The Forrest City times., 1899-10-13
b0ERS HAVE NOT WAITED.
Reports From Various Points that the Boers Have Passed Over
 the Border Line.
70 DECLARATION OF WAR IS EXPECTED.
England Would Not Declare War on Dependent state. and the Boers are Expected to Commit the overt Act. the British Meanwhile Act ing Upon the Defensive.

ing Upon the Defensive.
 London. Oct. Elf the latest re- ports, which are confirmed from va rious points in South Africa, are true, the Boers have not waited for the ex- piration of the time liuit, but have already crossed the border, as they of the notification contained in the last paragraph of the atimatum, and also of the British acknowledgements, which reached Pretoria so speedily as to justify a belief. amounting almost 10 certainty. that the war party in Great Britain. while welcoming m act which has deprived the country of all peaceful alternatives. and given 1t the great superficial advantage to be derived from the fact that the ad- versary has voluntarily assumed the stigma of virtually declaring war, was eagerly awaiting it's chance, and, de- spite newspaper attempts to veil the real feeling. is in reality delighted that diplomacy has said its last word, and that action can now proceed.
 A Period of Suspense.
 There will inevitably be a long pe- riod of suspense, together with great deal of chafing at delay, as all indi- cations go to show that Great Britain is so unprepared as to be compelled to remain on the defensive for some weeks. All the aggressiveness must come from the Boers. II seems high- ly probably that the Tongue of Ma tal,' as far as Newcastle. will be in the hands of the Boers before many hours.
 From that point, however. in the event of d further advance, they would probably find British forces at Ladysmith and Dundee capable of re- polling their attacks.
 Ladysmith Garrison Reinforced.
 At Ladysmith the garrison. which has to guard against an onslaught from the Orange Free State, was rein forced Tuesday by the Gordon High flanders and strong contingent of the Indian troops, and the authorities are now confident uf their ability to deal out an unpleasant surprise to the Boers, in the event of an attempt to rush the position.
 The Force at Dundee.
 At Dundee there are about 6,00Omen. Iii force ought to be sufficient to stem Boer advance by way of Zulu land, and to maintain the line of com munication, with the base at Pieter- nlaritzburg, the headquarters of Gen. Sir George Stewart White. On the Bechuanaand border, the situation seems to give the Boers temporary advantage. There is considerable anx- iety in the districts of Nryburg and Mafeking. although it is hoped that the achievements recently dispatched there will be sufficient to protect the rich town of Kimberley.
 No Declaration Expected
 Sc far as declaration of war is con cerned, the feeling in London is that the Transvaal government will merely invite the British diplomatic agent. Ccryngham Greene. to leave Pretoria on the expiration of the ultimatum. p"Nh oh dSt Noulu preclude the nee essity of any further declaration. Certainly. Great Britain would not de- clare war against what she considers dependent state.
 Active hostilities. therefore. are ex- pected to take the place of a formal declaration.
 Continental Opinion
 Continental opinion, so far as it can De ascertained, from to-days dis patches remains largely anti-British. Popular sympathy with the Boers is being shown in various ways in Ger many. where, however, oficialdom maintains an absolutely correct atti- tude.
 French opinion is we'll known. The boulevard papers are especially viru- lent in their attacks upon Great Bri- tain since the ultimatum was an nounced, and they gleefully anticipate long and difficult war.
 The lord mayor. Sir John Voae Moore, has summoned public meet ing for two o'clock Friday afternoon at the Guild hall to express confidence in the South African policy of the gov ernment.