Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-01-06

London, Jan. 4.-There will be deep
ened sense of anxiety respecting Lady
smith, whence most disheartening re-
ports of the prevalence of sickness and
shortage of food are received. General
White reports list of nearly 20 deaths
from enteric fever and dysentery, and Il
serious cases in the hospital. Dr. jam
son has all the work iIc can do in that
fever nest.
1t seems evident that the garrison
cannot hold out many weeks and that
General Butler cannot allow many days
to pass before 'vtriking fresh blow for
the relief 81 the beleaguered town.
Transports with fresh LuttaliJns and
batteries arrived at Durham Monday.
and by the latter part of the week Euiivr
ought to be able to make a supreme e.
fort. As the Tugala river is again ford
able and the stretcher- bearers have
again been reuuisitioned at Durham ana
Fietcrmaritzburg. there is some reason
to believe that the British advance will
not be long delayed.
1t appears that General French's
clever surprise of the Beers and his sue
,essful s!:imish with them near Coles
b rg was not the decisive victory that
the dispatches of Tuesday would seem
to indicate. The facts seem to be that
the Eoers did not suffer 50 severely ~
reported. but during the darknts SIS rallied
AID turned on the British, attacking
hcm the next day with their supposed
crippled guns. some of which We're evil
IDENTIFY those that Gen Gatacrc lost
OF tnr T1,., fyb mo al
all day Tuesday, and according to the
attest dispatches, the Beers were again
compelled to retreat, leaving the Brit
ish in a position commanding Coles
berg General French's dispatch does
not detail his movements later than .
p. m.. Jan. !, and the final issue from the
,illcial view Of the movement is un-
known.
From a source which has many facili-
ties for gaining inside news from South
Africa, it is learned that Colonel Fill
cher's occupation of Douglas is regarded
as merely the first step of General IIc-
thuen's carefully matured plans to out
flank the Beers. According to this au-
thority it Is probable Colonel Pitcher, in
conjunction with General Babington's
ceed to the rear of those intrenchments
which now prevent General Methuen
from proceeding to Kimberley. Colonel
Pitcher has only about 40 miles travel
before he achieves this end, and if this
understanding is correct, an attack by
General Methuen and a determined eff
fort to relieve Kimberley may be eX-
pected any day.
It Is probable that when Lord Roberts
arrives, General French will be ordered
to quit his present unsupported position
and to concentrate his command at De
Aar or Orange river. AS The Daily
Telegraph says: General French
seems to be in the position of man
having Il tiger cat in a trap, and unable
to kill it for want of a stick"
The war office acknowledges the in
feriorty of the regular artillery by au-
thorizing the equipment of the new bat
terry attached to the London voluntea AZ
corps with Vickers and Maxims, some
Of which the Beers use and by ordering
100 of these 191a FOUNDER quick -firel s
built Immediately. The officers and
men of the new battery will be sup
piled from the Honorable Artillery COM
pany.
Eight additional militia regiments
hav& been called out Seven of these
will serve in Ireland, replacing the reg
ulals sent to South Africa.
Lord Wolseley is reported to be in
tcnsely irritated by the attacks upon
him. His friends state that he was over
ruled last June, and repeatedly at the
opening of hostilities, and that his ad-
vice was persistently neglected by the
ministry in general and Lord Lans-
downe in particular The storm may
blow over if General Butler wins the next
battle on the Tagiila and relieves Lady
smith, but another defeat in that quar-
ter would be likely to be followed by
tremendous shaking up of the war office
and headquarters.
The Vienna correspondent of The
Standard says: Emperor Nicholas has
assured the British ambassador at st.
Petersburg that Great Britain need rot
fear intervention or any sort of diff
Guilty from Russia in the present South
African complications. This may fairly
be interpreted as an assurance including
an indirect promise that France will alb
stain from creating difficulties for Eng
land.