from their position, place, or power, and punishment of the most drastic
kind should follow speedily in the footsteps of impeachment.

The failure of General Buller to relieve Ladysmith was not due to any want
of sagacity on the part of that General. It was not due to any want of
bravery on the part of his troops. The General is worthy of his rank, and
worthy of the confidence of the nation, and his troops are as good as the
men who, under the same flag, taught the Russians to respect the power of
Britain. The cause of the failure lay mainly in the want of knowledge on
our part concerning the strength of the country the Boers held, and the
strength of the country they had to fall back upon when hard pressed.

That information the "Intelligence" Department ought to have been able to
place in the hands of General Buller before he moved forward to the relief
of the beleaguered garrison in Ladysmith. But they could not give what they
had never possessed.

Right up to the present moment, when the Boers have been forced to meet our
troops at close quarters, they have been found to possess no other arms
than the rifle. This has given truth to the belief that the enemy as an
attacking force is next door to useless, as no men, no matter how brave and
determined, could do very much damage to first-class troops armed with the
bayonet.

However, there is a whisper in the air that the Boers are not deficient in
side-arms; it is rumoured that the President of the Boer Republic has
immense supplies of offensive as well as defensive weapons safely placed
away until they may be required Right up to date his war policy has been to
remain passive, excepting in a few isolated positions, allowing the British
to attack his generals in almost impregnable positions, and by so doing put