Oar position in the country outside Ladysmith has been affected
by the evacuation of Coleus°, which took place last Saturday. . Though the enemy have not themselves occupied Colenso, and also have not yet blown up the great bridge over the Tugela, they have the railway in their possession, and have doubtless torn up the line. The British force which was at Colenso is now at Escourt, and a well-supplied camp is being formed there, as it is doubtless from that place that the movement for the relief of Ladysmith will be made, if the direct relief of General White's force is, as we believe it will be, decided on by Sir Redvers Buller. We have dealt with this matter at length elsewhere, but will only note here in sup- port of our view tbat the first of the Army Corps transports has been sent on to Durban from Cape Town. These transports will now be arriving daily, and before the end of this week the troops at Estcourt, alreadyi. three thousand strong and more,, should,. constitute a formidable force of all arms.
he country must fade at least a 'fortnight of waiting, and, to a great extent, of waiting in the dark. We will only add an expression of our complete sense of con- fidence in Sir Redvers Buller's ability as a commander,—and also advise the public not to pay too much attention to alarmist news about "the invasion of the Colony." Such movements are not serious, and cannot become so unless and until White's force has been disposed of. Small Boer commandos may do some frontier raiding, but they will not penetrate far from their own country, while the question of victory or failure at Ladysmith hangs in the balance.
