Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1900-02-17

London, Feb. 15.-The war office has
issued the following message from Lord
Roberts, dated Dckiel's Drift, Feb. IA,
$40 a. M:
General French left this point at 1880
yesterday morning with three brigades
of cavalry, horse artillery and mounted
infantry, including several colonial con-
tingents, in order to seize crossing of
the Modder, distant about 25 miles. He
reports, by dispatch dated 5:35 p. m,
that he had forced passage at Clip
Drift and occupied the hills north of the
river, capturing three Of the enemy's
laagers, with their supplies, while Cen
eral Gordon of the Fifteenth HLssars,
with his brigade, who had made feint
a. Rondeval Drift, four miles west has
seized it and a second drift between
that and Clip Drift, together with two
more laagers. General French's per-
formance is brilliant. considering the ex-
cessive heat and binding dust storm
which ragged during the latter part of the
day.
lowing to the rapidity of his move
ments, General French met with but
siShl oppoSllioll, anu lllo loSSCS NSlC
small Lieutenant johnson of the
Inniskilling Dragons Is the only officer
reported severely wounded.
-Four officers and 81 men had to be
sent last evening in the returning OK
wagons to the railway line, prostra ted
by heat and exhaustion"
The British army, for the first time
since the war began, is inside the Boer
frontier. Lord Roberts, with at least
100000 infantry, 1000 cavalry and $50 guns,
has turned the Magersfontein lines. be-
fore which the British forces have been
encamped for 10 weeks, and, with half
of his corps, he is already operating on
Free State territory.
A battle has not yet been fought but
large tactical advantages have been
gained. The relief of Kimberley is
within measurable reach, and the way
to Bloemfontein is appreciably easier.
On Tuesday, with his three cavalry
brigades and the horse artillery. Cen
era1 French rode to tine Modder river, a
distance of rs miles, and took three
fords, with high ground beyond the
river, and five Boer camps. He had
few casualties in brushes with the Boer
horse. General French has now fixed
himself on General Cronjes main line
of communication with Bloemfontein.
and 10000 infantry, with II guns, are
being pushed up to support him there.
~. AS to what forces General Cronje has
now at his disposal and as TO where he
purposes making stand against the
invaders. no one here connected with
the war office knows anything. The date
for conceptions are wholly wanting.
The forces Immediately at the disposal
of Lord Roberts are placed at 80 900 i'm
a general way. These figures are re-
vealed by the commands mentioned in
the dispatches as having been added to
the divisions known to be with Lord
Methuen. Quite possibly, Lord Rob-
erts has 10000 or 10000 more.
1t is now realized that the incidents at
Rensburg have been seen out OF all
proportion. Merely skeleton lines were
maintained there, while troops were be-
ing secretly and rapidly concentrated
on the Modder river. The facility with
which 30, 900 men have already been sent
beyond the rail terminus shows that
Lord Kitchener has been fully success
] full in organizing transport. He is now
supposed to be down the line, sending
forward more troops and getting to-
gether more transport. About five
miles of OK and mule wagon trains are
estimated for each division. 50 that
Lord Kitchener, who is reputed to have
more skill than a circus manager in
handling field transport, has immense
labors in hand.
The total British casualty returns up
to today are: Officers killed. 1852;
wounded, $50; missing, 112; men killed,
l477: wounded. $3.50; missing, 27S1; other
fatalities reported. 563.
London. Feb. 15.--The St. Peters burg
correspondent of The Times says that
the delays in the ordinary traffic on the
central Asian railway are not caused,
as has been officially stated, by snow
falls, but are due to the passage of Rus
sian troops, estimated at 10000. who are
being concentrated in the vicinity of
Kushk.
The Times. in an editorial upon the
dispatch, says: This may not portend
any immediate action; but it can hardly
be doubted that Russia has come to the
conclusion that the psychological mo-
ment has arrived when pressure can be
brought to bear on Great Britain.
There is no reason to suppose that the
estimate of 10000 troops is above the
mark. 1t does not follow. however, that
this implies an advance on Herat. Prob
ably the demonstration is intended to
cover movements of a more practical
kind in other quarters.
Looking to the eagerness of the Ger
mans to declare through their news
papers that they are not at all afraid of
the extension Of Russian influence in
Persia, together with German interests
in western Asia in connection with the
Baghdad railway scheme, we must be
prepared to defend our interests in the
Persian gulf and southern Persia against
the whole world
New Haven, Feb. 15.-In the course of
an address before the Mems club of this
city last night, Professor Wheeler of the
department. of history at Yale outlined
what in his opinion were the causes of
the present war in South Africa The
body of the address was confined to a
careful statement of history leading up
TO the organization of the great corpora
ton, the British South Africa company.
Its capital of $1,000, 900 as divided into
l,000. 600 shares
TO sell the stock it was necessary to
A Long Way From Desired Sum.
New York. Feb. l5.-Formal subscrip-
tions to the fund for the perpetuation Of
the Dewey arch in marble have now at
tained the sum of sl64.3a7, and the
amount desired, in order that only the
best and most enduring material may
be employed. is 81, 900, 600.