New-York tribune., 1901-12-28
LONDON'S LATEST NEWS.
DETAILS OF BRITISH DEFEAT BY DE
WET LACKING.
DEMAND FOR SOUTH AFRICAN SHARES
BRITISH IRON PRODUCTION FALL
ING OFF

Downright; 1901: By The New-York Tribune)
IBY CABLE TO TIE TRIBUNEl
London, Dec. 2S / a. m.-No further detalls
have yet been received at the War ONCE regard
ing the British reverse at Tweefontein on CHRIST
mas Eve It is impossible, therefore, to say now
numerous the casualties were, but IN the oilclai
view there is no ground for supposlhg liiaI al
Of Colonel Firman's force was put out Vi dc-
ton. The four companies OF Imperial feolildliIS
may have been at their fun strength anu III
that case there would have been about 400 men,
but at the War Office 1t is not peneVed that
Firmans column was so strong
Curiouslv enough, the news of De Vets sue
cess had no effect the Stock Exchange and
South African mines very strong yester
da1, mainly ON foreign buying One of the
rnarkabIe features of the last few days of busi-
ness has been the large number of orders for
nurchases Of shares of the British South Africa
Chartered Company which have been received
from the United States
The great event at the Zionist Congress at
Basel Switzerland, yesterday was the speech
of DR.. Max Nordau, who referred to the eco
ro1nc. political and intellectual condition of the
Jews, and delivered bitter and passionate pro-
test against their treatment on the Continent of
Europe. DR.. Herzl received a telegram from the
Grand Master of Ceremonies at the Yildiz Kiosk
reporting that the message of homage from the
Zionist Congress had given the greatest salts
faction to the Sultan.
Great Britain's iron trade seems to be the
down grade. The production of pig iron in 1901
is estimated at about 100000 tons, as COM
pared with 8, 100 900 tons in 1900 and 3,251, 900
tons in 1899; and, although the production of
steel should come nearly up to the standard of
1900 when IT totalled $4,000 tons of ingots of
all kinds, the total quantity Of manufactured
from will show big falling off. The shipments
of pig iron will be raised by the end Of the year
to about 1.050.O00 tons. within 10000 tons of
the quantity shipped in 1900.
There has been an improvement in the coast
ing trade, but the foreign shipments will show
large reduction, and the prospects for 1902
not of rosy character
King Edward has accepted the dedication of
a memorial volume of the proceedings of the
national commemoration of King Alfred the
Great by Alfred Bowker. the outgoing Mayor of
Winchester. The work will also include an al
lusion TO the celebration recently held in New
York, which Mr.. Bowker attended as a rep
resentative of the English National Committee.
The British Consul at Marseilles, in long re-
port the competition of American coal with
British coal in Mediterranean ports, arrives at
the conclusion that American competition will
only become dangerous to the British trade if
high prices continue to rule here and If Ameri-
shipping interests succeed in securing the
passage of bounty bill.
BOER DELEGATE TO SEE PRESIDENT.
C. NJ. VESSELS TO BRING OVER A LETTER
FROM Mr.. KRUGER
Amsterdam, Dec. 21-As a result of confer
ences between clergyman, the Rev. Mr.. Brock
huizen, and the Boer leaders here, it has been
decided TO send c. NJ. Vessels to the United
States in January, bearing a letter from Mr..
Kruger 20 President Roosevelt.
c. NJ. Vessels is the former chairman Of the
Orange Free State Raad, legislative assembly.
He visited the United States in May. 1900, with
Abraham Fischer, leader of the party, and A D.
w WoImarans. and returned to Europe in June
of the same year.