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hHB SUMTER WATCHMAN, Established April, 1850. "Be Just and Fear not-Let all the Ends thou Aims't at, be thy Country's, thy God's and Truth's." THE TRUE SOUTHRON, Established June, is<>6 Consolidated Aug. 2,1881. ? Published, 27017 "ETe&iss?ay, CS-. O^teen SUMTER, S. C. leans : &?.50 per anoaai-in advance. ADVERTI3SMSKT: OBO Square first insertion.Si 00 ! Xvery subsequent insertion...... 50 i Contracts for three months, or longer wi! be made at reduced rates. AU commun icatione which subserve private j interests will be charged foras ad versements. I Obituaries and tributes of respects will be ! charged for. THE WAR IN AFRICA. The Boars Concertratiog For a Last Stand in Defence of Their Homes. London, March T. 410 a m - Lord Roberts still pauses in the neighborhood of Osfontein, while stores, remounts and fresh troops stream toward him from the Cape The British position also continues to improve in the minor sphres- of the campaign Natal is clear of Boers and Cape Colony is nearly so The Boers seemingly are pursuing the course commended by the j strategists and are concentrating to resist the British wain army. Varions messages from correspond? ents with Lord Roberts report that the enemy are increasing continually on his front, extending, as one cor? respondent wires, eight miles, and, as another says. 18 milts Tue lowest estimate of their number gives the Boers from 8,000 to 10,000 men, with similar bodies moving j north and south of the British lines Each army is on both sides of the j Modder river Although the Boers j have monnted eight guns on the tops of kopjes and appear to be too far away for inspection, the British scoots report that they are dilligent ly using pick and shovel Military opinion is that their pres ent position merely screens more .easily defended one3 deeper in the j region. It is suggested that Lord Roberts is quite willing to give the Boers time to assemble all their men io order to deliver a smashing blow effectively Tbs round robin in favor of the an negation of the Transvaal and the Free State, which is being promoted' among the supporters of the govern ment in the house of commons, con? tinues to receive signatures The sigoatorie? of the memorial to Mr Balfour aSrm that the time has ar rived for plain speaking inside and outside the parliament, and that Lord Salisbury's words are bei'?g construed into a pledge against annexation a::c Lord Roberts' proclamation into a promise of no confiscation of Boer property The Transvaal agency at Brussels threatens a rising of the Cape Dutch in the event of annexation, though why the Dutch should rise then rather than now is not explained DUTCH IN REBELLION Cape Town March 6 -Nearly the whole cf the Dutch population cf the Prieska and Kenhardt districts are in rebellion. Many of the Dutch from neighboring districts are reported to have joined them, notably Piet Mool man who will lead the iebe!s to Brandbles Lucas Steinkarr.p, com raanding the Boers, is reported march ing on Carnavron Ii is believed thal Gorcinia ana Victoria West will rise It is thought that the total number of men in arms wi ii exceed three thousand. The general opinion of loyalists is that a strong force o? rJrit isb will be required as a reverse would spread the rebellion 800 CASES OF TYPHOID AT LADYSMITH. Locdoo, March 6, 9 05 p ra.-The possession or Stormberg puts Gen Gatacre in railroad communication with Geo Clements at Coleebprg, fur though thc Boers partially wrecked the railroad it is uoderstond tb*t if caD br quickly repaired aod thus the entrance of adduiooal British troops ioto tbc Free State will be greatly facilitated The posifioD gained by G<*o Brabant at Dordrecht ig reported to be exceed iogly stroog. Accordion to Tbe Times correspondent, the Boer num? bers aiooe enable them to retreat from Dordreobr, practically unhindered He also reporta a violation of the white 8ig by the Boors and that they deliberately fired, at close range, oo a stretcher party Gen White's garrisoo bas begoo to leave Ladysmith aod is arriviog at the Mooi river camp, where the troops will remain several days, after wbiob they will go farther sooth. Tb*y are ema ciated and exhausted aod say the road to Coleoso preseot* sceoes that exoped ID horror those depicted io Dante's "Inferno." Dead men and animals are tveocbes formerly occupied by rh Boers ano ii i the air v-'ii a sickening stench io c?ss> whera berried buna bad boen attempted tbe rains havj siushei the earth away au I ou* of rbe e*rth sriek ghastly legs aDQ arms o burchers. ? dispatch from Osfoateio says thai accordion ta t?fl B^r prisooers aoo:b r important Brins!- suer":ss wili cause President Suyo to fl ?e te Pretoria, leaving a provisional government at Bloemfontein, which ts likely to make peace overtures, those Free Starers not wishing for peace treking into tbe Traosvasl and there he?pios to make a stand wbioh most of tbe British military critics now point our will const^ute the most diificult and decid? ing feature of tba war Surgeon Trevrs cables from Ladysmith that the oondi rion of the towo is most deplorable and that there are 800 cases of typhoid fever Lavish supplies of comforts are DOW in the place, however. THE BOERS BEATEN AT SEVERAL POINTS. Osfontein, March 7 -Lord Robert?' force advanced early this morning Gen French turned the southern part of the position of the Boers who fled leaving guns, immense quantities of for3<re and tents He is now in pursuit The Boers on the north bank are aiso evacuating the position London, March 7 -Field Marsha; Lord Roberts has telegraphed as fol iows : * Osfontein, March 7, 4 30 p m - Our operations today promise to be a success The enemy occupied a post lion four miles north and ll miles south of Modder river I placed Gen Colville's divsion on the north bank and Gen Kelly Kenny's and Tucker's divisions, with cavairy on the south bank The cavalry di vi ! sion succeeded in turning the enemy's left fl*nk, opening a road for the Sixth division, which is advancing without having been obliged to fire a shot up to the present time The enemy are in fuil retreat towards the ( north and east They are being i closely followed by cavairy, horse i artillery and mounted infantrv while j Tucker's Seventh division. (Joiviile76 ! Ninth division and the Guards' j brigade under Pole (Jarew are mak j ing their way across the river at j Popuiar's drift, where I propose j to place my headquarters this ever; . Our ca?U3!Ues will, I trust, be ; few as tue enemy were quite unpre ! par^d for being attacked by the flank I and having their communications ! with Bloemfontein threaded j Midnight-The war ofllce bas ju'-t i posted the following advices from j Lord Robert-: "Popular Grove, i Wednesday, March 7, Evening-We j had a very successful day and have j completely routed the enemy who I are in fuil retreat "The position which they occupied is extremely strong and cunniugly arranged with a second line of en? trenchments which would have cans ed us heavy loss had a direct attack been made ' The turning movement was nec? essarily wide, owing to the nature of the ground and the cavalry and horse artillery horses are much done up j "The fighting was practically con . lined to the cavalry division, which j as usual, did exceedingly weil, and Gen French reports tbat the horse artillery batteries did great execution among the enemy I "Our casualties were about 50 1 I regret to say that Li^ut Keswick was ki:ied arsd Lieut Bailey was severeiv wounded, both of the Twelfth Lancers Lieut De Craspigny of the Second Mfe Guard?, were severely wounded Remaining casualties will j be telegraphed tomorrow j Gens Dewet and Delarey com ! manded the Boer forces " DUTCH RISING TN CAPE COL ON Y London. March 8 -Lord Roberts wired yesterday morning from Osfon tein and again from Poplar Grovp, 14 I miles eastward By an application I of the elementary principle of strate j gy the Boer position, 15 'miles long j across his path, have been emptied i and their holders have been obliged to retire in confusion consequent upon hasty withdrawal Nothing wa? done by Lord Roberts i to disturb the symmetry, the deadly j ingenuity, of the Boer trenches in j front of him ile marched out in j fantry estimated, from the commands i named, at 30,000 men. and sent 10, i 000 horsemen and horse artillery in a bold sweep around the Boer left, whereupon the Boer centre and right became untenable. Fifty British fell whpn the cavalry came into contact with the Boers The correspondents differ as to the enemy's strength The Daily Mail's representative thinks the Boeri num ber s .mething more than 4,001?. The Daily News man estimates them at 10,000 As these figarea come from observer? at headquarters it is clear that Lord Roberts was overwhelm ingij superior He can scarcely have fewer than 45.000 immediate ly available, ns the Guards' brigade reached him from Lord Methuen j Tuesday Lord Methuen now commands only ; volunteers and the local forces at Kimberley, some of whom have gone toward Mafeking The Boers do not yet appear to appreciate the mobility of Lord Rob eris' corps, which was able to strike so swiftly in this affair that the enemy , had to abandon a gun, much forage and a large quantity of camp equip ment The Standard cautions Englishmen 8gainst "rising io a height of serene contentment which the actual posi? tions does not justify " It suggests that a large nombcr of the Boers are still in a wide range of country and although their morale is somewhat damaged, it would be too much to say that they will not stand again The Dutch risings in the north? western districts of Cape Colony are the only cloudlets visible in the sky of British prospects The military authorities have de j cided that Gen Cronje and the other j Boer prisoners shall be sent immedi ! ately to the island of St Helena, : there to remain until the end of the ! war ! Lord Roberts has chosen Lord i Bathurst, colonel of s militia regi I ment at the front, to command the ! escort to St Helena, which was last ? month placed in cable communication ! with Cape Town and London It is j also asserted that the cabinet has ; resolved neither to propose nor to j entertain a proposal at the present ! juncture for an exchange of prison j ers BULLER'S LOSSES j London, March T -Another list of . casualties sustained by Gen Buller's j forces from Feb 14 to Feb 27 shows: j Killed 123; wounded. 5T3 ; miss i ing, 54 Of these the iosses of the j Inniskillings were as follows : Killed, ?54; wounded, 162; missing, 22 I Dublin Fusiliers : Killed, 15 ; wound j ed, 97; missing. 18 Coonaogrhi I Ringers: Killed. 19 ; wounded, 105 ; i missing, S Royal Irish Fusiliers : j Killed, Il ; wounded, 63 ; missing, j 2 Scots Fusiliers : Killed. 18 i i wounded 63 j With the list of casualties issued ! Monday, this make? the total cost to j.the rank and fi'e in rhe final fight of ; Ladysmith 1,859 men . BOERS EXPLAIN RETREAT I Poor Camp. Bigjsrsherg, Saturrhv, . M ireh 3 -Tb* fed-Tais have fal lon ! back on the Bigirarfherg chain that I crosses Natal pouf h cf Dundee The retreat from Ladysmith was due to the mistake of a certain commandant io ordering his men to retire from the key ot the position without acy reason for the move Oo the receipt of the bad news from the Modder river Wednesday it was resolved to send the wagons baok io Biggarsberg. and soon long strings of wagons lined the road." Over a thou sand wagons took the westerly route to j the laager southwest of Ladysmith ! Another convoy wa? seat to the foot ct i *he Drakensberg. A largo r.umbcr of j tints captured from thc British a* ? Dundee and ali-o tbe ammunition were I ab?indorjed Ttr* chief difficulty r?as j in dismounting **Losg Tom." INDEPENDENT OF RAILROADS. The Rjcrs were independent of thc railroad, A9 showo hy rho fact that *iot one of their two thousand wagons j went by rail. Al! traveled by road, j together with tho firdd batteries O?ly j heavy guns, the infantry and wounded went by rai! "When the last try in bad ?eft Elands laagte, a workmen's train followed, carefully blowing np every bridge and culvert between Ladysmith and Glen coe and wheo this bad been done, set ting fire to the Elaodslaagfe colleries. Thus thc British with Natal's southern? most colleries in their hands, are unable to draw supplies therefrom. Uoder cover of the night and with tho collieries sending lurid flames to beaven, the bullock wagoDs wouod over the hills, makiog roads where none before existed, and the four months' 6iege of Ladysmith was raised. * It is impoesible as yet to give the burgher casualties owing to the Hisor ganizatioo of ambulance aod the cir? cumstances of the retreat " Cape Town. March 7.-An official notifioatioD has been issued that rho t^ioenstowo proclamation of Feb 22 regarding oertain terms offered tho re be's by Gen Brabant in event of their surrender, ha? been withdrawn, but these io arms agains? England may return to t Fi ? ir farms upon surrendering their weapons, receiving a pass, but they are liable to bc called to account Driven B?,clt By Lord <;rt;i cn a?i Points. Rob London, March 9, 4.15 a rr.-The Boera appear :'< save made n> -"faed whatever, except th a s while io rorrea* they twice repulsed General French's c^^al'? wfh nfij fire Tbo o:!'5r:-y probably 20t aw^y wi'h their 'inrirrt force G?nerai French is f-tiii 'oilcw ing them and keeping between tb^m and Bloemfontein. The evacuation of the northern districts of Cape Colony is now com? plete. The British are io possession of the railroad crossings Col Baden Poweii at Mafekiog seems to be io grave need of outside help. Otherwise be would oot allow the correspondents to send out information respecting tbe distress of tbe garrison A readjustment of some of the higher commands is takiog piaoe. ; General White is to go to Stormberg to I take supreme oommand of General i Gatacre's division and the British Tenth divisiont now ?D process of formation, which will be uoder the immediate command of General Hunter, Sir George White's chief of staff Tbe Daily News makes the followiog editorial annooncement : **It was rumored io London yesterday-and we have some reason for believing the rumor to be correct-that tbe two republics made informal and unofficial overtures of peace on the preceding cay. . "Tjafortuna:sly the conditions were cf such a character as to preclude the possibility of 'leading to any result Terms which migh' have been gladly accepted before the war, in order to ; avert it. are impassible after the war. ! with ali the sacrifices it has entailed." i WEDNESDAY'S OPERATIONS. I Ostoateia. March 7 -Lord Roberts' movement, today again thoroughly sur I prised, outwitted and outmanoeavred j rhe Boers, who fhd aimes*, without I firing a shot The plan of battle was j as follows : General Colvilie's division j "Steaded along tho north bank ; Geoeral Tucker held the centre reeerve and the Guards brigade bai th?1 centre j advanced. Geoeral Kelly Kenny's i division was ordered to make a huge i ! Sinking movement, on the B"~rs left. I fo lowing General French, who wss in?truct,cd to move southeast until opposite the Boer flank and then to : swing around the rear ! ''Every mevcraett was admirably executed and entirely successful. The i B --ers .sere surprised as wo.:; evident I from the state of rho c!e-*er*od cami): I Twice 'bc British cavalry were almost j in ii position to charge bur. ency ad mt? ! ?hat the? wore foiled bv fl:e r^aooeu ; -nog or ene Beers *4When last seen General French i was pursuing the enemy vigorously j He was between them ana Bloemfoo j tein, about 11. miie- from the right j Wing 'General Colville merely demon? strated acainsr a big*: mcuota:o occupied by the Transvaal troops who arc now fleeing, io consequence of thc flight of the Free Starers south of the riv?r It iimpossible at present, to give the Boer numbers, but it is estimated that they reach 14.000, all of whom ere now in flight The Ninth Lancers attempted to get dose to the Boers' riga?, with the object of charging, but the Boers came out io great force and the Lancers were compelled to retire A bittery was then cent forward to hold the enemy io cr>ck, while the Grahams town volunteers and a rempanv of i mounted infantry, t unsorted by another i br.rtcrv, eoza-zed rho Boers on their i right S mk ! Thc B^crs fired she:!, fafling short, j however, and they inzds a stubborn (defense on ibo kopje on our rigor, enfilading the battery ond killing IS the battery hors:". The mounted i infantry gradually rr pe; i ed tho Boors j and the battery rh-n took position and I ospelied 'hem from their iaager m \ confusion. The Bo^r* held a strong position on j the north back of the river but the ?flight from the southern bank com pilled them to rerreat They showed great adroitness in geftiog away the wagons and displayed a bold froot while tbe rest- of the force was busy io spanning. General French's division consisted of three brigades of cavalry, two of I mounted infantry and seven hor.?e ! batteries PRESIDENT KRUGER'S SPEECH Pretoria, March 6 -A special dis patch from Bloemfontein says that President Kruger addressing; a crowd of people said : ''Although God is testing our people, my personal opin ion is that the limit of the test is nearly reached If the people are sustained by faith in the time of ad?; versify God will soon again turn the tide in our favor If we have strong faith in God he will surely deliver us. The God of deliverance of oiden time j is the same God now v The speech of ?he venerable presi? dent brought tears to the eyes of men and women alike The Free State's volklied (national anthem) was then sung. Michaei flicks Beach, chancellor of the exchequer, when explaining to ! j the bankers tn? Sorras of tho nev/ j I loan, gave them an intimation that i the government, considered the end j of the war near. "Since the esti? mates were prepared/'* he said, '.'events have taken place that have changed the situation, and probably not ail the money will be required 99 Whatever the government may know or intend, unofficial opinion seems everywhere to think that the Boer power is collapsing The Eighth division has been nnder orders to embark for several weeks, but these orders, so far as the artillery contingent is concerned, have been recalled, Lord Roberts having reported that no more artil? lery from home is necessary This is the first pause in reeoforcements since the war began. Sir Redvers Bu'.ier, second in command io the field, and Lord Wolseley are under stood also to consider that no more artillery is needed Lord Roberts bas altogether 452 guns, including siege pieces It is quite clear that Gen Builer will not try anything large in the future, as he is io lose Sir Charles I Warren and the latter's 10,000 men, j who have been ordered to join Lord j Roberts It is the expectation of the j war office that Lord Roberts, not j withstanding the necessity of garri I sonir.-g bis depots, will b^ able to j operate a constantly increasing force, ; until by the time the Transvaal fron j tier is reached he wiii have 70 000 ? troops ! His telegrams dealing with non j essentials are taken to mean that he I is up to some mischief, a3 his appa? rent inactivity usually spells uncom? mon activity j Mafeking, as a beleaguered town, attracts much sentiment and sympa ! thy Nothing has been heard from j there since Feb 19 There is a rumor this morning that Col Baden j Powell has been relieved, but this cannot be traced io any substantial j basis. ? _ i i i KRUGER AND STEYN PRESENT. j London, March 9 - -The war office j has received the fellowing dispatch j from Lord Robert? : j **P piar Grove, Friday Morning- ? : Presidents Kruger and Steyn were both present at the fLr'ni of March 7 j and did a!! in their power to rally ? [ \\:: :r tn>".p> The rout, however, was i complete, the men declaring that j ; they coo?d not stand against ?h? i ; British artillery and such a form ida- j \ ble force of cavalry.7*' ! Dispatches from Poplar Grove con- I ; firm the report*? 0f ?he complete ' ; panic of the Beor-? The Morning j j Post's correspondent says : "Presi ! dent Kruger shed tears at irs ineffee ! tuai attempts to rally the Boers who j were completely paralyzed by Lord j I Roberts' masterly tactics They were ! too demoralized to heed his expos ! tuitions and declared that the Brit ; ieh cannon were everywhere 91 I Poplar Grove, O. F S., Friday j Morning, March 9 -Gen French, ! who is 10 miles ahead, reports that ! his front ia clear of the Boers Ail j other reports tend to confirm the : eta'e disorganization of the Boer j i forces, Transvaal as weli Free State, j ! The general impression is that the I . further progress of the British to j Bloemfontein will not be opposed. ; A srreat amount of ammunition wos ! ; destroyed today This included sev- j ; oral boxes of explosive buli^ts on the j I outside of which the Boers had mark ! ! ed "manufactured for the British gov- j ! eminent '* j j KRUGER MAY TAKE COMMAND j London, Mardi 9 -The British j correspondent of the Daily Mail j says : "I learn there is dissension between President Kruger and Gen j Joubert and thar, the latter has j resigned Probably President Kruger i will assume the chief command Geri Schalburger and other prominent commandants are also likely to re? sign for similar reasons and because President Kruger ignored their ad vice to make peace overtures after the first Boer victory THREATS NOT LIKELY TO BE FULF?LDED London, March 10 -A correspond? ent oi the Daiiy Mail at Lorenzo Marques, telegraphing Thursday, S:*JB: "I am reliably informed that high officials openly avow that the British fl*g shall never 2y at J:;hir; .i"sburg Tf:e piace '.viii be rsz^d to the ground and tho mines put in rf}*din?.~? to bs electrically exploded from tbe ?ort *s occasion requires. "Most of the gold mines, except those which the gov-'rnmetitcontrol-, are in a shocking state- They are flooded and the machinery is rusting and being wilfully smashed. NO INDEPENDENCE. London, March 9-The Standard, which is closer touch with the policy of the government than any other ministerial crgan, says this morning : "We have reason to believe that an authoritative statement will shortly be made by the government reaffirm? ing tbe impos?bii?ty of conceding any terms of peace to the Boer republics which would involve a perpetuation of the political and miliary independ? ence that ?ed to the present costly and sanguinary conflict " mmt I I i -? - G A. R. Lycciiers. Fitzgerald, Ga, March 6.-At about 2 o'clock this morning a negro named B:ll Clark entered tbe borne of Mrs Sarah Baker, white, aged cearly 70 years, and committed a criminal assault upon her Mrs Baker came here from Minneapolis., Minn Nearly all the residents of the town are from the ccrrb and northwest. It was several ?ours before Mrs Baker was able to apprise her n igbbors of the outrage. The man wus captured and positively identified by his victim A?rangements were made for a iynchiag when ooier counsel prevailed for ihe time and a preliminary examination was held and Clark w?$ ordered committed to jail. Wh'ie the trial was io progrs'3 thc lynching spirit arose again and arrangements were made to hang Ciark as soon as bands could bc laid! upoo aim Learaiog of this the officers spirited him away out of a back door. The mob, made up of both Ror;hern and southern mea, ;s still looking.for him Should be be 'oend he will be hanged ? MCKINLEY EXPLAINS. Washington, March 6 -The Post i tomorrow will say : President Mc j Kinley, in a conversation with cali j ers at the A'hne House yesterday, reiterated his belief that the people I of Porto Rico were entitled to free trade with thc United States. He mace it clear that his views had undergone no change since he wrote his message to congress. He still adhered to the sentiment therein expressed At the same time he sa:<l he was unable to subscribe to the theory that the constitution followed I the fug; that the Porto Ricar.s must ? have free trade as a necessary legal I ris ht When he found that the ! House deemed it the part of wisdom, ?be president explained, to .mpose a small tariff upon condition that the revenues so collected ali be returned to the island, he bad been constrained I to yield to the judgment of the House The tariff nuder such con? ditions should be no hardship io tbe Porto Ricans Moreover, he heliev ed it advisable, at the earliest moment, to secure a decision of the Supreme Court on the constitutional question involved Therefore he had given his consent to the nominal tariff and agreed to sign such a bill He left no doubt in the minds of his callers whom he questioned closely regarding the drift cf public senti? ment, that Congress, not the Execu? tive, was responsible for tbe e'iinge oj policy rorsville. Marco. 5 -F^e? ?co-.cart, a i.ogro, shot bis wi?o, Smelioc. no a plantation two miles !*os:h of here this ?frernoon Toe woman died wt; <:'o a few minutes and rbe negro made his escape. Ic was a esse of coid bladed murd-r. t-o far as ali thc facts go to show The sheriff is now trjing to ci.ch Stewart with bloodhounds. Philadelphia, March 7 -A fire entailing an estimated loss of over ?700 OOO, occurred early today io the retail dry good district The conflagra? tion originated in the engine room of St)ceman Brothers, dry gooods, millinery store, at S:b and Arch streets. A general alarm was sounded, but all efforts to save the building were fruitless and it was levelled. Tho loss is placed at J300.000. Marks Broth? ers dry goods, adjoining, was damaged by smoke and water, and their store house was completely gutted entailing an estimated loss of $300.000. The Stooemao building was four stones and Marks'? five stories io height. I - ? . .-. |?0l/4JL POWDER ABSOLUTELY PURE Makes the food more delicious and v/holesome m ?OVAL BAKING POWDER CO., HEW YOWL A