The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 22, 1900, Page 1

—— PRICE FIVE CENTS. ROBERTS EXPECTS TO CAPTURE CRONJE. | BULLER WITHIN SIGHT OF LADYSMITH. Conflicting Reports From the Scenes of War in South Africa Received, but the Free State Forces Claim to Be Standing Off the British. [Special Cabie to the New York Herald dispatch s prohibited. from its special correspondent: on the Tugela appears to be complete now in sight of our front, Buller: the enemy’s guns.” B R O CDVDG B DIV VD4 D D080 00h 0000 000D 0bebe ‘o FOUGHT BRITISH TO A STANDSTILL Belief Even in London That Cronje Has Been More Suc- cessful Than Pursuers. ONDON, Feb. 22, 4 . m.—Lord Roberts’ list of forty-nine killed and wound- ed officers, including two generals, In the engagements up to Sunday even- ing causes anxiety, especi as in the officers’ list neither the losses of the Welsh and Essex regiments nor se of the Mounted Infantry are includ- ed. This is about the number fell at Colenso, where the non-commis- sloned officers and men brought the total losses to Si0. It is © ed strange that when s his casualties Lord Roberts gives no information as to the result of the fighting. If he sent such a report the War Office is withholding it. Moreover, nothing is known as to what took place on v, Tuesday and yesterday. The absence of detalls from Lord Roberts’ dis- contrasted with his rather full narratives ¢uring the first part of his op- s, produces uneasiness among military observers. All the comment in the morning newspapers, both editorial and eritical, is threaded with the disturbing suggestion that despite hard fighting General has been able to beat off his pursuers, has escaped and is being reinforced from Ladysmith and by forces on foot and horseback from Northern Cape Col as well as the late beleaguerers of Kimberley. As the correspondents with Lord Roberts are silent the telegrams from Boer sources recelve some countenance. The latter aver that Cronje, while the British were endeavoring to surround him between Paardeberg and Koodosrand, re- ceived reinforcements under De Wet and that together the Boer commanders fought the British to a standstill. However all this may be, public opinion hers will not be reassured until the War Office issues explicit statements of successes, which, of course, would clear ng doubts respecting the uninterrupted success of Lord Roberts’ ent s his ultimate success, but there is a fear of temporary disap- d that a lot of hard fighting is yet ahead of the British test report regarding General Buller circulated in the House of Com- an agent of the De Beers Company had received a Cape Town, which must have passed the censor, to the effect v's Fusilier Brigade had reached the hills commanding Lady- f . apart from this, however, and from every other rumor, the early relief of the beleaguered garrison is thought inevitable. 3art | transparent falsehood admits that he or- | dered the shelling. I have told him that |1 have now established temporary prem- TO PREVENT SHELLING OF WOMEN’S LAAGER ises for Boer prisoners in the women's _— | laager and hospital in order to protect LOURENZO MARQUES, Feb. 20.—The : them from deliberate shelling.” official report received from Colonel | S = = somies < 23 Baden-Powell of the ocecurrences ll"l1 TELEG s {.E Y. Mafeking up to February 6 concludes as | NEW YORK, Feb, 21.—The Anglo-Amer- tollows: | 1can Telegraph Company to-day issued the “General Bnyman, in reply to a letter | following notice: somplaining of the deliberate shelling of | “From London we are again informed the women's and children's laager, of-|that telegrams may now be accepted for tered mo excuse or apology, and by a Kimberley, but only at the sender’s risk.” Copyrighted, 1900, by the New York Herald Company. All rights reserved in the United States and Great Britain.] “CHIEVELEY CAMP, Wednesday.—The crossed the Tugela to-day by pontoon and drove back the e eeco000tvo0o0000 Republication of this LONDON, Feb. 22.—The Daily Mail published this dispatch PIETERMARITZBURG, Feb. 21.—The collapse of the Boers in the trenches of two captured camps large quantitics of ammunition and stgres were found, which points to a hurried flight. Ladysmith is The War Office has received the foliowing from General Fifth Division enemy’s rear guard, our naval tweive-pounder silencing all tihe e e ed ei et ete el ee ittt tdeD e Ot ebeb D T WAITING Fom THE SICNAL To "GO i v PL/HIGHLAND BRIGA DE WATCHING ARTILL £rey SHELLING THE ©oEm roliTioN e e S ol e e o e e e e e o e e e MAJOR GENERAL SR @ BRICADE. ' SEVERE WwWouvoeED FEBs .20 =—xX HECTOR MACDONALD, COMMANDING HIGHL AND e Db - S S O R R R SCE, S SR S 19 P, 12 Y A NARROMW EScaPrPE ~ GENERAL HECTORMACDONALD AMONG THE WOUNDED. Highland Brigade Suffered Most Seriously in the Fighting Near Paardeberg. fantry.” 000000 000000000006000000000600000000 CAPTURE OF SUPPLIES DESTINED FOR KIMBERLEY PRETORIA, Feb. 18, via Lourenzo Mar- ques, Feb. 21.—A British flying column on the way to Bloemfontein was intercepted near Roeders Rand by the Boers. There is heavy fighting along the Modder river, between Paardeberg and Roeders Rand. Fighting is also in Drogress over a wide area to the north and east of Kimberley. The Boers have captured a thousand cat- tle and large quantities of provisions des- tined for Kimberley. TO AID RED CROSS WORK NEW YORK, Feb. 2L.—The Americaa committee to ald the Red Cross work in the South African war, with specfal ref- erence to the wounded of both belliger- ents within the Boer lines, has issued an- othdr appeal for aid. The committee in- vites correspondence from assoclations, socleties and committees in the United ONDON, Feb. 21.—The following dispatch has been received at the War Office from Lord Roberts: l_ - “PAARDEBERG, Tuesday, Feb. 20.—Between Feb. 18 and 19 Major Knox was wounded, Major General Hector MacDonald severely wounded and Lieutenant Colonel Aldworth killed. “Other ufioers_ killed were: Captains Wardlaw and Newbury of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light In- fantry and Lieutenants McLure of the Seaforth Highlanders, Courtenay of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, Siordel and Neave of the Yorkshire Regiment and Bright and Ballycton of the Oxford In- Then follows a list of wounded officers, including Colonel Bowles of the Yorkshire Regiment, Colo- nel Carthew-Yorkstoun of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), Captain H. M. Arnold (dangerously) and Lieutenant J. C. Mason (slightly), bota of the Canadians. In .he Highland brigade sixteen officers were wounded, including General Hector MacDonald; Major the Hon. H. E. Maxwell of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), brother of Lord Farnham, and Lieutenant Ackers Douglass of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, son of the Right. Hon. Aretas Acker-Douglass, First Commissioner of Works. The War Office adds that no details of the fighting have yet been received. These casualties oc- curred in fighting near Paardeberg. -9 000006000000 States interested In this work with a view to forming a central assoclation for ex- tending and improving ‘the organization for their work. Communications can be addressed to John V. L. Pruyn, chairman, 16 East Tenth street, New York, or Tunis G. Bergen, treasurer, 55 Liberty street, New York. CHEERFUL RUMORS. LONDON, Feb. 21.—At a meeting of the Town Council to-day, it was announced that news had reached Windsor Castle that Ladysmith had been relieved. The announcement was recelved with shouts of *“Bravo, Buller.”” The rumor of the re- llef of Ladysmith has again been current on the Berlin and London Bourses. There 18 no confirmation of the rumor. Private telegrams received here from Berlin this afternoon declare that Cronje is in bad position, bearing out yesterday’s Berlin rumor that Cronje was surrounded and that a time limit had been given within which to capitulate. . Wid . -@ WAR IS NOT OVER, BY ANY CALCULATION LONDON, Feb. 22.—The Cape Town cor- respondent of the Daily News says: “It is of the very gravest importance that the British public be not carried away by recent successes into a bellef that the war is practically over. Nothing could be more fatal to a satisfactory prosecution of the war, and above all to a satisfactory settlement of the whole coun- try after the war, than any relaxation of military activity, any stoppage of rein- forcements, any temporizing or bargain- ing with the Free State or the Transvaal through mistaken ideas of magnanimity toward an assumedly beaten foe. “The highest authorities and the sound- est opinion here say that the war has really only just begun in earnest. Indeed, they say that the real struggle will only begin when the present . military opera- tions end. . “I have the best reasons for asserting B+ 00900200000 000 000006000000 0000000000000 00 00000006000 0000000000 000060 G000 000060606040 i & 3 o [Special Cable to the New York Herald. Copyrighted, 1900, by the New York Herald Company. Republication of' this dispatch is prohibited. All rights reserved in the United States and Great Britain.] LONDON, Feb. 22.—This dispatch from its special correspondent is published by the "Daily Mail : CAPE TOWN (Wednesday), Feb. 21.—The correspondent of the Cape Argus, telegraph- ing from Paardeberg, says General Cronje is surrounded. Shelling and musketry fire are proceeding. The enemy is stubbornly re- sisting. The British expect to capture Cronje’s whole force. DR A A R L A e S S = ) ! f : } i : i z } : i t i T COURIER wWEeT Pussusp - BoERs - & CHAS -~ NG - L R R B R ] UNCLE SAM WILL NOT INTERVENE No Agreement Entered Into With Germany as to War in South Africa. ASHINGTON, Feb. 21.—In view of the persistent circulation of the rumor that the Government of the United States has reached an agree- ment with the German Government, through its representative, Baron von Holleben, to intervene between the combatants in South Africa, the Associated Press has secured from the highest authority a state- ment of the present position of the Government in this matter. This is to the effect that there has been.absolutely no agreement reached between Secretary Hay and Baron von Holleben on the subject, nor has there been any discus- sion of the propriety of joint mediation between the British and the Boers. Nor has the United States Government undertaken or contemplated any interven- tion on its own account. There has been no time, before or since the outbreak of the present war. that the President would not have, with the greatest readiness, exercised his good offices in favor of peace if that could have been ac- complished without what he regarded as an unwarrantable breach of interna- tional law and the proprieties. His present position is said to be precisely as stated in the following sentence, extracted from his annual message to Con- gress: . “We have remained faithful to the precept of avolding entangling alliances as to affairs not of our concern. Had circumstances suggested that the parties to the quarrel would have welcomed any kindly expression of the hope of the American people that war might be averted, good offices would have been gladly tendered.” It will be noted that the keynote of the President’s statement may be found in the plural form he uses; the invitation to mediate must come from both parties; a single invitation is not a sufficient warrant for Interference in his view. that an attempt is likely to be made by Boer supporters in the colony to force easy terms for the Free Staters, now or soon, by holding out a threat of a Dutch rising in the colony. “Any idea of leaving the Free State its independence would be fatal to British In- terests. The British people must not de- cetve themselves Into thinking that it is DE WET REPORTS A BRILLIANT VICTORY LONDON, Feb. 22.—The Dally Mail has | the following dispatch from Lourenzo Marques, dated February 21: “‘Boer newspapers, dated February 19, They have a most | report that General De Wet won a brilliant now only a walkover. dangerously subtle and progressive foe to deal with in more ways than it would be politic to discuss publiely. “There should be no halting In sending out troops. A quarter of a million of Brit- ish troops will be nome too many. The more we have and the sooner they are here the quicker will be the end of the war and the surer will be the settlement that is to mean justice to every one, Dutch and British alike, and lasting peace certain prosperity to South Africa.” | vietory over the British troops at Modder River. General Dutoft reports being de- | teated by the British cavalry column which got into Kimberley. He retreated to Riverton, sixteen miles north of Kim- berley, with all his guns lost and seven men killed. ““According to the same papers, General Cronje succeeded getting through a message to Koffyfontein with the news that he is holding all his positions and that the Boer cordon is around Kimberley