The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-11-05
Many Now Bitterly Criticising the Au-
thorities for Not Preparing for
War i'm Time of Peace.
LORD LANSDOWNE BLAMED
STORM GATHERING OVER THE HEAD
OF THE SECRETARY OF WAR.
Warm Supporters of the GOvernmen m
Say He Was Too Slow I'm Sending
Troops to the Cape.

copyrighted. 1899. by the Associated Press.l
LONDON, Nov. 4.-Thoueh the events of
| the week have aroused the spirit of the
| British nation TO the utmost, and though
it's military escutcheon has been more
stained than 1t ever was before, there seems
| to be ahead still more crucial ordeal
| that Of suspense Days, perhaps weeks, may
| pass before word comes from the isolated
! British force in the neck of Natal, and the
| long wait will strain as does deathbed
| watch, for the eagerness to hear how the
| day went with the beleaguered will be min
| gled with overpowering dread that they
/ have shared the fate of those who fell at
Nicholson's Mex. Whatever may be the just
ness or otherwise of the criticisms passed
| ON General White it is palpable that he no
longer possesses the confidence of the pub
| lie. He may be fully able to withstand the
| attacks of the Beers and may be ready at
| any moment to execute a mastery retreat,
| but as long as he Is cut off from communi-
| cation with the outside world there will
exist terrible anxiety regarding the welfare
of the seven or eight thousand men of his
! command.
The most optimistic believe that a fort
night is the minimum in which reinforce
ments Of any potentiality can be pushed to
Ladysmith, and then 1t may be too late.
| In the interim, embittered by the memory
of the disaster, it will try the temper Of the
| British nation. which as whole can be said
| to have embarked in the war with stipend
Gus overconfdence and which has now
awakened to the realization of the fact that
If General Whites force is annihilated 1t
win cause an indefinite prolongation of hos
| tilities.
WHITE MAY HOLD OUT.
However. if General White possesses the
qualities Of fair geaeralship, there are many
reasons to believe he will be able to hold
out until reinforced. even If completely sur
| rounded 1t Is presumed he has employed
| the past few weeks in strengthening his
position with earthworks and trenches
| which, when manned bv such fighters as
the Gordons and Irish Fusiliers, cannot be
taken without terrible struggle. His ar
| tillery has now been reinforced by the naval
brigade. and even if it is not a match for
that Of the Beers, should be able to keep
the enemy from coming to too close quar-
tiers. He has an abundance of stores, and
apparently. has been favored by good
weather. Combining these advantages with
the military truism that the opportunity to
| select your own position is half the battle
won, it is said there seems to remain to
|
ing his own, in spite Of the report that he
Is outnumbered two or even three to one.
The weeklies exhibit no little self-satisfac-
tion at the British patriotism and stoicism,
as evinced by the reception of the news of
the Ladysmith disaster. The public utter
ances of public men fully justify this feel
| ing, and the same can be said of the ma
Jority of the more serious published COM
ments. But beneath this splendid stoicism
there has prevailed in all classes q feeling
OF intense chagrin and amazement such as
has not stirred Great Britain in a century
and 1t has frequently been coupled with the
bitterest abuse of General White, the man
held responsible for the unparalleled sur
render Of such British force to such an
enemy"
The only redeeming feature of the week $
operations. in the opinion of the majority,
is the work Of the naval brigade. The diff
hculties which must have been encountered
in getting the guns over the country, and,
even when at Ladysmith, in getting them
properly mounted. can we'll be imagined,
while the resources employed can be
gagged by the fact that the carriages were
constructed at a wheelwright's yard at
Durham by snaval arti1cers. These guns,
from the British cruiser Powerful, have a
army pieces at Ladysmith is only 100, and
OF nearly two miles less range. The dra-
matte and opportune arrival OF these guns
has caused the navys praises 10 be loudly
sung. Those are coupled with admiration
Tor General Whites generous acknowledge
ment OF the help from the other arm.
HARD TO HIT GUNS.
1t Is amusing 10 notice how often the
British correspondents report the Beers
guns knocked out of action, while the next
day the same guns are reported TO be pep
pering away merrily. This is commented
upon by the weekles and merely exempli-
fies what was found to be the case during
the frequent bombardments by Admiral
SIMPSONS fleet. namely. that It is impos-
sible to ascertain the exact effect of a
heavy fire against batteries and equally
hard TO hit the guns themselves. though the
shots may be so close that they are COW
cred with earth and their gunners killed.
The British corps will not commence ar
irving at Cape Town until Nov. and will
scarcely be able to take the field until the
middle of December. though it is likely that
uIits will be busily engaged before then.
! 1t is reported that General Hildyards bri-
gade will be moved on Natal without de-
lay. probably by the end of the coming
week. The War Office is still ignorant as
TO which column General Butler will per.
sonally take.
The developments at Mafekng and Kim.
berley, It is believed will probably have
much weight in prompting his decision. II
is now thought that both these places are
able to held out. though the War Once
thinks that after the relief OF General