The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-27
EARLY AFRICAN MAR NEWS
ABANDONMENT OF SETON KOP BY
 GENERAL WARREN.

Some Doubt as to Whether or Not the
 Reasons-Keen Disappointment Felt
 in London but Determination to Win
 Grows.
 London, Jan. 26-The war office post
 ed the following dispatch from General 1 Butler, just after Il o'clock this morn
 ing, dated at Spearmans Camp, Thurs
 day, January 25, noon:
 General Warren's garrison, am s0r-
 ry to say, I find this morning, had in
 the night abandoned Spion kop."
 It is impossible at present to say whether the British suffered reverse,
 or whether the movement from Spion
 Kop was dictated by strategic reasons. | Obviously, the position was useless un-
 less guns could be planted on it. | Discovering that this was impossible, | General Warren may have decided that | 1t was unsafe to attempt to hold the position any longer, or perhaps he is | seeking a more profitable ascent else where. Whatever may be the explana- | ton of the abandonment of Spion Kop by the British, it will doubtless have
 the same temporary moral effect as a reverse.
 It appears to have been so entirely unexpected at the war office that Gem eral Buffers dispatch caused something in the nature of consternation. The Hobbies were soon crowded, and there was evidence on all sides that the news was keenly felt. The only official conl- ment was: Apparently General War ren found the position too hot to hold" Military circles made no effort to con- ceal their chagrin, expressing the gray eet fears as to the ultimate fate of La dysmith. Such authorities as Major General Sir Frederick Darlington, who is under orders for South Africa, and Lord Clifford, who won the Victoria cross while scouting for Lord Wolseley during the Zulu war, would not be sur prised to hear of the capture of General Whites force within week. Lord Gif- ford who knows the country we'll could not understand how General Warren ever got to the top of Spion Kop with out ascertaining what positions com manded it. The poorness of the maps, it was pointed out, could hardly be an excuse for this, as there must be with General Warren several scouts, to say nothing of officers, who at one time or another have served at Ladysmith and whose mere hunting expeditions would have given them knowledge of the country. While General Warren is not blamed for retreating under what Is supposed to have been heavy shell fire, he is severely criticised for occupying a position to which he could not bring up his artillery.
 General Butler reports that the Brit ieh casualties on January A were as follows:
 Killed-Of1icers G. on-commissioned officers and men IS.
 Wounded-Officers 12, non-commss- iioned officers and men 142.
 Missing-31 men.
 This dispatch of General Butler giving the list of British casualties is dated i Spearman's Camp, January 26, 1925 a. m., showing that there has been no de- lay in the communications passing be- tween General Butler and the war office. The killed includes Colonel Buchanan Biddel of the Kings Royal Rifles He served in the Niger war of 1881. It is not clear whether the casualties include | those at Spton Kop or only those result l ing from the fighting prior to the Spion Kop engagement.
 The cabinet met this afternoon, under the presidency of Lord Salisbury, and | doubtless the ministers fully canvassed | the new situation, though primarily | summoned to discuss the terms of the | queens speech.
 There was a general collapse in the | stock market to-day, especially in Kaf- frs, following the announcement of the abandonment of Spion Kop. Consols dropped 1916. The losses in Americans ranged from E to 1A per cent. Ameri- can railroad shares were relatively bet ter than home securities.
 The afternoon newspapers comment | only briefly on the situation, preferring to await fuller particulars. The St. James Gazette says: we are only at the beginning
 The Westminster Gazette says that the abandonment of Spion Kop need not mean more than that a miscalcula- tion was made regarding the value of the kop.
 The Pail Mall Gazette says: '"rhe ad- vance will again continue, as it began, with a series of rushes. A kopje taken here, half mile gain there, and we shall have, in short, to fight our way to the rescue by hardly won degrees. nevertheless, will be eaved."
 The Globe says that it is assured that the country will face the situation ; calmly and bravely, with the firm de- { termination to press forward unf1inch- ngly in spite of all obstacles" l