transparent falsehood admits that he or
dered the shelling. I have told him that
I have now established temporary prem
ises i for Boer prisoners in the women's
laager and hospital in order to protect
them from deliberate shelling."
TELEGRAMS FOR KIMBERLEY.
NEW YORK. Feb. 21.— The Anglo-Amer
ican Telegraph Company to-day Issued the
following notice:
"From London we are again informed
that telegrams may now be accepted for
Klmberley, but only at the sender s risk."
Highland Brigade Suffered Most Seriously in
FOUGHT BRITISH
TO A STANDSTILL
GEN E RAL HECTOR MACDONALD
AMONG THE WOUNDED.
UNCLE SAM WILL
NOT INTERVENE
TO PREVENT SHELLING
OF WOMEN'S LAAGER
LOURENZO MARQUES. Feb. 20.-The
Official report received from Colonel
Baden-Powell of the occurrences in
Mafeklng up to February 5 concludes as
follows:
"General Enyxnan, in reply to a letter
somplalnlng of the deliberate shelling of
the women's and children's laager, of
fered no excuse or apology, and by a
DE WET REPORTS
A BRILLIANT VICTORY
LONDON. Feb. 22.— The Dally Mail has
the following dispatch from Lourenzo
Marques, dated February 21:
"Boer newspapers, dated February 19.
report that General De Wet won a brilliant
victory over the British troops at Modder
River. General Dutolt reports being de
feated by the British cavalry column
which got into Klmberley. He retreated
to Rlverton. sixteen miles north of Klm
berley. with all his guns lost and seven
men killed.
"According to th© same papers. General
Cronje succeeded in getting "through a
message to Koffyfonteln with the news
that he Is holding all his positions and
that the Boer cordon Is around Klmberlay
again.
that an attempt is likely to be made by
Boer supporters in the colony to force
easy terms for the Free Staters, now, or
soon, by holding out a threat of a Dutch
rising in the colony.
•"Any idea of leaving the Free* State its
independence would.be fatal to British In
terests The British people must not de
ceive themselves into thinking that It is
now only a walkover. They have a most
dangerously subtle and progressive foe to
deal with in more ways lhan it would be
politic to discuss publicly.
"There should be no halting In sending
out troops. A quarter of a million of Brit
ish troops will be none too many. The
more we have and the sooner they are
here ,the quicker . will be the end of the
war and, the. surer will be the settlement
that' Is to mean Justice to every one,
Dutch and British alike, and lasting peace
and certain prosperity to South Africa,"
WAR IS NOT OVER
BY ANY CALCULATION
j LONDON, Feb. 22.— The- Cape Town cor
respondent of the. Dally News says:
"It ? is" of the, very gravest Importance
that the British public be not carried
away byV recent successes into . a -belief,
thatthe war is practically." over.' Nothing
could -be more fatal to a satisfactory
prosecution of the war, and above all to a
satisfactory settlement of the whole coun
try after the war, than any relaxation of
military activity, any stoppage- of rein
forcements,": any s temporizing or bargain
ing; with the Free State 'or ' the Transvaal
through, mistaken ideas of magnanimity
toward : an assumedly ¦ beaten ¦ foe.;
i "The highest- authorities and the sound
est opinion here say that • the war ¦ has"
really only Just begun In earnest. : Indeed,
they say that the real struggle' will only
begin : when the ; present X military opera
tions end.
; "I have tho best reasons for, asserting
States interested in this, work with a view
to ¦ forming ' a ' central association I f 6r- r ex
tending' and . improving t the) organization
for their work. : Communications; can- be
addressed to John V.'.L.Pruyn. chairman,
16 East Tenth street, jNew. York. or. Tunis
G. Bergen, treasurer,' 65 i Liberty street,
New -York.- • " ¦¦'*'¦:'¦¦: ¦' • •¦' ¦"•¦•. : . ¦¦-
CHEERFUL RUMORS.
: LONDON, Fe,b.' Zl^— At a meeting of the
Town 'Council .to-day,- it ; was . announced
that news had reached *, Windsor. Castle
that : Ladysmith^had' been.. relieved! . The
announcement .was .received ';with i shouts
of "Bravb;' Buller.'', The rumor 1 of the re
lief of .Ladysmlth': has- again current
oh the Berlin and -London ; bourses..; There
is, » ho ' conflrmati on ,of ; , the ", Private
telegrams received, here from, Berlin thl*
afternoon • declare \ that > Cronje ¦is in 5 bad
position, bearing -out;! yesterday's, Berlin
rumor that : Cronje , was J surrounded 'and
that a .time : limit had ' been ¦ given ; within
which to capitulate. . . ?..., ..-..,
CAPTURE OF SUPPLIES
DESTINED FOR KIMBERLEY
PRETORIA, Feb. 18, via Lourenzo Mar
ques, Feb. 21.— A British flying column on
the way to Bloemfonteln was intercepted
near Roeders Rand by the I Boers. ; There
is heavy, fighting along: the Modder river,
between" Paardeberg and Roeders Rand.
Fighting is also in progress over a. wide
area to the north and "east of Kimberley.
The Boers have captured a' thousand cat
tle and large quantities of provisions des
tined for Klmberley.
TO AID RED CROSS WORK.
NEW YORK, Feb. 21.— The American
committee to aid the Hed Cross work in
the - South African: war, with i special' ref
erence, to the .wounded of both .belliger
ents within the Boer lines, has issued an.
othrfr appeal, for aid. -The committee ¦ in
vites ; correspondence : from associations,
societies and committees in the United
W ONDON, Feb. 21.— The following dispatch has been received- at the War Office from Lord Roberts:
¦ > "PAARDEBERG, Tuesday, Feb. 20.— Between Feb. 16 and 19 Major Knox was wounded,
Major General Hector Mac Donald severely .wounded and Lieutenant' Colonel Aldworth killed.
"Other officers killed were: Captains Wardlaw and Newbury of the Duke of Cornwall's Light In
fantry and Lieutenants McLure of the Seaforth Highlanders, Courtenay of the Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, Siordel and Neave of the Yorkshire Regiment and Bright and Ballycton of the Oxford In
fantry." '.-'-.¦ ' ' -' ¦ :¦'¦' '
Then follows a list of wounded officers, including Colonel Bowles of the Yorkshire Regiment, Colo
nel Carthew-Yorkstoun of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), Captain H. M. • Arnold . (dangerously)
and Lieutenant J. C. Mason (slightly), botn of the Canadians.. .!:?; ¦ -;
- In .he Highland brigade sixteen officers .were wounded, including i General Hector Mac Donald;
Major the Hon. H. X Maxwell of the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders), brother of Lord Farnham, and
Lieutenant Ackers Douglass of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, son of the Right. Hon. Aretas
Acker-Douglass; First Commissioner of Works. . i « .
The War Office adjds that no details of the fighting have yet been received. These casualties oc
curred in fighting near Paardeberg. r P' : V: " ","*,'';"' J,
No Agreement Entered Into
With Germany as to War
in South Africa.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 21.— 1n view of the persistent circulation of the
rumor that the Government of the United States has reached an agree
ment with the German Government, through Its representative. Baron
yon Holleben. to intervene between the combatants in South Africa,
the Associated- Press has secured from the highest authority a state
ment of the present position of the Government in this matter. This is to the
effect that there has been- absolutely no agreement reached between Secretary
Hay and Baron yon Holleben on the subject, nor has there been any discus
sion of the propriety of Joint mediation between the British and the Boers. Nor
has the United States Government undertaken or contemplated any Interven
tion on its own account. There has been no time, before or since th« outbreak
of the present war. that the President would not have, with the greatest
readiness, exercised his good offices in favor of peace if that could have been ac
complished without what he regarded as an unwarrantable breach of interna
tional law and the proprieties. Hl* present position is said to be precisely as
stated in the following sentence, extracted from his annual message to Con
gress:
"We have remained faithful to the precept of avoiding entangling alliance*
as to affairs not of our concern. Had circumstances suggested that the parties
to the quarrel would have welcomed any kindly expression of the hope of the
American people that war might be averted, good offices would have been
gladly tendered."
It will be noted that the keynote of the President's statement may be found
in the plural, form he uses; the invitation to mediate must come from botli
parties; a single invitation is not a sufficient warrant for Interference In bis
' view. - * . . •
Belief Even in London That
Cronje Has Been More Suc
cessful Than Pursuers.
LONDON. Feb. 22. 4a. m.— Lord Roberts' list of forty-nine killed and wound
ed officers, including two generals, in the engagements up to Sunday even
ing causes anxiety, especially as in the officers' list neither the losses of the
Welsh and Essex' regiments nor those of the Mounted Infantry are includ
ed. This is about the number that fell at Colenso, where the non-commis
eio&ed officers and men brought the total losses to SOO.
It is considered strange that when tending his casualties Lord Roberts gives
no information as to the result of the fighting. If he cent such a report the War
Office is withholding it. Moreover, nothing Is known as to what took place on
Monday. Tuesday and yesterday. The absence of details from Lord Roberts 1 dis
patch, contrasted with his rather full narratives during the first part of his op
erations, produces uneasiness among military observers.
All the comment In the morning newspapers, both editorial and critical, is
threaded with the disturbing suggestion that despite hard fighting General
Cronje has been able to beat off his pursuers, has escaped and is being reinforced
by rail from Ladysmith and by forces on foot and horseback from Northern Cape
Colony as well as the late beleaguered of Klmberley.
As the correspondents with Lord Roberta are silent the telegrams from Boer
sources receive some countenance. The latter aver that Cronje, while the British
were endeavoring to surround him between Paardeberg and Koodosrand. re
ceived reinforcements under De Wet and that together the Boer commanders
fought the British to a standstill. .
However all this may be, public opinion here will not be reassured until the
War Office issues' explicit statements of successes, which, of course, would clear
away the gathering doubts respecting the uninterrupted success of Lord Roberta*
forward movement.
No one doubts his ultimate success, but there is a fear of temporary disap
pointment and that a lot of hard fighting is yet ahead of the British.
The latest report regarding General Buller circulated in the House of Com
mons last evening was that an agent of the De Beers Company had received a
cablegram from Cape Town, which must have passed the censor, to the effect
that General Barton's Fusilier Brigade had reached the hills commanding Lady
emith. Quite apart from this, however, and from every other rumor, the early
relief of the beleaguered garrison Is thought inevitable.
Conflicting Reports From the Scenes of War in South Africa
Received, but the Free State Forces Claim to Be
Standing Off the- British.
ROBERTS EXPECTS T O CAPTURE CRONJE.
BULLER WITHIM SIGHT OF LADYSMITH.
VOLUME" LIOCJitTI— X O. $ 84.
SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1900.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL
[Special Cable to the New York Herald. Copyrighted. 1900. by the New York Herald Company. Republication of this
dispatch Is prohibited. All rights reserved in the United States and Great Britain.]
LONDON, Feb. 22.— The Dally Mail published this dispatch
from its special correspondent:
PIETERMARITZBURG, Feb. 2!. T The collapse of the Boers
on the Tugela appears to be complete In the trenches of two
captured camps large quantities of ammunition and stores
were found, which points to a hurried flight. Ladysmith is
now in sight of our front.
The War Office has received the following from General
BuIIer:
"CHIEVELEY CAMP, Wednesday.— The Fifth Division
crossed the Tugela to-day by pontoon and drove back the
enemy's rear guard, our naval twelve-pounder silencing all
the enemy's £uns."
[Special Cable to the New York Hera Id. Copyrighted. 1900. by the New York
Herald Company. Republicatlon of this dispatch is prohibited. All rights
reserved in the United States and Great Britain.]
LONDON, Feb. 22.— This dispatch fron)
its special correspoodent is published by the
Daily Mail :
CAPE TOWN (Wednesday), Feb. 21.— T^e
correspondent of the Cape Argus, telegraph
ing from Paardeberg, says General Cronje is
surrounded. Shelling and musketry fire are
proceeding. The enemy is stubbornly re
sisting. Tbe British expect to capture
Cronje's wrjole force.