NEWS OF THE WEEK.
THE military situation will probably be greatly modified before these pages are in our readers' hands, for it was known on Friday in London that General Buller had been making another attempt to relieve Ladysmith, though the result was not reported. Meantime we can only speak of the events connected with the evacuation of Spion Kop,— described in detail below. When the officer in command found that the sacrifices involved in holding the bill were too great to make its retention worth while, he wisely with- drew his force, and General Buller endorsed this view by ordering General 'Warren to recrose the Tugela with his whole command. This retreat was accomplished in a manner which can only be described as masterly. It was effected with- out loss and without confusion, though all the men, stores, guns, and transport had to pass through the narrow neck of the drift and the pontoon bridge. The public talks as if successful assaults were the only operations of war worth applauding, but all soldiers know that a properly conducted retreat in the face of the enemy often involves more skill and more high soldierly qualities than any forward movement. Generals Buller and Warren deserve the gratitude of the nation for their respective shares in the operation. Meantime the reports from Ladysmith show that the garrison, though disappointed, is still in good heart. We see no reason to doubt that they can hold out for another three weeks.
