BRITAIN’S PREPARATIONS FOR THE WAR. AN ENORMOUS ARMY. London, Feb. 2. Daring the debate on the Address in-Reply in the House of Commons on Thursday night, the Hon. George Wyndham, Parliamentary Secretary of the War Office, stated that by the middle of February there would be 180,600 British troops in South Africa, including 7073 Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians, and 28,000 Natal and Cape men. The total number of mounted troops would be 87,800. There would also be 452 guns, 110 of the number being heavy guns, and the rest field pieces. The Boers had 60,000 men and 110 guns prior to the ultimatum pre sented on October 10th to the Im perial Government. Mr Wyndham went on to declare that General Buller had expressed himself satisfied with the proportion of cavalry arranged for, but in order to gratify the splendid patriotism of the colonies, Great Britain would give the colonial troops an immedi ate place'at the front. The colonial Governments had been invited to send manageable units of one hundred and twenty-five men.
The Government’s desire was, said the speaker, to meet the wishes of the colonies, whose Legislatures had accepted the recent military disap pointments in a way that others nearer home might have imitated. He admitted that the maps at the disposal of the generals did not in clude the territory between Lady smith and Tugela, but he promised to supply early military reports. Sir Edward Grey, M.P. for Ber wick-on-Tweed, denied that the as sistance of the Opposition to the Go vernment would cease with the ex pulsion of the invaders from British territory. The debate would have, collapsed, only tha Whips had arranged to take a division on Tuesday.
Pongaroa.
