The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1899-11-06
MOVING SOUTH
Official Announcement That the
British Have Evacuated
ColensO.
No Statement as to Whether an
Engagement Was Fought
There.
Absence of News From LadysmitE
Is Causing Widespread
Anxiety.

A/cI>DOVs AVN. ~ OA1Nl0Ily GIL
nounced that the British have evacu
ated Colenso. south of Ladysmith.
LONDON, Nov. 6.-The war Office ha:
Issued the following announcement:
1.-THE colonial office has received in.
formation to the effect that the British
troops have withdrawn from Colenso.
and have concentrated further south,
but we have no news of any engage.
ment in that neighborhood."
LONDON. Nov. 6.-The following of
fetal announcement has been made by
the war Office:
mo news has been received from
Ladysmith up to 9 o'clock p. III. We
therefore presume that the wire is still
interrupted"
In spite of silence, the officials of the
war Office do not credit the various ru.
mors as to the position Of the garrison
and no grave anxiety is felt at present
regarding the ability Of General White
to hold his own.
The fact that the British war Office
has received no news of the situation at
Ladysmith seems to effectually dispose
Of continental rumors of General
Whites capitulation and kindred sto-
ries, as, if the general had sustained a
severe reverse, there is no reason to be.
lieve but that General Joubert would
be only too glad to forward General
Whites official announcement of the
fact to the nearest telegraph
station, while, it is added,
had news of such a serious
character reached a foreign gov
eminent in cipher. it would undoubt-
eddy have been promptly conveyed to
the British government. As the Mo-
zambique cable is still broken, it is i'm.
possible for any uncensored messages
to reach Europe, with the exception Of
the dispatches Of foreign governments,
and, in view of the fact that an import
ant victory would be of the greatest
moral assistance to the Beers, it seems
obvious that the Boer sympathizers
would make such an event known as
quickly and as widely as possible. The
war Office here is making every en-
deavor to communicate with Lady.
smith, SO news may arrive at any mo-
ment. In the meanwhile. the best
opinion is satisfied that if General
White keeps strictly on the defensive
he will be able to hold his own. The
British experts smile at the Boer plan
of campaign, which contemplates seiz-
ing Durham. in order to prevent the
landing of British troops there.
They say it has one fatal defect,
namely that it ignores the British fleet
under whose guns, it is alleged, the
seizure of Durham will be impossible.
The dispatches show that the forces
of Orange Free State are at length pre-
pared to invade Cape Colony. These
forces are not overwhelming, but the
Dutch in the neighborhood Of Coles
berg and Burghersdorp are exception
ally pro-Boer, and their support is evi.
IDENTIFY expected. The objective of this
force of Beers will probably be Naauw
Poort. n of the most important
strategic railroad points in South AT.
RIGA, and which will probably be, it is
said here. the first advanced depot of
the second division of the ARMY corps.
Naauw Poort is understood to be we'll
garrisoned and able to take care of it.
self. Trains thence to Colesburg have
been almost suspended.
Advices from Cape Town show that
the people there are beginning to real.
ize the seriousness Of the situation in
Natal. The merchants are apprehen-
siye.of the Beers overrunning the entire
country, and it is reported that many
OF them have instructed their represen-
tatives to leave Pietermaritzburg. In
spite of the optimism of the military
men there is a feeling of general anx-
iety at Cape Town. The Orange river
is reported to be 70 swollen that the
drifts are impossible and the Beers
hold the wagon bridge at Philipopolis.
which is the only means of crossing.
Another Bitter PHI.
News that Colenso has been evacu.
ated was another bitter pill for the
British public and is arousing fears
that the continental statements of a
second serious defeat Of General White
may prove true. A strange fact is that
the war Office does not say when Co
lenso was evacuated, so the statement.
which emanated Thursday from DR..
Leyds. the diplomatic representative Of
the t~ransvaal who is located at Brus-
sells, that the Beers had occupied Co
lenso was possibly true. There was
much apprehension that the war Office
is suppressing bad news.
More Australian Troops Sail.
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