The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1899-12-30

| empting private property from setE-
ure was rot adopted even by The
Hague congrsss aud neutrNl rights In
war tame are subjeS 70 the decision
Of prize courts as 20 what constitutes
contrah0ni ~ war This Is the theo-
r0ticsl English view Of he case. But
In practice the prIe courts at Durham
are not hk Ny to rule thSut foodsturIs
are contulband Of war, although there
Is warrant FOR Y in British slzures
and colhsca:ion ot rice during other
| psTiods II hos Hides.
The war Office continues "a supply
It's daily bulletia ~ news from the
mont. Na;u alone Oei1g excluded from
its scope The man in the street is
spared the necessi'y of reading many
columns of bala'ed and confused dis
pa'ches rom news agencies and spe-
clal corr sspondants Ne will see AZ "a
glance this morning that Badtn-Pow-
ell vas safe an Dece uber L. that
mdther Ga,acrs nor French has met
with any fresh adventures and that
Melhuen holds his ground az Modder
river, exchanging gun FIRE with tn
enemy and cnns antly rrconnoiterirg
with his cavalry brigade
The Beers have been challenging
General Mathuil 70 renew the hgldng
The war office bulletins are also gain
ing IN variety Toiay's includes ref
ereuce TO heavy rainfall; this is
close approach 10 the WEATHER r,port
There is also something like Il market
report. General Methuen has estab-
lished a market lt Moddar nver where
tea and other dry grooaries are ex-
changed for milk and vegetables.
This bulyHin helps To dlspel app0e-
hension respes.i1g General Me,huen's
ability 10 keep communications open
behind him. for there Is a ,hrect refer
enSe TO a Reconnaissance north and
west Of EnsHn.
Thene are few PRESS dispatches from
this quarter. but the war office sup
plies information that is indefinite
and peassuring. Rumors of importaD,
news from General Methuen were cur
rent toward midnight
In Natal the censorship Is again
opgilting closely and only minor camp
incidents come through. The London
press having at last discovered that
General Waroan is with General Bul-
Ter is assuming that tha battle will be
speedily rene we'd on the Tugela Eve
~ Ladysudth casualty list enion
the moral that rescue can not come
too quickly. Toiays record includ
seven deaths from typhoid fever The
gloomy views which several journals
express today do not appear TO b-
warranted by the comparative str n-tu
Of the two armies.
General Butler, when reinforced By
the bulk VI Warren's division. Will
have certainly 2S,OJ0 men exclusive OF
General Whites field force. There are
more British soldiers than Boars On
the TugIa, ard now that a siege train
has arrived at Cap Town, there is no
lack Of guns Of long range II the
British geEeralship be equal 70 the
crisis, the relief Of Ladysmlth ought
TO De the natural consequence u Brit
ish superiority in numbers and artil-
lery, bravely and warily as the Beers
will contest the passage Of the river
and held their scientific lines Of de-
fense.
EXPrenier E5combes death In Ma
tai is greatly regretted by South Afri-
cans in Lond)n. He was Il strong i'm
perialist and ally of Cecil Rhodes. He
v as regarded as a practical statesman
who was destined 10 work out the con-
federation scheme Of South Africa af-
ter the war, and as Mr.. Rhodes natu-
raj successor in the English leadership.