NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ENGLAND has been saddened by a great disaster. Early on
Monday morning the Ministry received a telegram from Lord Chelmsford, commanding in South Africa, which announced that half the third column of the force invading Zululand had been sur- prised by the Zulus, 15,000 strong, at a place called Insandusana, ten miles beyond the Tugela, and had been destroyed to a man, thirty officers, 570 Europeans, and 500 natives falling together. The 1st Battalion of the 24th Foot had been annihilated, losing its colours ; while the great convoy of supplies it was appointed to guard-102 waggons, 1,000 oxen, two guns, 1,000 rifles, and 250,000 rounds of ammunition—had fallen into the enemy's hands. The Zulus had lost 3,000 men. It had become neces- sary for Lord Chelmsford to retreat, and the remaining three cohunns had been ordered to retreat also, as he would be com- pelled to await reinforcements from England before renewing operations. Private accounts raised the number of officers killed to forty-nine, including twenty-one in command of native levies, and declared the situation of Natal most serious. The cause of the catastrophe is explained elsewhere, but we may add here that military opinion strongly condemns the dis- persion of the force, which enabled Cetewayo's officers to attack each column, and indeed fragment of column, in detail.
