After Lord Methuen's unsuccessful attack, on the 11th of December, upon the Boer positions at Spytfontein and Magersfontein, which bar his advance to the relief of Kimberly, the main body of the British force was withdrawn to the camp on the Modder River, the Boers also remaining in their strongly fortified position on the ridge of hills, the western portion of which are at Spytfontein and the eastern portion at Magersfontein. The Boers have also occupied the kopjes on the west of the railway line, and are in force at Jacobsdal. On Friday, Dec. 15th, Lord Methuen moved out of his camp on the Modder River with one brigade, supported by artillery, reconnoitered the Boer position and shelled it, dismantling one of the guns and retiring without loss. The Boer force on the Spytfontein-Magersfontein line is estimated at 20,000.-From the London Graphic.

The columns of Generals Gatacre and French are operating on the lines of railway which run from East London and Port Elizabeth in a general northwesterly direction to the Orange River, which forms the southern boundary of the Orange Free State. General Gatacre, after his severe check at Stormberg on Dec. 10, 1899, fell back upon Sterkstroom and then further back upon Putterskraal. Meanwhile General French, with his little column of cavalry and horse artillery, has pushed on to Arundel, near Colesberg, on the Port Elizabeth line, a point nearly fifty miles further north than Gatacre, and seems to be able to hold his own. General French is also practically covering Lord Methuen's line of communications on that flank.-From the London Graphic.

The petitioners asked for one year. Representatives of the railway employes who appeared at the hearing practically united in conceding that some further extension of time ought to be granted, but expressed various opinions as to the length of the extenSome thought the whole year should be given, some that from four to six months,

sion.

AND FRENCH.

ficient. It is evident to us, upon the showing made, that some extension must be granted. The difficult question is to determine the length of that extension.

There is

one consideration Negligence. which leads us to proceed with great caution in extending

by the Commission of its own motion, have developed the fact that these automatic couplers, and the attachments designed to render them automatic, although placed upon the cars, are not always kept in such condition that they couple or uncouple automatically. They are often suffered to remain out of repair, so that it is necessary for brakemen to go between the cars for the purpose of coupling or uncoupling. It constantly happens, too, that they are used in connection with the old-fashioned link-andpin coupler, and it is an undoubted fact that when what ought to be an automatic coupler ceases to be such, or when it is used in connection with the link-and-pin coupler, the hazard to the trainman is greater than it would be were all cars equipped with the linkand-pin, Now, the prohibition of the law is against the using in inter-state commerce of any car which will not couple and uncouple without the necessity of the employe going between the ends of the cars. Until all cars, practically, are equipped with such couplers, and until those couplers are kept in repair, it is manifest that those which are placed upon the cars are a menace rather than a protection to the men.

During the year ending July 1, 1898, 279 persons were killed and 6,988 persons were injured in the coupling and uncoupling of cars. The theory of the act was that the use of these automatic appliances would very materially reduce the number of casualties resulting from this source. Without expressing any opinion whether this will or will not be the result, we are bound to assume in the consideration of this question that Congress was right in its opinion. The protection which Congress intended to give these railroad employes is not actually available in any degree until the terms of the act become operative. When it is remembered that too long an extension of this time may result in the unnecessary loss of life and limb, it is impossible to avoid the feeling that if error is to be made it should be upon the side of humanity and not upon the side of mere convenience.

*

*

General Buller, moving from his headquarters at Chieveley, about four miles south of Colenso, attempted on Friday, Dec. 15th. the passage of the Tugela River by the two drifts, or fords, one above and the other below Colenso, the drifts being about two miles apart. General Hart's brigade attacked the left or upper drift; General Hildyard's the ower or right drift; while General Lyttleton was in the center, between the two. The attack on both the drifts failed, and the artillery, approaching too close to the river, were put out of aotion, almost all the horses having been shot down by the Boers. Ten guns were abandoned, and one destroyed. General Buller drew off the troops and retired to his camp at Chieveley. From the London Graphic.

BLACK KILL

DEWDROP

TOGEL

CHIEVELEY BULLER'S H®Q”

Klip R

almost exclusively within the State, and they haul inter-state traffic, if at all, in the cars of other companies.

*

It has seemed to us, as herein before indicated, that by June 1, 1900, the principal operating roads of this country will have substantially completed, or may have subtantially completed, without undue inconvenience to the public or any greater diligence upon their own part than ought to be used under the circumstances, their equip ment. The carriers earnestly insist, however, that this cannot be done within that

time. They may have a more adequate knowledge of the situation than we have, and it is possible that many facts bearing upon this were not fully developed upon the hearing. We must assume that they are acting in good faith, and, on the whole, we have concluded to add two months to that date, and to extend this time until August 1, 1900. Order: Upon the facts and considerations above set forth, it is ordered —

First. That the period within which the petitioning carriers before mentioned shall comply with the provisions of Sections 1

and 2 of the act of March 2, 1893, be, and the same is hereby, further extended for seven months from January 1, 1900; that is to say, until August 1, 1900.

Second. That the said extension of seven months from January 1, 1900, be, and the same is hereby, granted to all other common carriers engaged in interstate commerce by railroad within the United States.

When Reaction Sets In. When on a trip to Eastern cities during the first days of December last, on advertising business, the writer was impressed with the magnitude of the present "wave of prosperity." On every hand every manufacturing concern seemed to be "rushed to death," as they put it, "with orders." On one occasion the question was asked of a gentleman, well informed in manufacturing matters, what he thought the outcome would be.

He immediately became serious and remarked that he feared that business men were practicing a "suicidal policy." He said that perhaps half of the

capital of the country was not directly invested by its owners; that a large part of the business in the West and South was conducted on borrowed capital. Merchants usually did a business far beyond their own capital, and the same could be said of many other lines.

When the present wave of prosperity struck the country the first impulse of everybody was to buy, and the demand was so great that producers were not able to supply the demand. The ironproducers and all other producers, took advantage of this excess of demand over supply and are now reaping enormous profits, at the expense of the people.

This policy was suicidal, because it invited ill-judged competition," he said. The Eastern money centers were besieged by "promoters of every imaginable enterprise, all guaranteeing enormous profits to investors." Old, grey-haired men who had retired from business for years had again become enthused, and are now calling in their loans, made through "trust" companies and other similar channels in the South and West. One of the results of this calling in of loans was the crippling of business heretofore done on borrowed capital.

This policy was suicidal because the profits now being made had caused enormous investments in lines of business producing these profits. Men who have retired from business, content to spend their remaining days in leisure, learning from their neighbors what is now being made in manufactures, have called in their capital, in some instances hypothecating (pawning) their securities in order to raise money, and are again going into business.

He said that in some lines of manufacturing, orders for machinery were now placed which, when completed and

"American competition is no longer heard of in this country," says the British Trade Journal. The great boom' in the States has not merely stopped the sending of American steel, iron and finished goods to this country it has caused American firms to come over here to buy raw material. At the same time, they are so busy supplying the needs of their own country that they have almost ceased to be rivals for orders in Canada, Australia and other colonial markets. The result has been the receipt of

heavy orders from Canada-in particular for steel which at one time would have been supplied from the States. Manufacturers who look ahead are wondering what will happen when the American power of production has overtaken American require

ments and American firms begin again to look round for markets as dumping grounds for their surplus output. Then the 'slump' will begin, for we on this side have also been enlarging old works and building new ones, which, when the tide turns, as it is sure to do, may be 'white elephants' on their owners' hands. Sanguine souls, who refuse to believe that evil days will follow the good ones, laugh at their machinery being idle in a year or two. Meanwhile the laugh is with them, for there is more work than workers, and orders pour in unsought."

There is a world of good sense in the fore

Hours of Railroad Labor in France.

From the Labor Gazette of London it is learned that three ministerial decrees were issued in November regulating the hours of labor of railway employes on the main railway systems of France. Two of the decrees are dated November 4th, and relate to the hours of locomotive engineers, firemen and other trainmen, while the third, dated November 23d, relates to station men. 1. Engineers and Firemen. these classes the working day must contain, on the average, not more than ten hours of actual duty and not less than ten hours of continuous rest, so that in

For

every period of ten consecutive days there shall not be contained more than 100 hours of actual duty, or less than 100 hours of continuous rest. Each spell of duty must occur between two periods of continuous rest separated by an interval of not more than seventeen hours. By continuous rest" is meant freedom from duty during at least ten consecutive hours spent at home, or seven away from home. Not more than two periods of continuous rest of less than ten hours each may occur in succession, nor may the duration of any two successive periods of such rest amount in the aggregate to less than seventeen hours. A period of contin