The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-01-17
In SOUTH AFRICA.

| fresh men who are due to arrive in
| South Africa within 30 days, Will alter
the situation and that the fourth month
of the campaign will witness the begir-
ming of victories for the British arms.
They are not, however, expected to
| produce definite results for some days,
but their mere presence will restore
the shaken confidence of the men. at
the front in their generals. Lord Rob
erts finds 120 600 men on the defensive
or watching for an opening. Lord
| Methueu's health, according TO the
Daily Mail, has "broken down" and
the field marshal may relieve him.
! Possibly some others will be RI lieved of
| important commands. There is GER
tainly plenty of rank in evidence in
South Africa. In addition to the field
marshal, there are two tul generals,
| four lieutenant generals, and twelve or
fourteen major generals.
There is an uneasy suspicion that
when the Ladysmitb casualties are an
nounced they will be disheartening and
will partially destroy the patriotic glow
produced by Gen. Whites victory"
The war office has authorized a spe-
cial yeomenry corps. Every trooper
joining will pay for his own kit and
mount, for transport and for all other
expenses until his arrival in Sou h
Africa, and will then give his services
to his country, and pay for the privi-
lege Into the fund for widows and
orphans the amount he would receive
as trooper. Several influential gen.
tlemen have already enrolled.
The following dispatch from Frere
camp dated January 10, from Gen.
Butler, says: "a Transvaal telegram
gives the enemy's loss at Ladysmi(h on
Saturday as killed and 10 wounded,
and this after, is admitted they had
endured withering fire from SIX
masked batteries and been defeated at
all points. Natives here assert that
the Boer loss in one command alone
was $50 killed and wagon loads of
wounded. The heaviest loss is said
to have been among the Free Skaters,
who were forced by the Trausvaalers
into the most dangerous places"
LONDON, Jan. lit now seems &C.
copied that the cabinet will be reorgan-
lied in the near future by taking in Sir
Charles Wentworth Dixie, member of
parliament for the Forest of Dean di-
vision, Gloucestershire. Sir Charles
Dixie is an advanced radical and has
been freely criucising the government
for the manner in which it is prosecut-
ing the war. The mention of his name
for the cabinet is evidence of the utter
distrust in the present conservative
cabinet that is felt in England. There
is strong demand for Lord Roseberry
to take the helm of state but Roseberry
has no desire to join any coalition of
the ministry with tories. There are
chances of triumph for a new liberal
ism with Lord Roseberry at the head.
In fact they were never brighter. Lord
Chamberlain's organs are trying to
make Bafour the scapegoat in the
present troubles. The latter's ineffec-
tive defence of the governments con-
duct of the war is furnishing such OPP.
portunity. However, the storm that
seems ready to burst over Lord Cham
berlain can only be averted by deci-
sive victory in South Africa. If this is
not forthcoming it looks as though the
political grave of the colonial secretary
has been dug.
LONDON, Jan. II Cartridges are
running short in the British army. Ac-
cording to a semi-official report, the
war office purposes to fall back Temporal
rily upon 100,000,000 "mark ~" ex-
banding bullets, most of which are al
ready in storage in South Africa.
The war office, however, has issued
strict order to the volunteers that the
fifty rounds of "mark w" given them
must be used in practice at home, none
being taken to South Africa. After the
public announcement that no such bull
let woul1 be used in this war, its en-
ployment, the Daily Chronicle thinks,
pecially as the British commanders
have complained that the Beers occa-
sionally used such projecti!es.
MANCHESTER, Eng, Jan. 12.-The
Guardian says the governments de-
cision to seize food stuffs only when
consigned to the Transvaal is unsatis-
factory and dangerous and gives Eng
land no advantage. 1t now makes a
precedent of food addressed to bel
| ligerents as seizable. This will prevent
the United States from selling food to
England if she is belligerant.
CAPE Town, Jan. 12.-The author
tiles of the Orange Free State are I'M
pressing every available man in the
country, including foreign residents,
into the military service. They are
employing Kaflirs, with hundreds of
reaping machines, to gather the har-
vests flnquered in British territory.
Lol.DoN, Jan, 12.-The general in
command at Pietermaritzburg reports
the following casualties among the Of
ficers at Lady smith on Saturday, jan
uary 6: Killed, Lieut-Col. Dick Gun
yngham, Gordon Highlanders; Majors
Walnut, Markrath and Bowen; Capt.
Lafone, Lieuts. Hill, Adams, Pakeman,
Jones, Daniels, Raikes and Hall;
wounded, Major Edwards and two
lieutenants OF the Fifth Lanciers,
Major Davis and Devotion and one
lieutenant of the Eleventh Hussars
Major Simpson and two captains of the
Manchester regiment; one captain and
one lieutenant of the Gordon Highland
ers; Major Thesiger, three captains
and tWn liautananta IF tho Gannud r =