Show ON THE INSIDE CONSUL POTT AT DELAGOA STANDS IN WITH THE BOERS london dec 29 A correspondent of the standard at lourenzo marques says delagoa bay is the residence of herr pott a hollander who is consul general for the transvaal and consi for the netherlands pott is the prin capal medium between pretoria and dr leyds sn europe he controls the netherlands railway through the transvaal and is the head oc the transvaal customs he is also head of the dutch east africa company and has the car of the portuguese governor as well as the chief of each department it Is openly asserted that potts has a private wire to the frontier and knows twenty four hours before others what is happening about him gather all tho other consuls the portuguese and the german forwarding agents it delagoa Da lagoa bay is dosca the boers will retaliate by raiding portuguese territory A dispatch to the daily mail from dated saturday december says every day reveals some fact regarding the strength of the boer position at colenso thanks to the services of continental officers the character of the campaign has changed we are no longer fighting a toe who relies upon guerrilla tactics but we have to deal with what is rapidly becoming a disciplined army enjoying the advantages of knowing the country and of selecting the scene of contest without the burdens of cumbersome commissariat the boers have converted the hills near colenso into fortresses of immense strength everywhere they have splendid trenches many of them bomb proof tramway lines permit the shifting of guns with astonishing rapidity the main positions are connected with the outlying positions by underground passages and the borts torts proper bristle with machine guns that command the approaches probably mines are laid one hears less nowadays about boer shells not bursting observers of the colenso fight say the boer shell fire was very effective this is due largely to the fact that the distances are marked off with white paint the discipline is improving the trenches represent great manual labor for which the boers have a keen dislike and the way in which they restrained their fire when our troops were advancing is another proof of improved soldiering |