Arizona republican., 1901-10-25

present they are using the Lee Met ford rifles taken during the war. for | which they obtain ample ammunition in the conveys they capture and in the British camps which they surprise at intervals. In case this resource fails them, they still have reserve of Maui ser rifles with ammunition to fall back upon. safely deposited beyond danger of falling into the hands of the British columns. Although a large extent rf country has been laid waste. the food supply has not failed. and as the na- tives are not hostile to the Boers, tte latter find no difficulty in obtaining what they require to replenish thei- | simple commissariat. The Basutos hold aloof from participating in ;he war, owing to the younger ani more intelligent element being opposed to it and the example is followed by other tribes.
 One notable feature of the present | stage of the conflict is that that section Of the population of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State before the war which was opposed to the Kruger pol | icy and would have been willing to ar range with the British government is now opposed to any terms that do not recognize the independence of tn. two republics, and is resolved to fight on to the end, whatever it may be. They were much encouraged by the results of the fighting at Vladfontein in May and at Wilmansruet in June. In the | fight at Vladfontein they inflicted seri- ous loss on a strong British column with a loss of only nine killed and eleven wounded: while at Wilmansrus- they captured ths British camp. all standing. with a loss of only six killed and four wounded to themselves. The | ID. oners was over $50. of whom 260 were unwounded prisoners. In the recent fighting in Zululand they appsa- to have been less fortunate but the Ie- tails are still wanting; and the capture of a large British convoy close to Mel moth would seem to imply that their reported defeat had not seriously dis courag ged them. In the attack on the British camp at MoedwiIl. west of Pre- toria on the road to Mafeking. they were more successful. and struck a heavy blow at a vital point in the com munications b5tween the two places. The force engaged in this affair was under General Delarey. and was re- ported a short time before to have been driven north to Lord Methuen in great confusion.
 The present activity of the Boers is due principally to the fact that their horses find grass all over the country. whereas during the winter they were restricted to the valleys. The British owing to the devastation of the coun- try. have contributed to the restric- tion of their own movements. which are rarely carried out to any great dis tance from the railway lines and large supply depots. To guard Johannes burg and the mines, they have between 10000 and 50.000 men permanently en- camped on the Rand large propor- tion of the remaining 10000 men com posing the effective army are In b.ocI houses along the railway lines and in barbcd wire enclosed camps at the principal towns. or watching the drifts on the Vaal and Orange rivers. The mobile force is thus reduced to a mia mum, and is quite Inadequate to put down the insurrection in the Cape Col ony ard dispose of the commandos op- erating over territory nearly as large as Franc and Germany.
 All the efforts to end the war on the part of the British have. so far, becr intellectual The army Is with diffi- culty kept up to full strength. the men enlisting in England falling off both in numbers and quality; so much so that many. both officers and men. have been sent back to England from South Af-
 
 Dutch who were disposed in the earlier stages of the war to remain quiet an6 aibde the issue. have through the rig orous administration of martial law in certain districts. been practically driv- en to active rebellion; and 1t is only through fear that the Afrikanders of British and ether origins than Dutch would also be driven to revolt that martIal law has net been declared all over the colony.
 What the issue of the conflict Is to be. is not at all clear. It hardly seems within the bounds of possibility that the Boers should win all they are fight- ing for. but conditions seem to be aris- ing in othsr parts of the world that would appear to make it prudent. to say the least. on the part of the British government to make concessions to a brave and spirited people.
 The British estimate that about II .O00 Boers still remain in arms; they them selves had in May last 249,416 office:s and men in the field and eIong the lines of communication-the lagest army Great Britain ever put in the field. At present nineteen out of thirty-one cav airy regiments. one-third of the fed and horse batteries of artillery. and one-half of the infantry battalions. are in South Africa. without counting mi litia and volunteer troops. The mili- tary question is complicated by finan- cial questions well; the war has already cost one-fourth as much as the Napoleonic wars cost England, and the British public is said to be weary ing of the delay in ending the strife. Social Influence and favoritism to the effects of which rightly or wrongly, the early British disasters were ascribed. Is regaining strength, and it seems if the dearly bought lesson of the last two years might be thrown away. Al together, though the final outcome Of the war cannot be doubted, the future offers little more hope to- the British than the past two years nave had of