Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1901-02-23

commanders which have already sue
ceeded in reaching the same region.
He will then find himself at the head
of a force numbering presumably some
5000 mounted men, and made up Of
the most irreconcilable burghers Of the
Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
If the Afrikanders mean to rise at all,
they may be expected to rise at his
bidding, for he is regarded as almost
invincible by his fellow countrymen,
and Is admitted by the British COM
manders to be far the ablest Of their
opponents. Even should his strength
be doubled or trebled, however. what
chance has he of resisting the army of
which Lord Kitchener is chief?
He would have, Of course, no chance
at all, If all the British troops that
have been collected in South Africa
could be massed against him. Accord
ing to an official return, the forces dis
patched from the United Kingdom and
distant British colonies, or raised In
Natal and Cape Colony, up to Decem-
ber /, 1900, amounted in the aggregate
to about 267, 900 men. To find the effec-
tive force, however, we have to deduct
from this total, 10000 killed or dead OF
disease; 1890 wounded; $4,000 sick IN
hospitals in South Africa; $4,000 sick
and wounded sent home, Of whom,
some, however, have rejoined the COL
ors; and about 10000 unwounded men
who have returned to their distant
homes. The sum Of the deductions,
therefore, does not fall far short OF SO,-
600 men. From the $4,000 left with the
colors further deductions have TO De
made for the troops who are employed
on the 1000 miles long lines of commu-
nications, who numbered 10000 or even
more before the recent invasion or
Cape Colony; also great garrisons at
important points, such as Johannes
burg and Pretoria, technical troops
army service corps and so forth. Ihus
the actual number Of combatants avail
ob,a for service in the field dwindles to
about 10000 men.
According to the National Review
from which we take these figures, even
this estimate is exaggerated. 1t IS
pointed out that the official return
merely guesses at the strength OF the
Colonials, Yeomanry and volunteers.
Neither is any allowance made for the
disarmament Of Colonial troops IN
South Africa, although it Is known
that many thousands obtained their
discharge during September, October
and November Of last year, When' Tor
political reason, the British govern
ment chose to assert that the war was
over. The National Review Is convinc-
ed that the effective fighting force at
Lord Kitchener's disposal for the pur-
suit of De Wet in the Cape Colony and
Of other Boer commanders in the Or
ange Free State and the Transvaal,
does not much exceed 10000 men, the
greater part of whom are infantry.
Sometime ago Lord Kitchener Is re-
ported to have declared that re-en-
forcement Of 10000 men was impera-
lively needed, yet only small fraction
of that number has been forwarded.
The mounted police, which was to be
organized for service under General
Baden-Powell was to be, it was first
announced, 10000 strong; then 1t was
to be $4,000; finally, by some unexplain-
ed process Of shrinkage, it seems to
have dwindled to only 5,000 possibly
because the high rates Of pay which
at first were offered have been cut
down.
We see. then, that the question
whether General DeWet can be quickly
driven into a corner and captured, is
not so easy to answer as 1t appears at
the first glance. The fact that his
force consists exclusively Of mounted
men, and that fresh supplies Of horses
can be readily obtained in Cape Colo
ny, would give a great advantage over
pursuing bodies made up largely of In
fantry, even If these were greatly pre-
ponderant in numbers. He should be
able to choose his own field Of action,
and to attack his opponents in detail.
It Is by no means certain, moreover,
provided the Afrikanders should rally
to his support, that he will not be su-
perior, even numerically, to the troops
that General Plummer, General Knox
and General Hamilton will be able to
array against him. The British COM
manders who are following De Wet
cannot expect large re-inforcements
from Lord Kitchener, for the latter
finds it difficult, as it is, to safeguard
his far-reaching lines Of communica-
ton, and he cannot venture to weaken
the garrison of Lydenburg, Johannes
burg and Pretoria.
On the whole, 1t seems probable that,
If De Wet receives the cordial welcome
that he looks for from the Afrikander
element in Cape Colony. he may pro-
long the war for many months to come,
and we should not be surprised to hear
of his inflicting defeats again on iso-
lated British detachments.-NewY York
Sun.