NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE military situation cannot be better summed up than in the words of Mr. Spenser Wilkinson in Friday's Horning Post. The latest details of news, he points out, "give the impression that the Boer counter-offensive has failed, and that the British offensive will shortly be resumed." Lord Roberts has now an army of great numerical strength collected at Bloemfontein, and the line of his railway com- munications with the South is so strongly guarded and en- trenched that it in fact confines all Boer activity to the region to the east of it. The region bounded by the railway, the Orange River, and Basutoland is, in fact, at this moment a sort of Tom Tiddler's ground, up and down which Boer com- mandos are running freely. Unless, however, we are much mistaken, when Lord Roberta throws out his net and drags that district a great many of the enemy will be caught within its meshes. At present, no doubt, Tom Tiddler seems asleep, and is allowing the Boers to violate his ground, and even to flout him openly as at Wepener. There, indeed, a large Boer commando has actually hemmed in a British force,—part of General Brabant's command. Oar troops, however, are well entrenched, have plenty of food, and can, it is believed, hold out without difficulty. Who knows but that their temporary in- vestment may prove a fatal success for the Boers? Meantime we can only add that we feel absolute confidence that Lord Roberts has complete command of the situation, and that the two disagreeable if small reverses of the past fortnight—the more recent of which is described below—will not even delay the execution of his plans. He is waiting just now for two tbings,—for more horses, and for the enemy to give themselves away as thoroughly as possible.
