Washington sentinel., 1901-02-23
IN SOUTH AFRICA.

] under the caption of "A Plea 10
: Reinforcements IN South Africa.
has timely interest ID view oil tn
invasion of Cape Colony by thl
Beers under the command Of th'
gallant and skilliul De Wet. Mr.
Wilson divides the war into three
periods. The first was one OF con
tinued defeat for the British, anc
the Empire was shaken to It's
foundations. The second period
was marked by the arrival Of strong
reinforce ments, the INVASION Of the
Boer territories, the SEIZURE oi
their capitals, the severance oi
their communication with the out
side world, and the capture OF two
considerable Boer forces. Then
the aggressive war, so far as the
British were concerned, came to a
standstill. In the third period the
Beers assumed the offensive, at.
tacking Isolated posts with great
effect, and now invading Cape
Colony.
This stage OF the war gives Mr..
Wilson great concern. and if the
conditions in South Africa aresuch
as he represents them to be, there
is substantial cause for the appre-
hension he expresses. From the
beginning OF the war, in October,
1899, TO December I. 1900, the
British forces dispatched to South
A rica were as follows: Regulars,
10000; yeomanrY, Io,ors: volun
teers, 10, 1871: militia, 20, Gao; col
onials, including troops raised in
South Africa, 90, 600; drafts for
regulars and militia, IL, ,soo-alto-
gether a total OF a67, 600 men.
Against this overwhelming host
were arraYed Boer forces which
probably never exceeded 90, 900
men, at liberal estimate, includ-
ing the armies which besieeed
Ladysmith, Kimberly and Maiek- |
ing and operated in o her parts Of |
the two republics and in Cape
Colo1v in the early period OF the
war.
OF the total British army Of 267,- |
900 men Mr.. Wilson estimates that
! 5uTt, 9eetiye 6ghtinp force at Lord |
~ la-,ar,s diann1al sas-Asanf !
N1Sly exceeds 40, 900 men. |
Z zee the beginning OF the war
a5out 5000 British soldiers have
been killed in action or have died
Of wounds and disease; 3s. 900 sick
and wounded have been sent to
there are 1000 sick in
the hospitals Of South Africa, to-
gether with I3 500 wounded who
are no longer vailable, while Io,-
900 unwounded men have returned
TO their homes. Thus from the
army Of a57,ooo men must be de-
Quoted over 80 900, while from the
r86, 900 left with the colors large
1eductions must be made for the
troops required to guard lines OF
over 1000 miles
.ong. For this purpose alone 90.
BOO men we're employed before the
INVASION Of Cape Colony, and the
number has certainly not been de-
creased since then. In addition,
strong garrisons have to be main
tanned at important points. such as
johannesburg and Pretoria. and
MANY thousands OF colonial troops
have obtained their discharge. On
the whole, therefore. Mr.. Wilson
IS convinced that the force at
Lord Kitchensr's command IS not
large enough to enable him TO re-
sumo a vigorous offensive cam
Dlign against the invaders Of Cape
Colony.
The situation in South Africa at
present seems to be thar while the
British hold Ihe railways, the
small posts which they have estab-
Iished in various parts OF the coun.
try live, as Mr.. Wilson expresses
il, "in a mlld state OF perpetual
siege" Dozens Of places are be.
leaguered Of which the public
hears nothing because of the strict
censorship Of all kilograms from
South Africa. Nor is the energy
Of the soldiers what It was at the
outset OF the war. many of the best
and bravest of the men having
fallen in battle. The vitality o,
the survivors is reduced by the
constant hardships and short
rations, the weeks of forced
and exposure to cold in
winter and heat in summer. Men
accustomed to barrack life cannot
stand privations like the Beers,
who practically spend their lives
in the open air and are INJURED 10 |
hardships.
Under these circumstances it
would seem that the Boer invasion /,
Of Cape Colony is not the fool