The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1900-02-26
The WAR IN SOUTH AFRICA
ROBERTS ADVANCES TOWARDS
MAGERsFONTEIN.
French Reaches Kimberley and Presses
on After Cronje-Buller South of the
Tugela-Censorship Mitigated.
ROBERTS ADVANCE.

before the troops on Friday he was
enthusiastically cheered.
Apparently the Beers have brought
all their big guns from Mafeking to
shell Kimberley.
LONDON, February 49, AIS A. M
Lord Roberts has gathered $4,000 men,
with whom, according to the best mill
tary opinion in London, he purposes
turning the left of the Magersfontein
lines near Jacobsdal, entering the Free
State, compelling General Cronje to
raise the siege of Kimberley and thus
making his first step toward Bloemron-
tein.
Yesterday Lord Roberts announced
the appointment of General Sir Henry
Colvile, hitherto commander of the
Guards Brigade, to the command of
the Ninth Division, which is being
formed and will consist probably to
great extent of Colonial troops. Cen
eral Colvile will be succeeded by Cen
eral Reginald Pole-Carew.
LONDON, February 16 (Friday), 9:51
A M.-The War Office announces that
General French reached Kimberley
Thursday evening.
Following is Lord Roberts message
| to the War Office:
"JACOBSDAL, February 16, 2 A. M
French, with a force of artillery, caval-
ry and mounted infantry, reached
| Kimberley this evening, Thursday"
KIMBERLEY RELIEVED.
| LONDON, February IT, 4:45 A M
General Cronje, with a start of a day
or two, is seemingly in full retreat from
Lord Roberts, moving northward. Gen
eral French, with the cavalry, simply
stayed over night in Kimberley and
| then pushed on to get in touch with the
| train is moving toward Bloemfontein,
| followed presumably by large force Of
| British infantry. In their hasty de-
parture the Beers lost quantities Of
supplies and ammunition.
Military opinion here is that Lord
Roberts will not push far after the Bo-
erS Immediately, because of transport
problems and the need of rest for the
troops. He has to feed 10000 persons in
his army and the whole Kimberley pu-
pulation. He must rebuild the railway
from Modder river down to Kimberley
and revictual the latter. General
French lost a few men only in action,
but the forced marches and heat have
probably made many i'll. Numbers of
remounts must be proved.
All over England tonight there has
been evidence of public joy. In every
theater and public meeting, around the
railway stations and in the streets there
have been expressions of gladness over
the news. The newspapers are editori-
ally rejoicing
Those who read the news closely see
only one disturbing factor in the Cape
situation and that is the pressure of
the Beers toward Lord Roberts line
of supply through the De Aar which
was never more important than now
The Beers under Commandants Della
rey and Grobler are making a persls-
tent effort to penetrate to the railway
They have pushed General Clements
back to Arundel and have outflanked
him. All are within sixty miles, OF
two days hard march, of the Central
Railway. Doubtless Lord Roberts has
left considerable forces along the line
and can send back more if necessary.
General French now holds both the
Modder and Riet rivers between the
Beers at Magersfontein and their bast
, at Bloemfontein.
CONDITIONS AT KIMBERLEY.
Kimberley, twenty miles away from
the Modder river position, is in sor,
straits. Details of the December deatl
rate show that in population of 400
whites and 10000 blacks the mortality
! was go whites and 1873 blacks per thou
sand. The infantile death rate was 67
per thousand among the whites and 81
per thousand among the blacks. En-
teric fever was prevalent. Horse mea
is reported to have been the principa
ration of the people for weeks.
; BULLER'S WITHDRAWAL.
LONDON, February 1O.-Genera
: Butler has abandoned his advance oil
, Ladysmith by the route he has beel
pursuing with heavy fighting for thre
z days and has withdrawn to the soutl
| of the Tugela river.
LONDON, February IA specIa
dispatch from Springfield bridge, unde
. date of Friday, February 9Th, gives
new explanation of General Buffers re
tirement. According to this dispatcl
a balloonist on Wednesday discoVere,
the fact that the Beers had develope,
! ! extraordinary and unsuspected artil
! lery strength on Doom Kloof to tn
l British right, where they hau manages
J to draw up a dozen heavy guns, som
: fitted with disappearing mountings an
: all cunningly masked. These, but 70
, the balloonist, would never have bee
= discovered in time to save the Britsl
from falling into the deadly trap, a
they commanded the road the Britisl
> would have had to take in order {
reach Ladysmith. These guns render
ed the positions of the British untenabl
and further advance impossible ex
= eept at the cost Of terrible and useles
loss of life.
|. LONDON. February 17.-Lord Rob
: erts tells the correspondents that whe
J, he gets down to business they shal
q have ample opportunities to send news
r His chief press censor yesterday issue
new rules, and in future all writte
e communications are to go unchecked
Only kilograms will be censored. Fo
the next few days little news is likel
: to get through, but later there will
more freedom. Thus says the censor
and the last clause may be interprete
o to mean that something is about [
happen.
HERE is A CHANCE TO DO som,
- ONE A KINDNESS