The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1900-02-06
|GDN. BULLER'S DD1OUR
His Advance With Heavy Wagon
Trains Necessarily Slow.

London, Feb. 6.-Military opinion in
London continues to assume, from
very slender materials, that General
Butler is again throwing his army
against the Boer works. A retired
general, Sir William Henry Green,
whose distinguished career gives
weight to his opinion, thinks that
General Butler, with $4,000 men, is
making wide detour to the west and
north in order to avoid the toughest
parts of the country. As General Bull
Ter must have some thousands Of wa
CONS, Sir William Green points out
that the advance would necessarily be
slow.
No authentic word is at hand, save
that the war Office reaffirmed orally
to newspaper inquirers at a late hour
that 1t could not confirm the reported
advance. There the Natal situation
rests.
1t is from the western field that more
definite statements come. Large oper-
atoms are apparently about to begin.
General French, who has now return
ed to Rensburg from his conference
with Lord Roberts, has sent what is
described as an overwhelming force
of infantry to seize Norval's Point
This is where the railway, before it
was destroyed, crossed the Orange
river and connected with the Free
State Trunk line with Bloemfontein.
Norval's Point is 10 miles north Of
Colesburg and rs miles from General
French's headquarters at Rensburg
The Beers at Colesberg have been in
danger Of being surrounded by the
largely reinforced and extending lines
Of the British. An occupation of Nor
vals Point In force would presumably
render Colesberg untenable.
The Beers are showing great activ-
ity in the Naauwpoort and Colesberg
districts. Many of the guns hitherto
facing Lord Methuen are believed to
have gone to Norval's Point. The
British, therefore, may find formid-
able bodies of Beers there.
The war Office announces that Is
transports will be dispatched between
today and Monday with $4,000 troops,
including the Fourth cavalry brigade,
militia battalions and 5000 yeomanry,
with 25S horses and six guns. These
$4,000 are not included in the 100000
due to be in South Africa on Feb. Is.
The censorship seems to have
completely shut down the correspond
ents at Spearman's Camp. No dis
patch from that point appears In this
mornings papers and nothing has been
allowed to issue since Sunday evening.
According to a dispatch from Cape
Town President Steyn and President
Kruger have communicated with Field
Marshal Lord Roberts, the British
nder-in-chief, protesting against
the destruction of farm houses and the
devastation of property. Lord Roberts,
IN replying, declared the charges were
not sustained, adding that wanton de-
struction Of property was contrary to
British practices. Lord Roberts says
further: II regret to say that it Is the
Republican forces which are in some
cases guilty of carrying on the war In
q manner not in accordance with
civilized usage. l refer especially to
the expulsion of loyal subjects Of her
majesty from their homes in the in
vaded districts of this colony because
they have refused to be commandeered
by the invaders. 1t is barbarous to at
tempt to force men to take sides
against their own sovereign and coun-
try by threats of spoliation and ex-
nulelon"