The situation in the theatre -of • war is practically
un- changed. - The Boers still show great activity in the South and East of the Orange River Colony, where four commandos vary- ing from five hundred to a thousand men are said to be in
the field under Generals Botha, De Wet, and others; but it is evident that the burghers and townspeople are growing sick of the war, and have begun to regard De Wet's tactics as not merely useless, but criminal. Lord Roberts, whose recent riding accident has not kept him from his work, writes that Generals Barton and Douglas were most cordially welcomed by the inhabitants on entering Kierksdorp on the 16th inst. This town, which is an important telegraphic and commercial centre, was occupied without opposition, the English columns, which converged from Potchefstroom and Ventersdorp, capturing a good many cattle and prisoners on their way. On the 18th the Boers under Commandant George Brand were shelled out of the hills at Baberspan and cut up by the Lancers with heavy loss. As a set-off, two "regrettable incidents" are reported, thirteen men of the York and Lancaster Regiment being ambushed south of l7trecht, and an outpost of the Buffs being surprised south- west of Balmoral, with a lose of six killed, five wounded, and thirty-one prisoners. The railway and telegraph have also been repeatedly cat in the South of the Orange River Colony, and De Wet is credited with having once more slipped through our lines in company with Mr. Steyn.
