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VOLUME LXXXYI-NO. 142. FIFTEEN HUNDRED BOERS REPORTED KILLED AT MAFEKING. CAPE TOWN, Oct, 19.«1t is rumored here that news has reached De Aar Junction and been communicated to the troops there to the effect that when the Boers were repulsed atMafeking, the defenders, seeing the enemy in retreat, followed up their advantage and pursued them for some distance. Then a feint was made and they VRYBURG SURRENDERED TO KRUGER'S INVADERS Police Retire and Boers Take Possession of the Town— Fighting Progresses at Several Places and the Usual "Repulses" Are Reported. LONDON, Oct. 20. — The Cape Town correspondent of the Daily Mail tele hing at 10 o'clock Thursday Yrybui 1 ndered Sunday. To-night's dispatches from Kuru man, ten miles east by south of Vryburg, state that the police have withdrawn from Yryburg. town surrendered to the Boei nhabitants fleeing in tions, mostly toward Ku ruman. When the police with drew the Cape I'.oers notjtied the fact to the enemy, thus inviting them to tak< -ion. There was a fearful panic. The Daily Mail's Cape Town pondent <ays thsd a ref:\ iched Grahamstown i ■ the Rand states that a train arrived at Johannesburg on Mon day from Klerksdorp with 300 wounded burghers. Every avail able conveyance, the refugee says, was called into requisition to take the v I men to the hospital. The Daily Mail suggests that these ■■>] men were from Mafeking. The Pietermaritzburg corre spondent of the Daily Mail in a teh dated Thursday says: The brunt of the fighting at Best y*( sterday was sus tained by th< teer patrols. The fighting was brisk. The • MAP OF UPPER NATAL. This rovers the field of movement from Estconrt on the south to New the north, ami from Tintwa and Van Reenans passes on the south- I'rift on the northeast, with the positions of the opposing forces and the lines of communication. The San Francisco Call. Boers numbered 2000. The vol unteers at one moment were in great peril, being nearly cut off, but the officers handled their men splendidly, and the Maxims ef fectively stopped the Boers' i rushes. The Boer shooting was wretched. The volunteers lost their kit, and altogether the fight was a pretty trying one. The men were in the saddle three days and two nights with hardly a rest. The Basuto natives were fighting ! with the Boers. It is reported that sixteen Boers were killed. Lieutenant Gallemy, who is re ported missing, is the eldest son of Sir M. H. Gallemy, Chief Jus tice of Natal. He is supposed to he in hiding and searciikig par-i ties have been sent out to try to; find him. The cavalry are still bivouacking out and slight skirm ishes are frequent. I learn offi- : cially that Commandant General; Joubert ha? moved his headquar-^ ters to Dannhauser. It is reported from Delagoa Bay that the Swa/.i King Bunu illecting his forces, with the object presumably of attacking the Boers. It is stated that the Portuguese forces at Delagoa will be raised to war strength. It is announced from Pretoria ] that an eccentric person known ; 1 as Baron Deginsberg has been court-martialed and shot as a spy. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 20, 1899. Party of British Lancers Reconnoitering Toward Van Reenans Pass Plans of the local forts were found in his possession. GENERAL BATTLE HAS NOT YET OCCURRED LONDON, Oct. 20.— The pen. -ml action ■. Ipated yesterday to the westward of Ladyßmlth has not yei occurred. Opera n confined to outpost sklr- Ing, with apparently small loss of life. It Be< ms both armies are acting- with ■ caution. Ii is said the Boers have red several British officers traveling by train from Lady smith to Dundee. 'i'li- Daily Telegraph publishes the fol lowing from Ladysmith late Thui afternoon: "The Boers have captured a train which left ; Ladysmith at 12:30. There were in it. sev- ! r-ral officers and a few mon, besides civil ians, all going to Glencoe or Dundee. For tunately the h>:'-^ up train, which con tained one of your correspondents, pot through. The enemy baa cut the wires, ng telegraphic communication with Glencoe." The Ladysmith correspondent of the Times, under date of Wednesday evening, says: "The situation on the east border is developing a mere serious aspect. The Vryheid and Utrecht commandos, after lootiifg on the Zulu border, are reported to be in the T'msinKa district, threatening communication between here and Dundee. I The situation at the front is reported to be growing more acute." SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BOER MOVEMENTS LONDON, Oct. If".— Xatal again claims a share of the attention which, during the last tew days, baa boon focused upon the b< leaguered garrison at Mafeking. The combined advance of the Boer forces on the positions held by the British gen eral commanding Natal, Sir Oi.rfjn Stew art Whito, has already occasioned a sharp affair of outposts, which possibly has since developed Into .-i pitched battle. Th.> Boars, according to the latest in formation at hand, do not appear to have BRITISH VERSION OF THE PRESENT SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA £ LONDON. Oct. 19.— The War Office this evening issued the following bulletin ° n,,Z° n n<!WS ° f lm P°. rtai ? C 0 nas bee " received from Natal to-day. The cavalry attached to our forces at Ladvsmith and 2 ? Dundee are engaged in observing the enemy's movements." 8 Steps have been taken . to secure Piotermaritzburg and Durban against raids on the western frontier, n «X™ nT« reliable intelligence fromKimberley or eking, both places being cut off from railway and tele ?i S^wif. «?"£"• U iS belleved - however, that a skirmish took place on Sunday six miles south of Klmberley and •o mat the Boars were beaten off with some loss by an armored train. There was some fighting at Maf eking on Saturday, S ending with a repulse of the attacking force. Boers in considerable number are assembled at Aliwal North and Bethalie, R on tne orange River. Railway communication with the Orange Free State and the Transvaal has now ceased, the re- t * maining refugees having been warned to leave by way of Delagoa Bay. •%0^^£0880tf8S808808888&8amf8&28K^g888S3^ commenced to fall back upon the town, allowing them selves to be driven by the enemy. The Boers, eager to retrieve their position, again advanced to the attack and were drawn over the lyddite mines which had been laid for the defense of the town. The invaders suffered ter ribly. It is reported that 1500 of them were killed. The Mafe king armored train also has been doing great execution. been driven hack. Perhaps, however, their movements are only part of a gen eral plan to isolate both Ladysmith and Glencoe from the south. The simultaneous Boer movements from Acton Homes >>n the west and from Korkes Drift and Helpmakaar from the may Indicate a proji cted attack upon the railway below Colenso. The movement from the east also suggests an attack nn The railway at Waschbank, be tween Ladysmlth and Glencoe. Military experts are inclined to the opinion that the troops at Glencoe are | only to form a rear guard left to attack the force under Commandant General Joubcrt, while General 'Whito's full strength is concentrated at Ladysmith with a view of attacking the Orange Free SI >'■ ;' rce while General Jouberl Is still forty miles away. Stories of British successes in the Mafeking district are so persistent that, In tho absence of contradiction from Boer sources, they may be accepted as tnio In the main, although the alleged killing of 300 Boers Is discredited. General Cronje's troops are regarded as the flower of the Transvaal forces and decisive, fighting must occur on the west ern border. If, as was intimated in last night's dispatches, reliefs are approach ing from Rhodesia, it will probably not be long delayed. Apart from their desire to gain an Initial advantage by capturing Mafeking and thereby attracting the. Dutch colon ists, the object of the Boers in massing in Bechuanaland Is doubtless due to the fact that this splendid stock country Is full of cattle, and as it is only sparsely settled, would give the Transvaal a rout* by which to Import arms and munitions by way of AValfiseh Bay, Damaraland, on the Western African coast. VICTORIA ADDRESSES GORDON HIGHLANDERS LONDON, Oct. 20.— The Queen drove from Bajmoral Castle to the ball at the barracks yesterday to bid farewell to the Gordon Highlanders, who are going to the Cape. Aftr-r reviewing the troops the Queen addressed them as follows: "I am pleased to see you looking so well and fit for duty. You are going on foreign service, and I wish you all a godspeed. I hop< you will return safe and well." The officers were then presented to her Majesty, the men cheering and the Queen bowing. STORY OF KILLING OF MANY BOERS REPEATED CAPE TOWN, Oct. 19.— A dispatch from Kimberley dated October 17 says: "All is well hero. Colonel Hore engaged the P.. his at Mafeking on October 14 with great sun ess. Mafeking was still safe on • >ctober 16." A special dispatch to the Cape Argus reiterates th.- statement that in the fight ing in Mafeking Colonel Hore repulsed the Boers, inflicting a loss of 300 men. The Cape Times publishes the following dispatch from Kimberley: Reliable in formation from Mafeking says that an armored train, while reconnoitering north of the town last Saturday engaged 600 Boers, who suffered heavily. Colonel Fitzclarence's column foiled the Boers, in flicting severe loss. The British casualties were two killed and fourteen wounded, two severely." Complaints of Boer outrages upon the natives continue to arrive. These serve further to inflame the Basutos and Zuius. Yesterday 150 Basutos from Johannesburg arrived at Burgherdorp, Cape Colony, and alleged that the lfoors had robbed them wholesale and Hogged them with black snakes." The party, which includes a son of Lerothodi. was supplied with provisions, and the Basutos then started homeward, cheering the Cjucen and chanting war songs. BRIDGES BLOWN UP BY ADVANCING BOERS CAPE TOWN, Oct. 19.-The Boers have blown up the bridges at Fourteen Streams and the Modder River, the former north and the latter south of Kimnerley. GLENCOB CAMP, Oct 18. 7:35 p. m. (delayed in transmission).— The British troops have been under fire. A strong Bo< r patrol was encountered eight miles from the camp, and was repulsed, ihe British suffc-ring no casualties. TURBULENT SESSION OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS Secretary Chamberlain Frequently Inter rupted While Explaining That Great Britain Must Be the Paramount Power in South Africa. LONDON, Oct. Floor and gal leries were densely crowded to day in the House of Commons in anticipation of a speech by the Secretary of State for the Colon ies, Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, on "The Government's Policy in South Africa." The First Lord of the Treas ury and the Government leader, Arthur J. Balfour, promised to answer to-mor row a question whether the Government had decided upon a specific course of ac tion with reference to the recommenda tion of the International Commission, respecting the future administration of Samoa. The Secretary of State for India, Lord George Hamilton, replying to a question on the expenditure for the Indian troops in South Africa, said the entire charge would be defrayed out of the imperial ex chequer. Mr. Balfour, in reply to an interpella tion as to whether the imperial Govern ment was now reviewing the action of the Cape Colony Premier, Mr. Schreiner, and other members of the Cape Govern ment, and as to whether the Governor of Cape Colony, Sir Alfred Milner, would be allowed to dismiss the Schreiner Min istry, to dissolve the Cape Legislature and tem^orarUv to apsv na« lt>H anthority, said: ''This question is apparently found ed upon newspaper reports, for which, so far as the imperial Government is aware, there is no foundation." Mr. Balfour announced that the present sitting of Parliament would be regarded as a complete session, to be terminated by prorogation and not adjourned, until February. Henry Seter-Karr, Conservative, in ac cordance with notice given yesterday, asked the First Lord of the Treasury whether the attention of the Government had been directed to certain speeches and letters by and emanating from the members for Kilkenny and East Clare, Messrs. Patrick O'Brien and William Red mond, Parnellites, advocating the cause of the Boers, attempting to seduce Brit ish soldiers and inciting them to actively assist the enemies of the Queen, and what action, if any, the Government pro posed to take in the matter. Mr. Redmond rose quickly and said that before the First Lord of the Treasury re plied he desired to ask him whether it was not a fact that he (Mr. Redmond) in suggesting a message of sympathy to President Kruger, and only followed the precedent followed by her Majesty's grandson (the Emperor). (Laughter.) Mr. Balfour replied as follows: "I was not aware that the honorable member for East Clare framed himself upon such an august model. (Laughter.) I may point out the difference between him and the Emperor of Germany—that his im perial Majesty is not a Britisher, nor a CAPTAIN NESBITT AND MEN WERE NOT KILLED President Kruger Gives an Account of the Destruction of the Train at Kraai Pan, LONDON, Oct. 19.— According to pri vate Information received here from Blnemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, President TCru ger telegraphed an account to Presi dent Bteyn of the affair at Kraai Pan, where the Boers derailed and bom barded the British armored train carrying Captain Nesbitt'a party. President Kru ger said that Nesbitt and seven men were seriously wounded, that/io one was killed and that all the prisoners were doing well. According to the same advices, a Dutch farmer living in one of the border towns has received a letter from a friend in the Transvaal referring to the Mafeking af fair as "bad business." The transports which will convey the army corps about to start for South Af rica will go neither to Durban nor Cape Town, both of which are already crowded with refugees, but to Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred and East London, from which points railroads converged directly upon the Free State border, where concentra tion will be affected somewhere in the neighborhood of Norvalspont. The ad vance will then begin toward Pretoria. Almost everything is in readiness for the departure of the troops from Southamp ton to-morrow, when rivo transports, each carrying a thousand men with officers, will start for South Africa. The first will sail at 1:30 p. m., the others following at intervals of half an hour. A dis-patch from Pretoria asserts that the Transvaal Government has cabled to Joseph B. Robinson, the millionaire gold mine owner and chairman of the Robinson South African Banking Company, who is now In London, to return to Johannesburg on pain of confiscation of his property. Mr. Robinson characterizes the alleged threat as ridiculous. He says ho is a British subject, that the Transvaal Gov ernment has no right to demand his return PRICE FIVE CENTS. member of this House. I have reason to doubt the accuracy of the statements con tained in the Question. So far as my memory serves, support of a similar char has invariably been offered by the same quarters to those engaged in* hos tilities with her .Majesty's Government, quite Irrespective of race, creed or the theater of hostilities. I have no ground for thinking that Buch support was ever regarded as important by those to whom it was proffered, and I advise the House to t j) k - • the same view now." (Peals of laughter.> Mr. Chamberlain, who was loudly rli. ■.•rod on rising, began with a severe criticism of the action of the opposition at th<' previous meeting of Parliament. Their statements, he Bald, were calculated to encoiir- > dent ECruger's resist ance and to emban Government "in most difficult and critical functions." Referring to .Mr. Stanhope's demand yesterday for the production of his (Mr. Chamberlain's) letter to Mr. Hawksley, he said he would gladly produce this if Sir William Vernofl Hareourt and John Morley, who were members of the South African Committee, demanded it. Sir John Stanhope's crl character ized as neither honesi nor honorable. The Speaker. sir John Gul'^y, t«r wnsd, saying that the language of the Colonial Secretary was beyond parlia mentary bounds. Mr. chamberlain retorted that it was impossible adequately to describe Mr. Stanhope's accusation that he (Chamber lain) and Sir Alfred Milner had fomented war. The Government welcomed all hon est and honorable criticism of its policy, said Mr. Chamberlain, "and 1 wish I could apply these epithets to the speech of the member for Bunnley." Mr. Stanhope, leaping to his.feet, cried: "1 rise to order. 1 thought fit yesterday to arraign the conduct of the Secretary of State for the Colonies. He speaks of my criticism as dishonorable and dishonest. c,ai such terms be applied to members of this House?" (Opposition cheers.) The Speaker said: "I think the language of the Secretary of State for the Colonies is going somewhat beyond—" (The rest of his words wire drowned in wild Irish .!,.■, rs and shoots of "Withdraw.") .Mr. Chamberlain calmly waited until the uproar bad subsided and said: "I bow with all respect, Mr. Speaker, to your de cision. 1 withdraw everything' 1 have said." Then amid freauent ironical cheers he proceeded to denounce the "camapign slander," based upon his refusal to ac cepl .Mr. Stanhope's challenge to produce ii. letter he wrote Hawksley, saying that if Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman i William Vernon Harcourt dexireil to see the letter he would produce it with the greatest pleasure, aa they were honor able members and honorable men. i T CAPTAIN NESBITT. ♦ and that his property has not been and cannot be confiscated. | Portugal, according to a dispatch from Berlin, has given distinct assurances of her neutrality. A continuance of com merce with the Transvaal, by way of Delagoa Bay. is therefore secured. Advices from Cape Town, dated yester day, say the Governor of the Colony, Sir Alfred Milner, has Issued a proclamation prohibiting the importation of all danger ous exdoslves.