The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 5, 1900, Page 1

VOLUME LXXXVII-—-N 0. 95. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, MARCH 5, 1900. SMALL BOER FORCE MASSED FOR DEFENSE WITHIN FIVE MILES OF THE POSITION OF LORD ROBERTS Q¢ 060060000300 460000000006000 000500000000 00000000000deiesedeiesdedesd QHM’-‘H’ e ——— e e e e ——— — . Fighting Has Begun to the Eastward of Osfontein—Brabant's Horse in Battle With Burghers Near Dord- recht—Boers Lose a Big Gun. D is now atta-kinz the Boers ORDRECHT, Cape Colony, March 4 —General Brabant’s colonial d'- vision, after a night march, in a strong position at Labuschagnes Nek, on tha road from Dordrecht to James- town. heavy rifle fire Boers on the right flank. action. Evening—General Brabant’s advance to-day was meos* After marching and bivouacking over night the force reached the strongly | intrenched positions which they occupied and*now hoid, the Boers being| remain tc-night in the captured| on the opposite hill. eighteen wounded. The British will pos tions, although the Boers brought two guns determined efforts to retake them. '.Ao B e e SR S S S S e e e S e e o e £ bl to The A the New York | ¢ . b4 = n by . " ONDON, March 35—The|® r vy . - g od of idleness in|J Cape ( u‘.m_\ 1s at | 2 I e British are ad-|7 | the Boers are re-|, along the line. Boers | ¢ om Colesberg are be- | { rapidly. General | ¢ ( ents now at Achtertang, |¢ t but one before | o 10n : 3ritish are mfontein- and State itheast Free been fighting at nes Nek between Gen- « a1l 1d the Boers. The | was but the Boer | # ce Prove ger than had |} anticipa The British |4 - ot score any success. rd Roberts and Lord Kitch- urned within five but now he British position, intelligence British comman- ions or move- orcements are ar- must have 60,000 men, force in Natal and here in C t he 40,000 ape Colony. of all arms, judges at 5,000 1 scattered. ce now, local comman- first detachments help. iysmith Generals Buller e are busy ca , when the | ¢ rom the main | ¢ to Osfontein. | ¢ at hand | ¢ there are | Roberts prob- | B ng out| ¢ ® - - L 4 . ® - . . . v dedbe The exigencies of war have put into active use several valuable inventions that the authorities of the War Office ar of using, among which may be mentioned Captain Percy Scott’s naval gun carriage, to which the e nges rendered necessary | ¢ * the removal from Ladysmith ‘ e garrison' so soon as fresh : troops take their place and the| ! would not before he. X r . ® success of the Britis! S on oOi camp 1S accoms- | 4 A new co 1 T . o tried with suc plished. There has been a skir-{.% orange rree State. mish at Besters, half way between |g 4 o o 64 64 606+ 0-00 nith and Van Reenans which shows that mounted ing Free Stater inactivity of Ladysmith te with Buller is now explained. | White’s. troops are so | could not march two| miles. Artillery endeavored to harass the retreating Boers, but could not get near enough to them to inflict any damage. The Joers’ big 5.9-inch gun on Bul- wana Hill, it is reported, has been captured by the British. At- tempts had been made by the Joers to remove it after the ar- rival Dundonald’s force, but they were defeated by the last of the few shells which remained to the men re fc ving up the retreat- | e followmg up | Morning Post. ison and its failure to co-ope- | kopje the naval guns at Ladysmith. Fighting has afready begun to the eastward of Osfontein, ac- to a dispatch- to the] General French, with large mounted found the Boers intrenched on a Fighting was proceeding when the mccsaqe was sent. cording a ssted from want of food that | FRENCH ENCOUNTERS BOERS AT OSFONTEIN LONDON, March 5.—The War Office has received the following dispatch.from Lord Roberts,” dated Osfonteln, Sunday, | Yarch 4: “‘General Cronje, on behalf of bis party, and Commandant Wolmarans, on behalf of 4000 other prisoners, asked - the British officers to thank me for the consideration fire from three positions. is being exchanged where the British are engaging the So far the Bcers have had no big guns. in The British force, | The engagement is proceeding with great vigor and th - Boers are | gradually retiring before the British sheil A satisfactory. losses are six killed and | | tein, except that frequent heavy showers | have materfally improved grazing, to the hen!hl of the horses und transport ani- mals.” | The Morning Post has the following dis- | patch from Osfontein, dated March 3: “Generdl French made a reconnoissance to-day -and encountered the enemy in force. They were occupying a table- shaped kopje. Shots were exchanged, a | Boer gun replying.” | A dispatch from Osfontein to the Times, dated March 2, dilates on “the increasing | difficulty of telegraphing as the army ad- | vances through the enemy’s country.” The | | correspondent say | “Forage for horses is almost unobtain- able. The whereabouts of the enemy is not exactly known, but the moWjle com- | mandoes are haovering around o‘ army., We anticipate opposition at Abfahams | Kraal, thirty miles ecast of Paardebers, | where General Joubert Is reported col- lecting a force from the whole of the Ladysmith forces, with the northeastern | Free Staters. President Steyn arrived at into action and made| and kindness with which they have been | the Boer camp at Abrahams Kraal on treated. | the morning of February 27, and ha- “General Clements reports that his ad- | rangued the burghers, exhorting them to vanced troops hold Achterang, and that | remeber Majuba, and to dcliver Cronje.” railway communication would be opéned to Jouberts Siding to-night. The enemy is still in force at Norvals Pont bridge. “‘General Gatacre says the number of Boers at Stormberg is daily diminishing. Colonel Baden-Powell reports that all are well at Mafeking, and that the enemy's activity was being met with equal activ- ity on the part of the defenders. “The position is unchanged at Osfon- The Standard says: “We believe that négotiations for England’s acquisition of a port in Portuguese East Africa, glying easy access to Rhodesia, are on foot ana are llkely to succeed, in view of the turn the war has taken.” The Calcutta correspondent of the Times says: “Telegrams from all parts of India show. universal rejoicings among the natives at the British success in South | | i | { | | | + New Armor theld on Wheels for Protectmg Riflemen in Actlon arms is so much due, as well as Lord Dundonald’s galloping gun. rivance, an armor shield on wheels for the protection of riflemen operating on level ground, has been ess and a large number of them wil! probably be sent soon to Lord Roberts for use on the plains of the B e B e e =S S S ) B e L e S Do e b dedebe b Reenans Pass were closely followed by times hot fighting ensued. Buller's army, for such service than the tively few of Lord Roberts’ Colonials. mounted CIVEN UP HOPE Relief Came Unexpectedly to| the Defenders of the Town. THOUGHT BULLER HAD LOST i s Returned Correspondents Dascribe the Scenes Attending the Deliv- erance of the Beleaguered Britons. el e \ URBAN, March 2.—Correspondents who have returned here from Ladysmith say that the relief came quite unexpectedly.. At noon o1 Tuesday the firing of General Bu!- ler's army seemed to ‘recede in- stead of approach, and the garrison was consequently depressed. Suddenly every- body was sjartled to hear the garrison's 4.7 gun firing.- It had not been used much of late, owing to the diminishing ammuni- | tion. . On hurrying out it was found that the Boers were trying to remove the big gun on Bulwana by the erection of a der- | rick. This proved that something extra | ordinary ' was ‘happening. The ‘other gai- | rison guns then directed their fire on' Bul- wana, with the result that the Boers were compelled to abandon:the sdttempt. with the derrick.” Later they placed the gun on a wagon, which capsized in a donga. During the afternoon whenever tas Boers were seen approaching the British resumed “the shelling of Bulwana. At about 4 o'clock a terrific thunderstorm broke over the town, just after a messa had been helfographed from Wagon H that'the Boers were in‘full retreat. Other officers .said they believed they could desery British cavalry, but most people supposed that the wish was father to the thought. As soon as the storm ceased the Sritish guns reopened on Bulwana, gradually con- | centrating the fire on the left aid driving | the Boers before them, with the object of | preventing the enemy hampring any Br: ish approach. An hour later a party of British 1orse- | men could be seen crossing the flat below | Bulwana at a distance of some miles. It is impossible to 'describe the excitement and enthusiasm among the troors that i lowed, Most of the townspeople had been driven into the houses by the storm, and did not learn the good news until later. The storm broke out again at 7 o'clock in the evening and continued until 2 o'clock the next morning. It must have serlously hampered the retreating Boers. The British gunners kept a sharp watch to prevent any further attempt to remc- 2 lhe Bulwana guns. The British naval gun was fired ‘at ‘intervals through the night, and in the morning a force was sent out to look after ‘the gun and to occupy Bul- wana. ‘Lord Dundonald’s force went afier the retreating Boers, while 4000 of the best men of the garrison went toward Elands Laagte in the holn of Qeing able to cut o:f N N e s | *o-wo—&o\:&-o ,oe @ Afriea. The native army is particularly enthusiastic.” The Queen has abandoned her intended visit to the Italian Riviera, and has de- cided to remain at home. Her decislon to give up her customary spring holiday is accounted as another proof of her deep interest in and devotion to the welfare of her people. On Thursday she will come to London for a brief visit, remaining un-' til Saturday, and she will undoubtedly re- celve a splendid ovation. Her heartfelt, homely dispatches to the generals in the field and her visit to Nettley Hospital have greatly endeared her to her people. Spencer Wilkinson in the Morning Post to-day merely reviews the small events announced in the dispatches from the front, and expresses the opinion that the Boers cannot place more than 40,000 men to oppose Lord Roberts, except by a com- plete abandonment of Natal. He says: . “Without that'thé Boers must keep two strong rear guards, one at the crests of the Free State passes and the other at Biggarsberg. General Buller is between them and can thmhtenre.lthlr at his dis- cretion.- He ca%, therefore, ‘compel th to keep a dmmwmundta force on t: two lines, or leave one-or m oflm ‘open to-his advance.” ¥ !Lu’vndnt&c‘flrd’ ; Basutolarid, Friday, um.-h 2—A telegraph line between Mate- ting and Mazereux was cut Wednesday night, s whole section belng removed. It is believed this was the work of natives, prompted or bribed by the Boers. . . . NATAL CAKBINEERS ATTACKING BOER WAGON TRAIN. The Boers retreating from Ladysmith toward Elands Laagate and Van A large proportion of the cavalry of Sir Redvers as well #s the garrison of Ladysmith, is made up of Colonial troops, -whose knowledge of the country makes them much more efficient British regulars. R R R S R Rt & SN S Y 1 “ just been made pubitc. {in celebration of the successes in South | | strong ‘article to-day again begs the An- | ‘| weak nation, both mentally and the British mounted troops. Several On the other hand, compara- mey_operating in a level country-are 0@00‘04$0®000~¢v0\’>0 It is dated Dub- lin, February 22, and says in ptrt In Ireland we regard the war now. being waged by the British Government against the two republics.of South Africa as the most un just, criminal and cowardly war of the gen- tury. In order fo ‘deceive libéral opinion in Great Britain and-abroad a pretext was put forward—that the object of the attacks on the republics - was tghsecure equal rights for the Uitlanders. The falsity of the pretext been exposel by the f#ct that Ulitlanders of all races except English are fighting in the armies of the two revublics! To use the words of Sec- retary Reitz's great manifesto to the Free Staters, according to the Colonial Secretary, “England has constituted herself champion of | all the Uitlanders.”” And what do we find? On | the borders, side by side with the bughers, we find these same Uitlanders in hundreds—Ger- mans, Irishmen, Frenchmen, Belgians and | Scandinavians and even Englishmen—ready to | day down thelr lives in order to rid themselves | of their self-constituted champlon. ° All the civilized world now sees that the real object of this conspiracy and war against the republies of South Africa is to deprive the re- publics of their liberty, steal their_ gold | mines, to-increase dividends by reducing th wages of laborers in Johannesburg and to es- tablish the ascendancy of the English races over all other races in South Africa. Was war ever urged for such infamous ob- Jeets? In vursuance of this conspiracy against the Iberties of South Africa that press in Great Britain and South Africa, which is financed or | controlled by speculators and mine owners, who are chiefy responsible; for the war, has as- | sailed the Hoer people with a torrent. of cal- umnles and Hes unparalleled in human mem- | ory | The Irish people, who know from expertence | the bitter fruits of race ascendancy and the | denial of liberty, stand to-day for lberty and | justice in South Africa, as they stood in 1175 for liberty and justice’ in America, and we look with - confidence.to - the citizens of that sreatest of republics. which throughout the.| nineteenth century has been the Mecea of all | lovers of liberty and the refuge of the op- pressed, to extend its sympathy and all-power- ful aid to the small peoples who are fighting with splendid hervism to vindicate in South Africato-day’ the same prineiplés which your ancestors fought for and died for In the great war which gave freedom to America. BRITISH FLAG TORN : . BY A HANOVER MOB BERLIN, March 4—At Hanover. some | persons,.not yet identified, tore a British flag and made an anti-British demonstra- tion in front of the.residence of an Eng- ishman wko had displayed the Union Jack Africa. The semi-official Berliner . Post in a glophobia press to discontigue the prac- | tice of abusing, British statesmen and gen- erals and British enterprises generally. | declaring that this does more harm than | they suppose. The Post asserts on the authority of a | private letter from the Transvaal, re- ceived at Hamburg, that the Boer repub- lics, on January 15, had issued altogether 46,500y 1dentification cards to Boers in the | field. The writer of the letter claims that these figures represented the total Fed- | eral forces at that time. | DR. JORDAN PREDICTS DISASTER FOR ENGLAND "CHICAGO, March 4.—President David | Starr Jordan of Leland Stanfard Univer- sity of California lectured at All Souls’ Church to-day, speaking fo a large audi- ence on “The Blood of a Nation.” He sald that the present century would wit- ness the downfall of Great Britain. He declared that ultimately the people of South Africa would have their freedom. ‘The speaker, in emphatic terms, assert- ed that the present inhabitants of Great Britain were.a mere shadow of their fore- fathers in point of brains and health. Mr. Jordan thinks that a nation that founds {ts destiny on war must ch a speedy decay. He sald a great war saps the vi- tality of the best blood of the nation. Dr. Jordan deprecated. the fact that many of the best youths of a nation are killed during times of war. He remarked that this accounted for the existence of 3 Continued on Page Two. PRICE FIVE CENTS. R R L e o o L S A% S0 I S0 S o S 4 L CERMANY MAY BE REQUESTED T0 EXPLAIN Rheinbaben’s Attitude To- ward-American Consuls Resented. R YU WARNING T0 OFFICIALS —— ‘Instructed Them to Withhold Com- mercial Information From Rep- resentatives of the United States. — i | Speetal Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyright, 150, by the New York Herald Company ERLIN, March 4—The revelation of Herr Kunert, a Socialist Deputy, regarding secret instructions issued by Baron von Rheinbaben to Ger- man officials, warning them not to give any information to Amerfcan Con- suls, has caused a great sensation here. The secret circular is dated Dusseldorf, July 24, 1899, and bears the marks “C. B. (Central Bureau) 224, secret.” It runs as | tollows: In the terms of the circular of June 10, 1894, | | questions and requests by various Consuls ac- | credited to Germany may be answered by German officials so long as these do not refer to matters of general importance. Among communications which must not | under any circumstances be made to Ameri- can Consuls are statistics regarding breaches of adulteration laws, especially of manufac- ture and sale of articles of food and drink in- jurious to health, and of articles of commerce, including toys, and adulteration and sale of such wares. . Regarding trichinosis and foot and mouth | disease in German cattle or condition of heaith in Germany among men or animals there is, however. no objection to referring Consuls who dsk such information to publications of Im perial Health Bureau. No further information must be given them. I request you to regard these instructions as strictly confidenttal, and to communicate them to your subordinates with express instructions to keep them secret. You are forbidden to convey them to the Burgomaster by sending him a copy. and you will take spectal means of making communica- tion of Baron von Rheinbaben to Landrathe and head Burgomasters. WASHINGTON, March 4—The restrie- tions imposed - by the Governor of Dusseldor, Germany, upon American consuls to prevent them from getting information of a commercial charac- | ter may be objected to by this Govern- ment in case an official dispatch regard- ing them should be received by the State Department. Reports of this character have been current in this country for sev eral months, but an official of the State Departgnent said to-day that no official dispatches had reached the department. I the facts are as stated In the press res ports, then, he said, the department would require Germany to live up to the provis. | fons of the treaty of 1871 respecting Con- sular officers. Article 2 of this convention provides that “the respective Consuls General, Consuls, Vice Consuls or Consular agents, as well as their chancellors and secretaries, shall enjoy in the two countries all privileges, | exemptions and immunities which have been granted or may in future be granted to agents of the same rank of the most favored nation.” The authorities are not inclined to t%e bellef that the restrictions imj by the Governor of Dusseldorf were prompted by the Berlin Govommnl, but were rather the act of an official wi desired to make political capital '!!h l.h. Agrarian party. PRISON REVOLT IS QUELLED BY BULLETS Five Cairo Mutineers Are Shot and Two of Them May Die of CATRO, March 4.—A serious revolt of twenty conviets at Tourah, the great prison near Cairo. nearly Involved 300 other prisoners. Blank cartridges having falled to overawe the malcontents, a voi- ley was fired from a window opposite mrro tbmuh the window of the room occupied b; Hvooltbo nflnflfl were shot and two, hb'n-ud‘humwudd. All gl:':—rnndend confined in