NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON Monday the most important action of the war up till now took place at Ladysmith,—an action which, unhappily, included the isolation and surrender of a British column. We must deal first with that event. Sir George White on Sunday matured his plans for an attack on the Boer posi- tions on the following morning. One feature of this opera- tion was to despatch a force under cover of night to surprise a position on the Boers' right flank. Accordingly a column consisting of the 10th Mountain Battery, four and a half companies of the Glouceaters, and six companies of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the whole under Colonel Carleton, started on Sunday night to march up Bell's Spruit, anarrow valley running almost directly north from Ladysmith. Colonel Carleton's orders were " to seize Nicholson's Nek, or some position near Nicholson's Nek, thus turning the enemy's right flank." All went well till the column got about two miles from Nicholson's Nek. At this point two boulders rolled from the hill, and a few rifle-shots stampeded the infantry ammunition mules and the battery mules, and thus the guns and the reserve ammunition were lost before the fight had begun. Our soldiers, however, fixed bayonets, seized a hill on the left of the road with but little opposition, and at once began to prepare shelters from gun fire. At dawn the attack by the Boers began. At 9.30 reinforcements arrived, and they were able to push the attack with great energy. Nevertheless, for some five hours more our troops held out. At 3 p.m., however, their ammunition was all gone, and they had no course open to them but to surrender.
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