OCR Text |
Show Lord tfoberts JIttbcTront London, Jan. 11. During the interlude inter-lude of apparent military inactivity and official secrecy, Lord Roberts and Lord Kitchener have arrived at Cape Town. It is assumed that their clear vision, supported by 30,000 fresh men, Mho are due to arrive in South Africa M-ithin thirty days, will alter the situation, sit-uation, and that the fourth month of the campaign Mill witness the beginning begin-ning of victories for the British arms. They are not, however, expected to produce definite results for some days, but their mere presence M-ill restore the shaken confidence of the men. at the front in their generals. Lord Roberts finds 120.000 men on the defensive or M-atching for an opening. open-ing. Lord Methuen's health, according to the Daily Mail, has broken down, and the field marshal may relieve him. Possibly some others M-ill be relieved of important commands. There is certainly plenty of rank in evidence in South Africa. In addition to the field marshal there are two full generals, four lieutenant generals and twelve or fourteen major generals. Fear News From Ladysmith. There is an uneasy suspicion that when Ladysmith casualties are announced an-nounced they will be disheartening and will partly destroy the patriotic glow produced by General White's victory. The list of victims of disease issued by the Mar office gives twenty-two deaths from entric fever and dysentery in Ladysmith in four days, revealing the fact that the besieged are existing among bad sanitary conditions. The Standard summarizes the general gen-eral situation thus:- "Well, the campaign cam-paign has lasted three months. We have something like 120.000 troops in South Africa. With this1 huge army distributed over the country M-e are still poMerless to relieve three garrisons garri-sons from investment. We have still to see large portions of both colonies in the hands of the enemy. "We have driven the invaders back at no single point. We are actually further from the hostile frontiers than M-e M-ere on the day that the ultimatum. M-as delivered. The M-ork Mhich ministers min-isters believed could be effectually performed per-formed Mith 25,000 men has not been done, has not even been begun, by four or five times that number. Can anyone any-one fail to admit that this is evidence of a grave miscalculation of forces and facts?" |