The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 10, 1900, Page 1

SAN FRANCISCO, SATI,'RDAY,V FEBRUARY 10, 1900. PRICE FIVE CENT: FAILURE OF BULLER’S THIRD ATTEMPT TO REACH LADYSMITH The Heavy Fire of the Boers|: Compels the Relief Column to|; Again Retrea gela — Britons Now Awalit thes Advance of General Roberts|; Into the Free LONDON, Feb. 10.—General Buller has aban- |} doned bhis third attem and has retired behind the line of the Tugela. 4 A dispatch from Bennett Burleigh to the Doi!yj@ Telegraph dated Springfield Bridge Thursday ! night states that the Boer positions were too s s Buller’s force and that the| trong for General general decided not to vance by way of Vaal t Across the Tu- State. 1 pt to reach Ladysmith persist in trying to ad- Krantz. LEIPSIC, Feb. 9.—The Neuste Nachrichten | prints a special dispatc h from a correspondent | who claims that General Buller’'s third attempt to relieve Ladysmith has completely failed. Tugela River and Molen Spruit. The W received no Office h relating to ler's movements e is, however, apparently to qu on the ac- Boer dispatches or he general statement of Boer telegrams have ect hitherto. i this morning in answer to a information re- Government ler was not press- antage from the posi- > still occupied on There are other t ts from various sources hich would seem to indicate at Buller had found the Boers v strong at this point of Tues- ay’s fighting, and that the Boer runs were so placed as to ab- olutely command the low ridge | alled Vaal Krantz, and also the | alley between that kopje and Doornkloof. An agency telegram stated that at the close of Tuesday's fighting, after General Hild- yard’s brigade had relieved Lyt- telton’s, the Boers were on both sides of the British, and the po- sition was a difficult one to hold. The concentration of a heavy fire from the long range guns as the Boers had mounted obably rendered the position absolutely untenable. This is the story of the latest defeat. second retirement of Bul- Tugela seems to er across the T prove that he has a task beyond r, unless large reinforce- ments are sent to him, and this is not likely now that an army is nized to invade the his poy being org little or no prospect f of Ladysmith being i by the Natal field force erts compels the Boers to weaken their strength on the line of the Tugela. This may not be for some weeks, and in the meantime can Ladysmith hold out against another ct it | indi- | advance of Lord Rob-| attack, | which the Boers are likely to|estimate for men for the year| | | e | immediately? The be-| town is likely, then, to| > the fiercest fighting vet. rew repulse of the Brit- he moral numerous wil ss the spir- 1 Roberts’ | Bloem- they are, no| nce on , well informed. The report that General Mac- Don been ordered to re- tire frow Keodoasbesg 40 Mod- der River seems to be open to| doubt. Lord Roberts, in his of-| | ficial dispatch; says that “Fight- ing Mac” had driven the Boers back. The Daily Mail’s corre-| spondent in a dispatch dated | il\'nmlnr»s?-:rz Thursday evening | akes no mention of any retire- | ment, although the agency dis—! |patch which announced the | | backward movement says it took | | place on Thursday morning. The | censor’s oversharp knife may have been responsible for mud- iling the first message. | The Daily News correspond- | ent says: “The Boers returned | to the laagers on Thursday and the British are coming back to camp.” Whether it means the| camp at Modder River or that at | Koodoosberg is uncertain. In any event if MacDonald retired | it was because his purpose was effected, as all the dispatches state that the Boers were beaten | off. [ London took the news of thei | retirement of Buller philosoplli-‘ |cally. All last evening an air| | of gloomy expectation hung over | the House of Commons. When | | the report came that the British | | forces had retired across the Tu-| gela the news was accepted as| |true, and Balfour’s discouraging | ];annovncemcm produced a som- | | ber effect which was painfully | |evident during the night' ses- | s1on. | The gloom was not confine(l% |to the House. It spread to the! clubs and theaters. Everywhere | | men discussed the latest reverses, for it is a strange thing that no {one seemed to doubt the ac- curacy of the Boer dispatches. | A parliamentary paper issued | last evening stated the increased number of men and the large |amount of money needed by the War Office for the year ending March 31 next, in consequence of the war, serves to bring home | with renewed force the tremcu—\' dous drain upon the empire’s re- | sources. | | According to this statement 120,000 more men and an addi- ;ditional grant of £13,000,000| will be required. The original | | upon the Modder River, which movement 'S . + ® ° * & + g { : [P was 184,853. By the increase in October 33,000 men were added. The new demand makes the to- According to the yriginal estimates for the current financial year the gross expendi- ture on the army amounted to! £23,817,333. On October 17| | there was a supplementary de- mand for £10,000,000, which to- gether with the vote of £13,000,- 000 now submitted would in- crease the outlay to £46,817,333. e A BOER REPORTS OF THE BRITISH REVERSES BOER HEAD LAAGER, LADYSMITI, Feb, 8.—The British who were in posses- | sion of the kopje at Molens Drift aban- doned it after a bombardment by the Boer cannon this moining and retired across the Tugela River to their former position. A desultory cannonade is proceeding at the Tugela this morning, but otherwise everything is quiet. HEAD LAAGER, LADYSMITH, Feb. 7. An armored train yesterday made a sortie from Chievely toward Colenso and landel 2000 British troops on the right of the Boer position. The Boers immediately crossed | the river and made an attack with rifles | | and artillery, forcing the withdrawal of | both the train and the troops to Chievely. The fighting on the upper Tugela River lasted until 8:30 o'clock yesterday (Tues. day) evening. Particulars are lacking Firing at Colenso and along the up; Tugela bhas been proceeding since 5 o'clock this morning. KOODOOSBERG DRIFT, Feb. S.—In order to completely surround the Bocrs, General Babington was dispatched from the Modder River with a large force of cavalry and two batterles of horse artil- lery, but failed to reach here, although he started early enough in the day to en- able him to get here early this afternoon. This morning General Methuen ordered that the combined force should retire is now proceeding. The British losses in the fighting on Wednesday were fifty men killed or wounded. ROBERTS ABOUT TO BEGIN HIS CAMPAIGN LONDON, Feb. 10.—In the Morning Post to-day Mr. Spencer Wilkinson, reviewing the military situation, says: “Lord Roberts is evidently about to be- £in his campaign and there are signs that General Methuen's force will make the | first important move. It is probable lha(i the Seventh Division will soon be heard of as co-operating with Methuen. ““The latest news regarding General Bul- ler's operation s puzzling. It looks now as if he never seriously contemplated an at- tempt to relieve Ladysmith, but only a demonstration to prevent the Boers from diverting reinforcements to Magersfon- tein. “Looking to the distance from Lady- smith to Kimberley, a journey in which the Boers would get little help for the | transport of their forces, Lord Roberts has a clear week for the first blow, which will put a new face upon the situation. This hypothesis would account for the present state of things in both the thea- ters of war and the pecullarities of the attacks on Monday and Tuesday would | become intelligible, for, if they had been | intended as a serious movement, General Buller would have been largely reinforced and would have pushed the attack with greater energy.” B e — PLUMER'S FORCE REPULSED. PRETORIA, Feb. 5—Colonel Plumer's force on February 2 attacked the Boer po- sition near Romansta and after heavy fighting, including an endeavor to take oo e b ed e bebededec@® ccssase : PP e teene See S =N A HOT PLACE - No 5 Gqun . 4 T BATTERY ~Av cOoLENSO R e S S S e S S o S o o o I SIS S bert 8. Hay; United States Consul at Pre- toria, stating that he had received his were very satisfactory. This effectually | disposes of the apprehension that existed in some - quarters that the Boer Govern- ment might decline to recelve Mr. Hay | because of the failure of Colonel O'Beirne to receive recognition from our Govern- | ment as diplomatic representative of ‘the Transvaal. |SAYS BULLER IS NOT PRESSING AN ADVANCE LONDON, Feb. 9.—Mr. Balfour, the Gov. ernment leader, replying to a question in the House of Commons this evening as to whether any information had been re- celved from the seat of war, sald: “Our information points to the fact that General Buller is not pressing an advance from the position he has occupied. We don’t consider it right to press him for details of the operations which are in progress, nor if he gives such information do .we deem it proper to make it public until such operations are completed. The Government has no information as to whether General McDonald has retired.” i e 2 CANADA’S LOYALTY. OTTAWA, Ont., Feb. .—Mr. Borden an- nounced in the House of Commons to- night that the Canadian Government would offer the imperial Government to garrison Halifax, so as to permit the Leicester regiment to go to South Africa. Borden said the Government had under consideration the defense of Manitoba, with the Northwest and British Columbia. It was also intended to increase the mounted police to its full strength before any were sent to South Africa, and also to form a score of mcunted rifle com- panies. A beginning to organize these companies will be made this session. It is offically announced that General Hutton has been selected by the War Of- fice for special service in uth Africa. oot val MANY SURPRISES IN STORE. BRUSSELS, Feb. 10.—Dr. Leyds, who re- turned here to-day, denies having nego- tiated a loan in Berlin or solicited the in- terference of any power for mediation or peace. He says that a full plan of cam- aign is already,drawn up for the de- ?en-e of the Orange Free State territory, and that many surprises are yet in store for England. the placé by storm, the British were re- pulsed. Their loss is unknown. No Boers were injured. CONSUL HAY RECEIVED. WASHINGTON, Feb. 9.—Secretary Hay to-day received a cablegram from Adet- 7 - VANCOUVER, TROOPERS. oy vwe rmk e ¢ e exequatur Wednesday and that matters |'¢ e, GEN. BULLER WITH HIS STAFF DIRECTING THE OPERATIONS L e e e had c began. Series of Min Boers—I.ondo Buller’s Retre | ONDON, Feb. 19, 4:20 a. m.—London accepts as true the Boer statement that General Buller has falled again These statements were passed by the British censor at Aden and are |read in the light of Mr. Balfour's | nouncement in the Commons that B | ler 1s not pressing his advance. Winston Churchill wires that Vaal Krantz was | impracticable for the guns which were { needed to support a further advan | cablegram leaves General Buller on Tues- & | day night sending a fresh briga 4 | lieve the tired holders of Vaal Krantz. 4 ‘ The deseriptive writers with eneral ’ | Buller were allowed a r & | again in explaining the ugly | which the British held and t | obstacles which had to be overc | it is easy to infer that with Boe | and artillery defending them the @+ reieibeieieieiosei@ B R e e e D I o B e R L R s a1 . > . » - ON GENERAL BULLER’S FxONT. ':' the Tugela River in the vicinity of Potgieters Drift, showing sev- & Grl]ud‘lgflo: and ferries and the a pmxima{! positions of the British forces who o over and those of the Boers confronting them before the retreat 4 L e R e e e SR SRR SRR SN 1 Sunday for Calgary to, join the contin- gents selected from the other cities in British Columbia and the Northwest Ter- ritory. MUTINY OF SOUDANESE LONDON, Feb. from Cairo says: ous proportions and s anxiety. VANCOUVER, B.'C., Feb. 9.—The fif- teen Vancouver troopers accepted for the Strathcona Rough Riders, with the addi- , selected tion n!m ?fl!:n - p were all GENERAL CLERY RETURNING. LONDON, Feb. 10.—The Daily Telegraph announces that General Sir Franels Clery 1s on the way to England, invalided. 9.—A special dispatch The mutiny of Soudan- ese troops at Khartoum has assumed seri- . causing great ravines and jungles have not been over- come, and thus the public is prepared in advance for bad news. Hellograms from Ladysmith dated Mon- day describe the effect General Buller's cannonade had on the worn garrison. Hope ran high that the long period of in- activity and tedium was drawing to a close. The crash of guns was almost con- tinuous for tem hours, and at times it seemed as if as many as twenty shells burst in a minute. The Boers, preparing always for the possibility of defeat, were driving herds and sending long wagon trains toward the Drakensberg passes. Intense darkness and silence followed, broken only by frogs croaking and the oc- casional blaze of star shells, surrounding the town with a circle of light, to prevent D S S S R Consternation at Ladysmith In- creased by the Explosion of a es Laid for the n Accepts as True the Reports Concerning at. It A dispatch to t . dated Th Boer yesterday, but The correspo: he Lourenzo Marques under date of Febr ary 8 says: “Recent_visitors to " that the Portugu tes there seized a qu m- munition e e~ scription.” ‘The First Lord of the Admiralty, George J. Goschen, is preparing estimates for a large increase in the navy. It is t probable that Parliament w! for £20,000.000 for new ship: The War Office has reduced the mini- mum standard of height—this time to 3 feet 3 inches for infantry and 5 feet 2 inches for artillery. Dr. Leyds has issued in Brussels a state- ment for publication in Engl denying purported interviews in which he is re- ported as predicting the intervention of the powers in the event that the British nvade the Free State. He says he is con- vinced that the war will continue as long 1s the two republics have arms and am munition. If the Mauser cartridges give out the Boers, he a ts, will fall back ipon Martini-Henry rifles, for which they have a supply of ammunition that is prac- tically inexhaustible. e SEIZURE OF A BARK. DURBAN, Feb. Birkdale, with zed by NICARAGUA WANTS THE CANAL BUILT Stands Ready to Grant Every Con- cession Possible to Further Its Construction. Special Cable to The Cal t British bark he n has been Herald C President the isthmian can the United St President Zels sire of the people a Nicaragua is the construction of the great waterway. If liberal concessions to bring this about have been granted to private | compantes, the President adds, they will | with much greater reason be promptly | sranted to the United States. | "1t the American Government comes ta the front, therefore, Nicaragua will be delighted to see the canal built by it, and will stand ready to grant every conces- sion possible within the constitutional and legal power of the administration. President Zelaya is confident the whole country would feel the greatest satisfac- tion in seeing the canal enterprise in the ands of the American Government, pro- viding definite settlements can be effected abrogating all pending concessions to pri- vate companies, thus avoiding ail future claims against the repul HUNTINGTON TO BUILD AN ARMOR-PLATE PLANT Contracts Soon to Be Awarded for Construction Work at New- port News. Special Dispatch to The Call NEWPORT NEWS. Va., Feb. 9.—The engineers who have been at work undes the orders of Colli Huntington have completed the sur f the river bed bordering his new half-mile tract of land, which he recently purchased for $500,000. On this site, when the new ground i made, will be built a large steel armor- plate plant, according to trustworthy sources. The river will be flilled to a | depth of twenty-five feet and a monster bulkhead will be erected to run half a mile up stream. It will take nine months |to fill in this river bed and make the new ground. Contracts for the work will | soon be awarded ——— Favor a Compromise. Spectal Dispatch to The Call. WOODLAND, Feb. 8.—Taxpayers wha attended the mass-meeting Thursday night were practically unanimous in tha opinion that it would be good policy to | compromise the sewer farm suit provided that the plaintiffs will make reasonabla | concessions. The City Trustees will act | accordingly. They have prepared stipula- tions providing for the sale of the sewer { farm to plaintiffs, the allowance sf N damages and three years' time in which ! to complete the sewer extension system. gress s the one great de- the Government of