The age-herald., 1900-01-09
ears Are Entertained for Beleagured Forces.
JLLER's SERIOUS PREDICAMENT
His Whole Army Was Inactive on Sat- urday and Tho2gh White Want ed Help He Was Unable to
 Make a Move

London, January 9.-S45 a. m.-General White still holds out, or did so sixty hours ago, when the Boers, busted from their foothold inside the works, suspended their assault at nightfaA. England has taken heart. The situation, however, is worse. The beleagured force must have expended large amounts of ammunition, which can not be replenished and must have lost a number of officers and men, which is coun- terbalanced so far the garrison is con cerned by the greater loss of the Boers.
 General White still needs relief, and the diff culties confronting General Butler are great as before.
 The corners unadorned sentences, as read and re-read, suggest eioquently the peril in Nnieh the town was for fourteen hours, and how barely able his 5000 men were to keep from being overcome.
 The chief concern for General White Is in respect to ammunition. Sixty-eight days ago, at the beginning of the seize, his small arm ammunition was described as plenty" His artillery then had 300 rounds per gun. Some of the batteries have been in action frequently since then and all were probably engaged last Saturday. His stock of shells, consequently, must be low, and this will make it difficult for General White to cooperate in movement by General Butler.
 Entrenchments at Ladysmith @
 The entrenchments at Ladysmith, as de- scr.loed in message that left a day or two before the fight, and has just come through are fortified hills, we'll covered with rifle pits and trenches, down which the infantry move in single file to the va rious posts in absolute safety Full ra- tions are still served.
 Mir. Spencer Wilkinson, in the Post, points out that there is one division only at Chievey, another at Frere and third at Estcourt. As Chievley is seven miles from Colenso, the second division would have had Ito march twelve miles to get into aoi:son, and the Third division twenty-two miles.
 General Buffers 3O,0OO men and military guns were therefore almost inactive On Saturday, and when General White helio- graphed General Butler could really make no move but an ineffective demonstration.
 England is preparing armaments. and twer1ty-two troops will be on the way to Africa during the present month
 According to the program 25, ,000 addition- al troops and seventy-two guns will soon be afloat. The government has ordered Vickers Sons and Maxim, limited, ito manu- fracture as many as AZ inch and six inch quick frers as can be turned out until mo- tified.
 Boer Agents Are Wary
 The Boer agents, according to the Cairo correspondent of the Daily Mail, are evad- ing British vigilance respecting the impor- tation of ammunition. The correspondent says: "A large quantity of quick firing ammunition goes to Ras Jibeuti, from which point it is conveyed by shows along the coast or trans-shipped to vessels bound for Portuguese ports in East Africa. French steamers discharge at Ras Jibeuti before reaching Alden, contrive to evade search by trans shipping at Madagascar to steamers apparently not connected with European lines. In this way they escape suspicion.
 The Times publishes the following dated January from Modder River:
 News from Belmont shows that the Queensland and Canadian volunteers have been so energetic in that neighborhood that a large belt of the Free State across the border has been deserted by the Boers.''
 Will Enjoy Peace and Rest
 To,ranzo Marnues Friday January 5-