§ MR. ATHERLEY-JONES (Durham, N.W.)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can state what are the approximate or estimated number of Boers and colonials and foreigners cooperating with them now bearing arms against His Majesty's forces in South Africa, and what is the total number of Boers, colonials, and foreigners now prisoners of war.
§ MR. BRODRICKThe number of Boors and others in the field against His Majesty's forces in South Africa cannot be stated with any degree of accuracy. A? recent estimate placed the figure at nineteen or twenty thousand. The prisoners amounted to over 16,000 in the middle of January, and this number has been recently increased.