The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-12-15

it | cannot describe affairs here.
Every citizen between the age of 10
and 60 has gone to the front, and now
there is nothing for these women in
the South African Republic but to sit
and wait developments. On the Boer
side there will be no backing down.
There is a great deal of distress, es-
pecially in johannesburg.
Everybody here would like to be
an American citizen. Mr. Gordon says
he has been offered as high as 500
sovereigns (S2,500) for an American
passport. Mr. Macrum is working day
and night.
Mr.. Blake. an American. has been
made colonel and has gone to the
front in command of a corps of Irish
Americans He is bitter against the
English.
1--WE are not at all anxious as TO our
own safety, although we may have
great hardships, none can tell how
great Yet we intend to stay right
here and see it all unless ordered out.
which is not at all probable.
THE Americans are getting fair
treatment as far as we can learn. Mr..
Macrum has been given charge of the
British interests, but as the British
have almost all gone. | hope it will not
add much to his work, as he has not a
minute to himself now.
4 can tell you there are a lot of sad
homes in the Transvaal at present 1t
makes one turn faint to think of the
future and of what it may have in
store for them. Just now it seems as
though both sides mean to fight to the
bitter end.
ADMIRAL HARRIS DILATORINESS.
LONDON, Dec. Ga special dis
patch from Estcourt censures Rear
Admiral Sir Robert Harris, command
er-in-chief of the Cape of Good Hope
and West African squadrons, for his
| delay in sending Captain Scott and
Captain Lambton with guns to Lady
smith.
1T is notorious" says the CORES
DOndent that. only at the last
moment, on October 80, while deci-
sive action was pending, did Captain
Lambton of the Powerful arrive at
Ladysmith A week. day, few
| hours might, and | doubt not, would
| have saved the situation and delayed
the investment. if it had not ended
| the Boer attempt"
GENERAL YULE INVALIDED.
LONDON, Dec, 1.-THE Daily Mail
announces that Colonel w. A. Yule
who succeeded General Sir William
| Symon in command of the British
| troops in Natal after that officer was
| wounded in the battle at Talana Hill,
and who was promoted from the rank
| of substantiative lieutenant-colo in
the army to that of major-general on
the staff to command the Eighth
brigade of the South African field
| forces, with the substantiative rank of
colonel in the army, is on his way to
England, being in broken health.
BOERS MISSTATE THEIR LOSSES.
LONDON, Dec. 6-The War Office
| has received the following from Gen
eral Butler:
'PietermaritZburg, Tuesday, Dec 5.
1t is very difficult to make any state
ment in regard to the enemy's loss.
For instance, at Belmont, eighty-one
of their dead were accounted for. The
enemy gave fifteen as the number of
killed. There is every reason to be-
lieve that the enemy's loss in the fight
at Ladysmith. November 9, was over
500 killed and wounded Information
from a trustworthy Boer source
shows that at Hildyard's fight on No
vember %, the enemy lost thirty killed
and 100 wounded. 1t is impossible to
say how far these numbers are cor
rect, but it is evident the enemy does
not admit tenth of the losses suffer
ed. Intercepted dispatches to Joubert
from a commander show that even the
official dispatches contain decidedly
inaccurate information in this re-
spect.'