Show BOER AND BRITISH ARMES closely watching each other and simply indulging in outpost fights in which honors are even gen roberts will take his main force through the he central part n of south africa while the boers are engaged near Lady ladysmith smith and kimberley favorable news from ladysmith Lady smith strong defensive Defens lye positions of Jou berts army london dec 28 the latest independent news from lAdy ladysmith smith says tho field fortifications would now withstand any organized attack the enemy is likely to deliver thero there arc are sufficient foodstuffs tor for two months the tho question ot of forage might be troublesome but since tho the rains there has been some grazing within the lines there is no horse sickness the casualties caused by our shell fire are increasing and the boers are reported to bo be becoming net nervous they fear night sorties corties sor ties and constantly open a heavy fusillade on an imaginary attach s the german officials have promptly stopped the boera boers from recruiting in Da maraland neither men nor horses borses are permitted to cross the border the war office has repeated the experiment peri ment of supplying the country with a brief summary of news from the seat of war apart from the casualty lists while the si tuition tua tion is reported to be unchanged gen Gat acres motive in occupying dordrecht Dord recht la Is disclosed as a desire to reopen communication wit with h the indge colliers and general methuen acne as force Is shown to be vigilantly watching the enemy and reconnoiter ing his lines with mounted infantry the boer force beyond the tho modder odder Nl river Is also reported to bo be increasing and the queens message has been received by the sold soldiers icis with groat great enthusiasm thusia sm thia this news Is of greater value than the belated dispatches from both gatacre and methuen received from special correspondents F from rom bullers headquarters there Is no official news but there are lively ac counts of 0 outpost skirmishes in front of colenso in which the bocra boers killed two men one day and the british tw men the next day one surprise following the other like a roland for an oliver the outpost affairs bring out the high utility of the natal mounted force the value of which has beelat been at last appreciated by the british generals tor for the work of scouting from cape town comes a record that battalions ot of infantry ar are going on to durban and that a serious dutch I 1 conspiracy bs during the holidays durban natal dec me 27 wednesday daya A apman farmer named mamed stuck 4 et and rev mr II Il arles director of the hanoverian missions in natal havo have been arrested at estcourt Esto ourt on a charge of aiding the boers dom they both claim protection of germany |