Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-12-12

trap any portion Of his force. Gen.
Gatacre has shot his bolt and the best
that his admirers can say Is that South
Africa has always been the graveyard
OF military reputation.
II Gen. Gatacre RECEIVERS his prestige
II VIII be because sympathy Is excited
by premature attacks like that made
by Lord Durham yesterday, who, In
the safe retirement OF fat stock sale
luncheon, described Gatacre as a man
unfit TO command troops In South Afrl-
ca. Lord Durham overshot the mark in
declaring the war Office was responsible
for the disaster at Stormberg In ap
pointing Gen. Gatacre to the com.
mand Of division when the opinions
Of officers who had served under him
were known.
A more practical line Of criticism
would be to censure the war office for
not sending out larger force Of cav
airy ana artillery In good time and not
IN arming Gen. Gatacre with adequate
facilities for scouting and gun prac-
tice, without forcing him 10 depend up
on treacherous spies as guides and then
finding himself outclassed In guns. Gen.
Younghusband and other military ex-
peris who were willing to discuss the
question publicly yesterday, contented
themselves with laying stress upon the
necessity OF having cavalry for scout
ing and with explaining Gatacre's mo-
i've OF surprising an entrenched POSI-
ton when he did not consider himself
strong enough TO force II by frontal at
tack as a sound one.
Later details Of the retreat from
fH.fHFr h.V IL. aaN a
ing for Engllshmen than Gatacre's first
bulletin, which was curtailed by the
war Office and rendered unintellig ible.
What hurts the Englishmen's pride Is
the humillatng fact that battallons
famous for lighting, as the fifth and the
royal Irish rifles are, with historic rec
ords Of splendid service In peninsula
campaign In the Lucknow and In re-
cent campaigns down to Omdurman,
have been entrapped and forced to sur
render notwithstanding the warnings
from the NlcholSons Neh and the Maui
ba Hill battles,
The temperature fell yesterday in
every London club and there was an
air Of pensIve melancholy pervadlng the
whole body OF the civil service. The
war Office bestlrred itself with prepar-
dklDis AOI
and announced that the first battallons
Of the sixth. division would sail on Sat-
urday There will be more strength In
the bow. even II one general after an
other goes wrong and shows incapaclty
for adapting himself 10 Dutch tactics.
The Dutch warriors, for their part,
display remarkable flexibility. While
continuing TO fight In their own way
they have learned that the British open
battles with artillery fire, In order TO
clear ground for front attack, and
they adapt themselves to these tactics
by suspendlng gun fire and holding
back rifle yolleys unll they can be most
destructive They have also found out
that the British commanders attempt 10
surprise their positions by forced
marches al night and they get their
troops In well place ambuscades.
New York, Dec. l2.-Dlscusslng the
Anglo Boer situation, the London cor
respondent OF the Herald says:
Experts here would not be surprised
10 find that a considerable part OF the
Beers who were investing Ladysmith
had been called off and hurried down
to the southern part OF the Fres--.ate
to bar the approach Of the British from
Northern Cape Colony. Tile extreme
mobility OF the Beers has always been
one Of their chief sources OF strength.
Gen. Butler yesterday held a review
Of the troops at Frere Camp, probably