The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-10-17

tacking vryburg-Kimberley Confl-
 dent of Holding Out but Immediate
 Relief is Urged-Trouble With Cape
 Ministry Out of Cape Vol
 unteers-Thetr strength.
 London, Oct. 16.-Despatches from
 the Cape are very meagre tonight, but
 they include an important message from Glencoe Camp, dated 3:35 this
 (Monday) afternoon, announcing that
 the Boer commanders which invaded
 Natal through Laing's Nek and, after occupying Newcastle, advanced to Dannhauser, retired on Ingagane Xes-
 terday evening, their transport service
 being reported defective. This will de- lay indefinitely the anticipated and
 hoped for assault on the strong British
 position at Glencoe. Another despatch
 reports activity on the part of the
 Free State commando in the neighbor- hood of AliwaInorth, on the southern frontier. The Boers advance patrol the despatch says, go to the frontier bridge nightly to keep watch, firing
  lieved the enemy intends shortly to try to rush the railway station with the help of artillery posted on ridge com manding the town.
 The Natal invasion was made in three columns at dawn on October F., through Bothas Pass, Laing's Nek and from Wakkerstroom the objective point of the invaders being Newcastle. The Boers utilized several thousand natives who were tramping from the Rand to drive their heavy guns up Laing's Nek.
 Precautions have been taken for the defense of Pietermaritzburg and Dur ban owing to the remote contingency that the enemy may elude the vigilance of the British at Ladysmith and Glen COG camps A despatch from the lat ter place says the partial closing down of the Natal coal mines will not inter- rupt the supplies for the imperial trans ports to Durban as was imagined by the Boers large quantities of coal be- ing already on the water from India. Regular shipments will arrive from h. dia until the mines open again.
 There are rumors that the Boers have been repulsed at Mafeking and are attacking Vryburg. A Cape Town paper has a despatch from the Orange River stating that the telegraph wires have been cut between Vryburg and Kimberley and it is believed that the Boers are taking advantage of the pres ence of a large gathering of disloyal farmers at Vryburg celebrating "Nachtaamal'' to attack the town, hop ing that the farmers will assist them against the British. The same despatch says that the British force at Kimber- ley is confident of it's ability to hold out, but urges the immediate despatch of a relief force.
 The question of possible rising of the Dutch forces in the northern por- tion of Cape Colony is very important. The Daily Mails correspondent at Colesburg has been inquiring regarding the matter and on the whole, thinks the chances are against rising. He bases his opinion on the prospect of good crops after four lean years, which he believes will predisp6se the farmers to peace. Nevertheless there is serious disloyaIty and much anti-Britsh agita ton in these districts while the Free State Bosrs threaten an immediate in- vasion of Colesburg and Aliwalnorth.
 The Daily Mails correspondent as- serts that Sir Alfred Milner is worked to death and that Cape Town is surg ing with bitter resentment at what is called the Schreiner cabinets betrayal of Mafeking by it's constant refusal to send force of volunteer artillery thith- CT Many residents of Cape Town have relatives at Vryburg and they are furi- ous with Messrs. Merriman and Sauer, colonial treasurer and com missioner of public works; and the min- isters are mobbed whenever they appear in public. MT Hofmeyr, the Afrikan der leader, has gone to the country in order to escape the outburst of indig- nation.
 On Sunday night the streets were fill ed with angry citizens and 1t was fear ed that roting would occur. This, combined with the pressure of the inn periaI government, brought the Schrei- ner government to sense of its peril as well as of it's duty, and moved it to decide to call out the volunteers. The party also worked it's hard | est to prevent the ovation to Conyng- ham Greene on his arrival from Pre- toria, but failed The volunteers are seven thousand strong and have eleven nieces of artillery. There is no further news regarding the present position of the troops at Kimberley or at Mafe- king.