The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-02-22
EARLY AFRICAN WAR NEWS
GENERAL RULER PUSHING ON TO
 L1DYSMITH.

Fifth Division Crossed the TugeIa Yes
 terday-ApparantIy Premature Re-
 ports of the Town's ReIief-Roberts
 Macdonald Severely Wounded-Cronjc .
 stiII Reported 10 be in n Hard Position.
 London, Feb. 21.--The war office at 4:27 p. m. to-day made public the fol- lowing dispatch from General Butler;
 "Chieveley Camp, Feb. 21.--The Fifth division crossed the Tugela to-day by pontoon and drove back the enemy s rear guard, our naval twelve-pounder silencing all of the enemys guns"
 General Buffers dispatch is regarded as effectually disproving the morning S stories of the relief of Ladysmith. As the First division of the relieving col umn only crossed the Tugela to-day it would have been a physical impossibil- ity to relieve the town to-day.
 It is also evident that the war office has no news of the relief, as the presi- dent of the board of trade, the Right Hon. c. T. Ritchie, in behalf of the cabinet, announced in the house of com mons at six o'clock this evening that the government had no news to that effect.
 An admittedly incomplete list of the recent British casualties gives nine off cers killed, thirty nine wounded and one missing.
 At meeting of the town council of Windsor this morning it was announced that news had reached Windsor Castle that Ladysmith had been relieved. The announcement was received with im- mense enthusiasm and shouts of Bra vo, Butler"
 A rumor of the relief of Ladysmith was also current on the Berlin and London exchanges. The war office de- clared that it was unable to substanti- ate the reports. But this did not pre- vent the public from believing that the queen had again forestalled the author ities at Pail Mall and preferred to com municate the glad news direct to the public, through the mayor of Windsor, just as yesterday she announced, through Lord William Cecil, command CT of militia corps, the tidings of Gen. eTdl bullGT SuCCtSS llOui pSAOiS tiAS war office was able to relieve the anxie- ty of the United Kingdom.
 Newe of battle between General Kitchener and General Cronje, reinforce ed by the forces thus drawn off from Ladysmith, is expected to come almost at the same time with the announce ment that General Butler has reached Ladysmith. The latter accomplishment, however, is regarded with greater con- fidence than is the ability of General Kitchener thoroughly to cripple General Cronje, for the Boer general has proved i himself so clever and daring in slipping through the British lines that even It | Lord Roberts quickly occupied Bloem- fontein, there are many fears expressed that General Cronje might still preserve the effectiveness of his mobile force.
 Regarding the military conditions the critics of the afternoon newspapers eX- press the keenest satisfaction at the phases of the campaign revealed by the latest news, drawing attention to the fact that whether or not Lord Roberts succeeds in inf1icting a decisive defeat, he has forced the Boers to release their grip on Ladysmith, Kimberley Zulu" land and lower Natal. They admit that the siege of Mafeking may be made more severe by the arrival of the DOT tion of the Boer force driven off from Kimberley endeavoring to revenge itself on Colonel Baden-Powell.
 Arundel dispatches, dated Tuesday, February 20, show that the Boerce, in force, made a determined attempt to invest Arundel, but were baffied by the smart manoeuvring of the British mounted troops.
 Cecil Rhodes is expected to arrive in Cape Town on February "A.