Show I TTAT A DESPERATE BATTLE I British Lose One Httndrcd and Nino I Men Killed and Wounded I London Dec 30 Advices from Pretoria Pre-toria under date of Wednesday December Decem-ber 27th say that an ofllclal dispatch from Matching announces that in the I sortIe which the British made from that place December 25th attacking one oC I the Boer forts with cannon Maxima and an armored train so persistently that the fighting raged up to the walls of the fort the British lost 109 killed i and wounded while the Boer only lost j two men killed and seven wounded The dlspavch adds that Capte Kirk wood and Grenfcll were captured by I Boers scouts near Cole < and were being sent to Pretoria MAY SACRIFICE KIMBERLEY The Impression continues to gain ground that Gen Duller and his subordinates I subor-dinates have been instructed to under I j take no Important I movement until the arrival of len Koberts and that lob j crtK will amalgamate the guns under Gens Gntacrc Warren and rcnch I I subsequently marching upon Bloenuon teln to capture that place and draw off I I the Boers from Lady smith To acm i 1lish this it s believed that Kimber I j ley and MaCeklu may be sacrificed I i I Whether Gen Culler will acquiesce in this arrangement is seriously doubted I I I doubt-ed by many who know him and they are rather Inclined to believe he will I I attempt to emulate Gen Gourgh who under similar clieuniHtancea retrieved 1 I bis reveises In India while Sir Charles Napier him was coming out to supersede hmSORTIE SORTIE UNCONFIRMED The reported sortie from Ladysmlth resulting In the capture of a Boer position posi-tion Is l not confirmed and apparently I Is only a Kathy story A Chleveley dispatch dated Friday December 29th I m kos no mention ofIt The same message shows renewed activity on the part of the British apparently preparatory I prepara-tory to some action The Boer position eastward of the camp was thoroughly recon tioltered December 2Sth without drawing the enemy The naval guns engaged In dally practlcs and It Is said on good authority that thirty or forty Boer have been killed by the firing during two days TO RELIEVE LADYSM1TH that A dispatch from Durban predicts Ladysmlth will be relieved on or about January 7th While there Is nothing to bear out this forecast there is some disposition dis-position to believe Gen liuller is preparing pre-paring another attempt to advance this time by an attack on the Boer position po-sition on Innlawc mountain SEASONS GREETING Ten unloaded shells Inscribed These The-se ons greeting have been fired at Ladysmlth Ten South African medical medi-cal students from Edlhbnrgh have arrived I ar-rived at Pretoria from Delagoa bay l with five tons of nledical 1 stores A dispatch from the Boer camp at Modder river dated Thursday December Decem-ber 28th reports an artillery duel last Ing an hour December 27th a British reconnoitering party made a sortie but did not come within the Boer range The British on December 28th commenced com-menced a steady bombardment of the Boer position REPEL A BOER ATTACK The troops In the British camp of Victoria West turned out last Anight to i repel an attempt of Jhe > Boers to cut ofteBoet therallroad near tThfat1on4Apatrol reported early in theevening that they had sighted the Boers In the neighborhood neighbor-hood At 10 oclock at night the Boers opened a heavy fire near the station The British replied and the Boers retired I re-tired at daybreak their attempt having turned out a failure i |