The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-03-06
THE LONG AND CLOSE SIEGE RAISED
AT LAST.
BRITISH. FORCES ENTER THE CITY
The Beers Retreat. Carrying Their
Cannon and Baggage Jouber As
-sembIfng a Large Army at WinburR.
None of the Enemy Abou ~Ladysm1th.
highlands War Preparations Con-
-tinued on an Scale-Severe
Fighting at Mafeking.

A%NI GAAA% IN
enee of momentous events. Tornadoes
OF patriotic excitement are whirling
through the country. Even the dullest
soul must have been stirred by the
emotions of yesterday, and London's
5000, 900 people were raised to a pitch
of patriotic exaltation.
1t vas a wonderful sight. Old men
" nothing in memor with which
to compare the day. Some likened it
to Lucknow, others talked of the fall
of Sebastopol. 1t was a time of singu-
lar abandon. The usual conventionali-
ties of society ceased to control and ev-
erybody knew everybody else, all join
ing in smiles or b~ellowings as their
dispositions moved them.
Lord Lansdowne chose the psyche
logical moment to announce m
exceeding eel, 600, 900 and rather star
tied the public by unfolding the pro-
gTamme of the war office to send out,
in addition to the 80, 600 trOopS now
afiOat, $1,000 fresh soldiers. Lord Rob-
erts will ultimately have a force of
250, 900.
An order has reached Woolwich ar
senal for the construction of pa new
guns, from 3~-pOunders to 12-inch guns.
OF these 40 are to be ava guns AL
ready Is, 900 workmen are employed at
the arsenal and 5000 more will be en-
gagged. These decisions to send out
more troops and to increase the home
armament meet with universal ap-
prOval.
BOERS SAVE THEIR GUNS.
The Beers seem to have gotten quite
away from around Ladysmith without
losing a gun or their baggage. Van
Rennen's pass is only about twenty
miles from Ladysmith. The enemy
a artillery in action Tuesday and
they probably utilized both railroads
in retreating, sending the heavy pieces
to Pretoria and the lighter ones into
the Free State.
JOUBERT ASSEMBLING FIFTY
THOUSAND MEN.
DR.. Leyds says that General Joubert
is assembling $4,000 men at Winburg,
seventy miles northeast of Bloemfon
tein. Colonel Albrecht, according to a
dispatch from Paardeberg, affirms that
the Beers have 75, 1000 men left.
Whether Lord Roberts is at Bloem-
fontein now or not he, doubtless, soon
will be dating his dispatches there and
using the town as his advanced base.
Lord Kitchener's mission is to COM
ine the forces under General Clement
and General Gatacre and to advance
along the line of the railroad to Bloem-
fontein. The railway will simplify i'm
mensely the perplexities of transport.
The conditions at LadySmith are now
better understood as the military au-
thorities no longer detain their special
information. 1t appears that since the
middle of January the horses have
been half starved, and altogether too
weak either to drag guns or to carry
cavalrymen. Hence the impossibility
of daShing out.
The editorials in the morning news
nnnnr- ~ not nnIxr inhi1nnf hint nra
written in a tone of confidence in the
future, which contrasts strongly with
the gloomy f~orebodings of the previ-
Gus six weeks. General Buffers mis-
fortunes are almost forgotten, al
though it is everywhere recognized
that the relief of Ladysmith is largely
due to the strategy of Lord Roberts
Emperor William, Emperor Francis
Joseph and King Humbert have tele-
graphed congratulations to the queen.
P~aardeberg. Orange Free State, Feb
ruary 2S.-It is understood that some
1000 Beers are concentrating on the
British front. The British cavalry is
in touch with them to the eastward
and skirmishing began this morning.
BUTLER ENTERS LADYSMITH.
London, March 1.-The wal office has
received the following dispatch from
General Butler:
"Lyttleton's Headquarters, March 1.
SsCN q. N@
the Natal Carbineers and a composite
regiment, entered Ladysmith last
night. The country between me and
Ladysmith is reported clear of the en-
eny. I am moving on Nelthorpe.'
General Butler telegraphS as follows:
"Nelthorpe, March !, 500 p. MI nave
just returned from Ladysmith. Except
q small guard north OF Surprise hill
the hole of the enemy lately beSleg-
ing the town have retired in haste, and
to the south of the town the country
is quite clear of them. The garrison
were on half a pound of meal a man
per day n experimenting the meal
ration by horses and mules. The men
will want a little nursing before being
fit for the field"
BRITISH OCCUPY COLESBERG.
. Rensburg. February 2S.-General
Clements, escorted by q squadron of
Inniskillings, entered Colesberg this
morning and received an enthusiastic
reception. The Beers are in full re-
treat. A number of the leading men
have been arrested. The inhabitants
are well and not starving. They have
suffered many indignities at the hands
Of the Beers, but no violence.
Paardeberg, February 2S.-The Beers
are reported in force to the southwest.
S~tergspruit, Cape Colony, February
23.-The Beers admit that their losses
Brabant captured jamestown
AAACO LIZ "OdAoS
missing.
LADYSMITH'S RELIEF INCREASES
ROBERTS DIFFICULTIES.
London, March Lord Dundonald
is assumed to have made a wide turn
ing movement eastward, skirting Bull
wanna hill. and General Butler may
reasonably be expected to be in Lady
smith with the bulk of his forces by
tonight. Whether. like Roberts at
Kimberley. he will be able to turn the
tables on the retreating Beers, re-
mains to be seen, but opinion here
incIines TO the belief that no aggressive
action can be Immediately undertaken
by General Buffers and General
whites forces; hence Lord Roberts is
likely to soon ave to face the enemy
strengthened by large reinforcement
from all sides
while it is generally realized tina
Lord Roberts strategy is mainly re-
sponsible for the relief Of Ladysmith,
there is a feeling Of anxiety lest his
plans suffer from the hordes Genera
Butler might let slip into the Free
State. Evidently ord Roberts is