso do Cuba. the Admiralty, 10
hccordance with theeSisting relations,
supplying them all and taking COM
Rlete charge from waters edge to
Estor's edge. This means tremendous
Ibutlav of capital. Nor do tho arrange
Ihents escape criticism. Letters be-
I'm 10 appear in the newspapers
BIeging fayoritism, and declaring that
Eome Of the transports are rotten
.kuIks. The recent breakdown of two
tessels with troops on hoard is cited as
disseminating this charge, but there
Hoes not seem to be any serious ground
tor surprising that the Admiralty is
kctuated by wrong motives. Although
The Impending army corps is a matter
bf re.eminent military interest, the
troops already on the scene of probable
bction constitute no insignificant body.
Ihe original Cape garrison was 5000
men, ard this has been increased by
4,5OO. There are u, 900 men at sea, on
the way to the Cape, and their arrival
will make the approximate total oil
British troops in South Africa. prior
no the arrival of the army corps, 25. 600.
These troops do not include the irregu'
lar forces, the Australian force, nor the
Regular naval brigade. The Cape squad.
bon nov includes 10 warships, all
heavily manned, and the British first.
class protected cruisers Terrible and
Powerful will soon arrive, enabling the
navy to land brigade of about 2,00(
men,
Against this array are opposed the
Transyaa and its ally, the Orange
Free State, with perhaps sprinklinf
of natives. This is about all that car
b. said regarding the Boer forces
They are virtually non-regulars, ant
atlempts to estimate their fighting
strength are hopeless, although various
calculations appear daily in the Eng
lish newspapers, ranging from 20, O0
10 10000, tho latter figure beins
OBVIOUSLY very extravagant. The who'll
Question was summed up today for th
Associated Press by an Influential
|mcmbsr of the House of Commons
who said Before this is ended, Grea
Britain will have to face every Boer
man or hoy, strong enough to fire
gun for the sake of his country" Th
Beer ranks will certainly include
number Of lrishmen and former officer
Of the German army.
Tie Alaska negotiations proceed
The Associated Press learns that Their
is good prospect of q tentative settle
Ment within fortnight.
The French navy is installing wire
less biography between the lighthouse
along the French coast. Judging froi
the results of the preliminary experI
mcnts, the installation will prove
great value to shining,