The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1899-12-15
NO COMPENSATING GAIN.
Defeat Of Mcthusn Appears to Be with
out Mitigating Ciroumstanoss.

Defeat Of Methusn Appears to 10 With.
out Mitigating circumstances.
LONDON, Dec. IA. General Methuen,
as expected, followed up his artillery
attack with q general assault on the
Boer positions Monday and his report
shows that the anxiety Of the public re-
garding the result occasioned by the
ominous silence Of the war Office was
amply justified.
The engagement was evidently Of
considerable magnitude, and the list Of
the killed and wounded will be proper.
t~ionate, without the compensation
which q victory would have brought,
If, indeed, the affair does not turn out
to be q more serious defeat than Gen.
eral Methuen admits. The Highland
ers, it il believed, must have stormed
the Boer position more than once, while
the report Of the Gordons being placed
on the Highlanders' rear, looks as
though the Beers may have outAanked
their attackers. One report says that
General Cronje attacked the British.
The only compensation that the Brit.
ish have been able to discover in the
d~isheartening story, is in General Me
thuen's statement that he maintains
his position close to the Beers, ~arousing
hope that he will retrieve the situation.
It is apparent that the bombardment Of
Saturday and Sunday did not shake the
Beers grip on their position, and 1t
seems certain that they merely with.
drew their guns and rifemen under
cover, while General Methuen INDUCED
in the usual artillery preliminaries
Monday, and that when the British
guns wrere obliged to cease firing, ow.
ing to the danger Of hitting the advanc.
ing troops, the Beers speedily reoccu.
pied their trenches and
Overwhelmed the Highlandsrs
with a terrible fire, probably accom-.
panying this by an attack on the Brit
ish right flank and ear
Alarm is beginning to be expressed in
many quarters az to the situation OF
General Methuen. AS the Westminster
Gazette says:
.If England ever needed a victory 1t
Is now, and it is to Butler, the soldier,
strong, cool headed and reticent, that
the country looks for this victory"
The other papers are abusing the gov
eminent for its"complacent optimism, p"
and inability to grasp the strength OF
the opposition it has to overcome in
South Africa.
Considerable significance attaches to
General Methuen's statement that he Is
entrenching himself, indicating fear
that the Beers may follow up their adj
vantage, adopt the offensive and attack
him. Indeed. the gravity Of the situa-
ton from q British point Of view can
hardly be overestimated. General
Methuen's long lines of communication
TO De Aar are most vulnerable. Should
they be cut. General Methuen will find
himself In q very tight place, il only
from lack OF supplies.'
Extr~ms Gravity Of Msthusn's Position.
A. the day progressed and driblets Of
information leaked out, the extreme
gravity Of General Methuen's position
was more fully recognized and the
possibility Of his isolation created no
small alarm In military circles. II was
thought In some quarters that he ought
70 retrace his steps TO Orange River
before his lines Of communication were
severed. .
General WAuohops's death was much