Boer War Stuff

WHITE'S DESPERATE STRAITS.

LONDON, March 8, 1900. - Winston Churchill telegraphs the substance of an interview he has had with Sir George White, who
commanded the Ladysmith garrison. Gen. White said he might have held out until April 2, but this would have involved the death of most of the native population by starvation and of the sick from want of nourishment. Then he would have destroyed the stores and ammunition, and all who were fit to crawl five miles would have sallied forth to make a show of resistance and avoid formal capitulation.

He declared that he had always begged Gen. Buller not to hurry the relief operations, adding, earnestly:

"It is not right to charge me with all the loss of life they involved."

Mr. Churchill says Gen. White spoke bitterly of home criticisms and of attempts at the War Office to supersede him, attempts which Gen. Buller prevented from succeeding. In conclusion, he exclaimed:

"I regret Nicholson's Nek. Perhaps it was rash; but it was the only chance of striking a heavy blow. But I regret nothing else. I would do all over again.
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Gen. White Leaves Durban.

DURBAN, March 12, 1900. - Gen. Sir George Stewart White has arrived here and embarked upon a transport for East London.

Published NY TIMES, March 14, 1900.
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Gen. Sir George White Sails.

CAPE TOWN, March 28, 1900. - Gen. Sir George White sailed for England to-day.

Published NY TIMES, March 29, 1900.
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LONDON NEWS TOPICS OF THE PAST WEEK

Both Political Parties Prepare for General Election.

DISGUST WITH CECIL RHODES

An Inquiry Possible as to His Behaviour at Kimberley.

Corruption Among War Office Permanent Officials Habitual.

Special to The New York Times.

LONDON, March 31, 1900. - It will be a relief I think, to turn aside from the campaigning in South Africa and discuss for once in a way other subjects.

This can the more easily be done to-day because nothing important has happened at the seat of war beyond some slight skirmishing and the escape of the burghers who have been operating in Cape Colony. You may be quite sure that they would have been caught but for the loss of our cavalry horses and baggage animals, which entails upon Lord Roberts an apparent inactivity until fresh animals can be brought to the front.

Before leaving this subject it may be well to note that among all classes of people in this country, except the most extreme party of jingoes, the death of Gen. Joubert has excited considerable sympathy. And the graceful words in which Sir George Stewart White, the defender of Ladysmith, alluded to Joubert at Cape Town before it was known that he had died have found an echo throughout the country. Wo knows but that an incident of this kind may tend to change the temper of our people and pave the way for peace?

Joubert entered on the war with the utmost reluctance. "The heart of my soul is grieved," he told and English correspondent in his imperfect English, and another remark of his is remembered now to his honour - "There is but one thing I can do; I can die for my country."

The report is unconfirmed that the Queen has sent a message of condolence to Joubert's widow, but it would be quite like her to have done so.

PREPARING FOR A DISSOLUTION.

Home affairs look extremely quiet, and are so on the surface, but I think the Government is getting ready for an appeal to the country, and, whether that appeal will take place within the next three or four months or not until the beginning of next year depends altogether upon the course of affairs in South Africa.

Should Lord Roberts reach Pretoria in May or early in June, then the general election might be hurried up before the harvest. If our forces be delayed, then it cannot conveniently take place much before November, or perhaps not until February next.

But everything about the conduct of Parliamentary business shows that the Government means to be in a position to dissolve and appeal to the electorate at at week's notice. Ministerial business is neglected, so far as bills backed by members of the Government are concerned, and the House of Commons is almost openly encouraged to waste its time upon debates of various kinds not conducive to lawmaking, although possibly to the enlightenment of the public, could the speeches be read.

But our newspapers have so much else to report that they have lately taken to treating Parliamentary eloquence much as you treat the rhetorical displays in your Congress. Partisanship has come into Parliamentary reporting in a manner that when I was young was totally unknown, and each particular organ emphasises the utterances of those on its own side and cuts the other side down. This applies more or less to all the papers from The Times downward. The consequence is that public interest in Parliament is at a very low ebb, and one rarely hears any reference in current conversation to what is going on down at Westminster, unless it might be to some row with the Irish, or personal squabble between opposing parties among the English and Scottish members, or hint of scandal, so much sanctified by usage that many men perpetuate offences against the Treasury and against public good faith without feeling that they are in the slightest degree guilty of doing anything out of the usual.

Two firms have been caught supplying inferior articles to the War Office, and a few determined members of the House of Commons have fastened upon these and have so agitated that the Government has been obliged to promise a committee of investigation, but we may be quite sure that this committee will be nicely arranged so as not to go into things too far.

The permanent officials in our country have an invariable protection in the ignorance of the mere party politicians. Not ten members out of the 670 forming our House of Commons have any real grasp of affairs as managed by the permanent staffs of our various Government offices.

Therefore, when a committee is formed to enquire into any departmental subject such as this particular trading scandal, it can generally be bamboozled, outwitted, and made a fool of with almost perfect impunity. Misleading answers are given, and very often accurate information is completely denied.

None the less is it the case that our army has suffered, and is suffering, far more from the misdeeds of the civil officials and their partners among the traders and manufacturers of the country than mere isolated incidents of presumed rascality accidentally discovered would lead any one to suppose.

These malpractices, in other words, are not exceptional, but usual, and scarcely a day passes without something coming to light that ought to rouse the nation to a resolute determination to have thorough reform, could it piece the evidence together and comprehend its meaning.

Thus we hear of one transport that went out provisioned so badly that the troops on board flung away daily 300 pounds of salt meat that was so rotten as to be positively plague breeding. One is also told that the troops, or large sections of them, were supplied with paper-soled boots, that go to pieces on the first march or after the first shower.

These are not isolated instances, but things that happen continually, and yet there will be no redress obtained through this Parliamentary committee. Indeed, should the dissolution come soon, the committee will never be able to collect evidence at all.

RHODES WANTED TO SURRENDER.

Before passing to events and incidents outside the United Kingdom I may mention that a pretty row is brewing over the behaviour of Cecil Rhodes during the siege of Kimberley. You know my opinion of this wholesale share manufacturer and vendor, as he may be called, and it has been more than justified by his recent behaviour. He resented from the first being locked up in Kimberley, because he had started from Cape Town with the intention of getting through to his own empire, Rhodesia, before the Dutchmen could block the way. Miscalculating their rapidity of movement, he found himself stopped at the Diamond City, and presently shut in there without the possibility of escape until relieved. Then followed frantic demands for troops to be instantly sent up to unlock the Boer beleaguerment, and when this was not forthwith accomplished, he began a system of persecution of and opposition to the Military Governor of the town that very nearly led to his arrest.

Also, as I am told, when he heard of Gen. Buller's orders to Lord Methuen to relieve the town, remove the civil population, and withdraw - orders under the circumstances wise and prudent, seeing that Kimberley was outside the contemplated line of advance - Rhodes wanted to surrender the town to the burghers on condition that the De Beers mines were not to be interfered with.

He doubtless hoped to make terms for himself as well, and his anxiety to escape made him chafe bitterly against those who kept him from carrying out his purpose. Not only did he incite the editor of one of his sheets in the town to attack Col. Kekewich, but he himself wrote editorials of the most abusive description, and altogether behaved in such a manner that the whole army throughout South Africa is now penetrated with a sense of loathing and disgust toward this man.

Col. Kekewich is understood to have demanded and inquiry into the charges levelled against him by Rhodes, and it is just possible that we may have some pretty scandalous episodes brought to light should this demand be granted.

As showing the spirit in which the army regards this pretentious humbug who has done such evil to his country, it is worth mentioning that when Sir George White, the chivalrous soldier, found that Rhodes was coming to England on the steamer in which he also had taken a berth he held back and took passage on the following one.

Published NY TIMES, April 1, 1900.
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SIR GEORGE WHITE ARRIVES.

LONDON, April 14, 1900. - Gen. and Mrs. White, accompanied by their daughter, arrived in the city to-night. The scene which greeted the General when the steamer Dunvegan Castle, on which he left Cape Town March 28, reached Southampton this afternoon, must have convinced him of the admiration of his countrymen for his gallant defence of Ladysmith during the long and trying siege of that place.

From early morning crowds collected by thousands in the neighbourhood of the docks. The buildings in the vicinity were gaily decorated with bunting in honour of the occasion, and all the public institutions were covered with flags. The harbour presented a brilliant and animated scene, the various vessels having dressed ship, and the Dunvegan Castle's berth at the wharf being resplendent with bunting and evergreens. There Lady White, the Mayor, and the members of the corporation, in their state robes; uniformed soldiers and sailors, and a number of privileged guests awaited the gallant defender of Ladysmith.

As the steamer loomed up in the distance, with Gen. White standing on the bridge, the enthusiasm of the waiting multitude broke loose and a storm of cheering and singing and the sounding of sirens and whistles intermingled uninterruptedly until Sir George landed, at 2:30 P.M.

The greeting between husband and wife being over, Gen. White had to undergo much handshaking and the receiving of congratulations from personal friends before he reached the dock shed, where the municipal authorities presented him with an elaborately illuminated address of welcome, expressing profound admiration at his "noble and successful efforts to uphold and maintain the honour and dignity of the empire in distant Natal, which have won the lasting admiration of the civilised world." A suitable reference was made to Ireland's connection with the defence of Ladysmith, and regret was expressed that Gen. White's health had been impaired by the strain of the siege and that he had been obliged to seek rest.

The address concluded by expressing the hope that he would soon be completely restored to health, and able to resume the distinguished task with which the Queen and the country had charged him.

During the reading of the address the huge crowds in the vicinity seized every occasion to hurrah, and the enthusiasm was indescribable. Hats, handkerchiefs, and flags were waved frantically and cheer followed cheer in endless succession. Gen. White was visibly moved at the warmth of his reception. In acknowledging the address he referred with admiration to his gallant garrison, every one of whom, he said, "from Gen. Hunter to the brave trumpeter had behaved magnificently."

Hundreds of congratulatory telegrams awaited Sir George on his arrival at Southampton including one from Queen Victoria, making an enquiry as to his health.

Published NY TIMES, April 15, 1900.
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QUEEN DECORATES GEN. WHITE.

LONDON, May 1, 1900. - At the conclusion of Gen. Sir George White's visit to Windsor to-day Queen Victoria decorated the defender of Ladysmith with the Cross and Star of the Royal Victorian Order. Her Majesty and Sir George had a lengthy conference.

It is learned that the Queen was more angry than she has been known to be for years, over the publication of the Spion Kop dispatches.

Published NY TIMES, May 2, 1900.
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LORD ROBERTS TAKES PRETORIA

City Is Surrendered After a Sharp Battle on Monday.

BRITISH PRISONERS FREED

Only a Small Number of Them Had Been Removed from Waterval.

ARMISTICE REFUSED

Commandant Botha Was Told that the Capital Must Surrender Unconditionally - Krueger Left His Wife Behind.

LONDON, June 6, 1900. - The War Office, at 11 o'clock last evening, made public the following dispatch, dated Pretoria, June 5, from Lord Roberts:

"Just before dark yesterday the enemy were beaten back from nearly all the positions they had been holding, and Ian Hamilton's Mounted Infantry followed them to within 2,000 yards of Pretoria, through which they retreated hastily.

"De Lisle then sent an officer with a flag of truce into the town, demanding its surrender in my name. Shortly before midnight I was awakened by two officials of the South African Republic - Sandberg, Military Secretary to Commandant General Botha, and a general officer of the Boer Army - who brought me a letter from Botha, proposing an armistice for the purpose of settling the terms of surrender.

"I replied that I would gladly meet the Commandant General the next morning, but that I was not prepared to discuss any terms, as the surrender of the town must be unconditional. I asked for a reply by daybreak, as I had ordered the troops to march on the town as soon as it was light.

"In his reply Botha told me that he had decided not to defend Pretoria, and that he trusted the women, children, and property would be protected.

"At 1 A.M. to-day, while on the line of march, I was met by three of the principal officials with a flag of truce, who stated their wish to surrender the town.

"It was arranged that Pretoria should be taken possession of by her Majesty's troops at 2 o'clock this afternoon.

"Mrs. Botha and Mrs Krueger are both in Pretoria.

"Some few of the British prisoners have been taken away, but the majority are still at Waterval. Over a hundred of the officers are in Pretoria. The few I have seen are looking well."

FIGHT AT SIX MILES SPRUIT.

Yesterday morning the War Office issued the following dispatch received from Lord Roberts. It was dated "Six Miles Spruit, 8:30 P.M., June 4."

"We started this morning at daybreak and marched about ten miles to Six Miles Spruit, both banks of which were occupied by the enemy. Henry's and Ross's Mounted Infantry, with the West Somerset, Dorset, Bedford, and Sussex companies of yeomanry, quickly dislodged them from the south bank, and pursued them nearly a mile, when they found themselves under a heavy fire from guns which the Boers had placed in a well-concealed commanding position.

"Our heavy guns of the Naval and Royal Artillery, which had purposely had placed in the front part of the column, were hurried to the assistance of the Mounted Infantry as fast as oxen and mules could travel over the great, rolling hills surrounding Pretoria. The guns were supported by Stevenson's brigade of Pole-Carew's, and after a few rounds, drove the enemy from their positions.

"The Boers then attempted to turn our left flank, in which they were again foiled by the Mounted Infantry and yeomanry, supported by Maxwell's brigade of Tucker's divison. As, however, they still kept pressing our left rear, I sent word to Ian Hamilton, who was advancing three miles to our left, to incline toward us and fill up the gap between the two columns. This finally checked the enemy, who were driven back toward Pretoria. I hoped we would have been able to follow them up, but the days now are very short in this part of the world, and after nearly two hour's marching and fighting, we had to bivouac on the ground gained during the day.

"The Guards Brigade is quite near the southernmost fort by which Pretoria is defended, and less than four miles from the town.

"French, with the Third and Fourth Cavalry Brigades and Hutton's New South Wales Mounted Rifles, is north of Pretoria. Broadwood's brigade is between French's and Hamilton's columns, and Gordon is watching the right flank of the main force, not far from the railway bridge at Irene Station, which was destroyed by the enemy.

"Our casualties, I hope, are very few."

At 12:47 P.M. the War Office gave out another message from the Field Marshal. It was as follows:

"PRETORIA, June 5 - 11:40 A.M. - We are now in possession of Pretoria. The official entry will be made this afternoon at 2 o'clock."

It was announced verbally at the War Office a little later that Lord Roberts had entered Pretoria at 2 o'clock, South African time.

PRISONERS AT ONCE RELEASED.

The officials said they had information that one of the first things done by Lord Roberts after the occupation of Pretoria was to direct Gen. French to relieve the British prisoners confined at Waterval.

Queen Victorian, surrounded by the Duke and Duchess of York, Princess Christian, Princess Victoria, and many notables of her Court, drank to the health of Lord Roberts and the army at Balmoral last evening. A great bonfire, lighted at her Majesty's command, blazed on Craig Gowan, illuminating the countryside for miles around. The nation joins in the toast, glorifying Lord Roberts and turbulently rejoicing in his victory.

The dispatches of Lord Roberts, telling of the incidents before the surrender of the capital, stand alone, as the correspondents with him have not yet had their turn with the wires.

Those who had read Lord Roberts's account of the resistance encountered on Monday were, when the telegram announcing the capture of Pretoria was made public, commenting on the probability of a fierce fight before the city was occupied, and were wondering at the Boers' capabilities to make such a determined stand when Pretoria was hemmed in on all sides.

The presence of Gen. French north of the Boer capital came as a surprise, and explained the Commander in Chief's recent reticence about the position of the energetic cavalry leader. It is evident that Lord Roberts himself delayed attacking until all his columns were ready to co-operate. But even when Lord Roberts wired on Monday night that this was accomplished there seemed a possibility of some fighting, so when the next momentous dispatch was given out it occasioned complete
surprise.

BOTHA'S FUTILE APPEAL.

A late press dispatch from Pretoria, dated June 3, quoted Gen. Botha as saying:

"So long as we can still count on our thousands of willing men we must not dream of retreat or of throwing away our independence."

Gen. Botha, it was added, had annulled the regulations appointing a special committee to preserve order, substituting military control for that of the committee.

Gen. Lucas Meyer, addressing the burghers in Church Square, urged them all to stand fast.

Thus, though their efforts were pitifully futile, it is evident that a few faithful Boer Generals worked desperately to resist the overwhelming force of Lord Roberts's army.

Gen. Botha and most of this men got away Pretoria. This is inferred from Lord Roberts's message, but the presumption is that the Boer Commandant General cannot escape the British in the neighbourhood of the city without a fight.

Operations elsewhere seem to have dwindled to nothing. Gen. Baden-Powell joined Gen. Hunter on Sunday at Lichtenburg. Sir Redvers Buller has not moved

Bennet Burleigh, wiring from Johannesburg, says President Krueger took £2,000,000 in cash to Middelburg.

Published NY TIMES, June 6, 1900
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BRITISH TROOPS RESTING

Roberts Is Preparing for a Chase After Retreating Boers.

He May Have Been Able to Cut the Railway Before the Entire Burgher Force Got Away.

LONDON, June 7, 1900. - Military operation in South Africa are apparently at a stand-still. For a day or two the tire troops of Lord Roberts are resting, and he is filling the magazines and warehouses at his new base, Pretoria, preparatory to a long chase after the retiring Boers in the direction of Lydenburg. His cavalry are probably seeking to intercept Commandant Gen. Botha.

Some dispatches are to hand which left Pretoria on Monday while the fighting was going on outside the city. They come by way of Lorenzo Marques. One of them says:

"Toward the end of the day, when the British naval guns were shelling the southern forts, a number of projectiles burst, damaging the suburbs. All day armed burghers have been leaving Pretoria, going east. The greater part of the railway rolling stock has been removed.

"Gen. Botha is fighting an essentially rearguard action, his object not being to defend Pretoria, but to delay Lord Roberts until the railway switch has been cleared and the main part of the Boer army has started to withdraw. The British advance appears to have left open to the Boers the best line of retreat along the railway."

Possibly Lord Roberts may have been able to cut the railway before a full retirement was effected.

That Pretoria would be defended was apparently given out after the council of war, with a view to misleading the British.

Lydenburg, the district in which the provisions originally destined for Pretoria have been diverted, and where a cartridge factory has been erected and reserve supplies of all sorts stored, is a volcanic region of fertile valleys, enclosed by great ramparts of precipitous rock, penetrated by narrow, winding passages. There are herds of cattle in the valleys, and there is much native labour available for fortifying.

The more optimistic here see in the fact that President Krueger's wife and Mrs. Botha were left in Pretoria an indication that the President does not count on a long resistance.

The Lorenzo Marques correspondent of The Times, telegraphing June 5, says:

"According to refugees from Pretoria thousands of burghers under Gen. Botha have taken an oath to continue the struggle to the bitter end."

What is supposed to have been the last train out of Pretoria arrived at Lorenzo Marques on Sunday evening. The passengers included a number of foreign volunteers, who were leaving the Boers, and also the wives and children of Hollanders. They described Pretoria as destitute of food and clothing. What the Boer officials could not take, the natives and townspeople did.

Probably the most important Boer army is at Laing's Nek, where both sides are passive. Gen. Rundle and Gen. Brabant have withdrawn a little southward.

Gen. Baden-Powell has extended martial law to the Marico and North Lichtenberg districts. Shots were exchanged between Boer and British patrols eighteen miles east of Mafeking on May 28. Part of the force lately at Pretoria is reported to have gone westward to meet Gen. Baden-Powell and to make a show of holding the country through which he and Gen. Hunter are moving.

A belated dispatch from Mafeking, dated May 31, announces the British occupation fo Malmani, where 200 Boers surrendered.

A dispatch to The Daily Telegraph from Newcastle, dated Tuesday, describes the Boers there as an unorganized rabble, without flour, meat or sugar. Their surrender is only a question of time. Nevertheless, the correspondent avers, the hold strong positions, with the prospect of a safe retreat toward Lydenburg.

The War Office yesterday issued the following from Lord Roberts, under date of Pretoria, June 5, 5:35 P.M.

"The occupation of the town passed off most satisfactorily, and the British flag is now hoisted on top of the
Government offices.

"The troops met with a much more enthusiastic reception that I had anticipated. The Third Battalion of the Grenadier Guards lined the square when the march past took place.

"Owing to their having been on duty at some distance around the town, very few cavalry and infantry were able to take part in the ceremony.

"Several of our officers who had been prisoners were among the onlookers."

There is a strong feeling throughout the country that striking honours should be conferred immediately upon Lord Roberts, without waiting until he returns home.

Published NY TIMES, June 7, 1900.

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MARAUGING BOERS BADLY DEFEATED

Lord Roberts's Line of Communications Is Reopened.

BRITISH ATTACK GEN. BOTHA

Result of the Battle Uncertain When Report Was Sent.

Burghers of Orange River Colony Told that Their Farms Will Be Confiscated Unless They Surrender by June 15.

LONDON, June 14, 1900. - A dispatch received yesterday from Lord Roberts clears up the situation at Pretoria and along the
line of communications. It at present stands alone.

Lord Roberts's report came in the form of a dispatch forwarded to the War Office by Major Gen. Knox from Kroonstad, under date of June 12, as follows:
"We have been requested to forward to you from the Pretoria Residency at 8:08 A.M. to-day:

"'Pretoria, June 12, 1900.

"'Pretoria and Johannesburg are perfectly quiet, and several of the inhabitants have expressed gratitude for the peace and order
which prevail.

"'After surrendering the city Botha retired to a place about fifteen miles east, on the Middleburg Road. He had a small force at first, but during the last few days his numbers increased, and his being so near the town kept up the excitement in the country, prevented the burghers from laying down their arms, and interfered with the collection of supplies. It therefore became necessary to attack him.

"'This I did yesterday. He held a very strong position, practically unassailable in front, which enabled him to place the main portion of his troops on his flanks, which he knew from former experience were his vulnerable parts.

"'I sent French with Porter's and Dixon's cavalry brigades and Hutton's mounted infantry round by our left and Ian Hamilton, with Broadwood and Gordon's cavalry brigade, Ridley's mounted infantry, and Bruce Hamilton's infantry brigade round by our right. Both columns met with great opposition. At about 3 in the afternoon I saw two of Hamilton's infantry battalions advancing to what appeared to be the key of the enemy's defence, on their left flank. This was almost gained before dark, and I ordered the force to bivouac on the ground they had won.

"' Pole-Carew, with his division occupied our centre. As I have explained he would not attack, but he gradually advanced so as to
support Ian Hamilton, and when I left the field he was on the line held by the enemy's outposts in the morning.

"'I hurried back to get news of Methuen's movement. On hearing that the Free Staters had taken advantage of our crossing the Vaal to interrupt our line of communication. I sent Kitchener with such troops as I could then spare to Ver. (Vredefort?) with orders to push south and communicate with Methuen, who, I knew, had a very compact force in the vicinity of Heilbron. I also dispatched a special messenger to Methuen, instructing him to push on at all speed to the main line of railway.

"'These two officers met at Vredefort Road Station in the evening of June 10. They marched yesterday to the Rhenoster River, where Methuen gained a complete victory over De Wet, took possession of his camp, and scattered his troops in all directions. He and Kitchener marched to-day toward Kroonstad.

"'Her Majesty's Government need have no apprehension as to the security of the army in South Africa. The enemy gained a slight
success, which was unfortunate, but which will be remedied very shortly, and it will not take long to repair the damage done to the railway. As these diversions are all in existence, I am now able to hold the line between this and Rhenoster in strength. Methuen will arrange to guard it onward as he advances.

"'Hunter should be at Potchefstrooom to-day. He will then move on Johannesburg.

"'We have communicated with Buller, who will no doubt soon make the presence of his force in the field felt.
"'Our losses yesterday were not, I trust, serious, but I deplore the death of that gallant soldier, the Earl of Airlie. The only other casualties reported as yet are: Seventeenth Lancers - Major the Hon. Lionel Fortescue and Lieut. the Hon. C. Cavendish, both killed.'"

Gen. Knox adds that Kroonstad is quite safe.

Later the following dispatch was received at the War Offfice from Lord Roberts:

"Katsbosch, June 12, 1900.

"In yesterday's engagement Methuen had one killed and eighteen wounded. Among the latter is Lieut. Cearle of the Twelfth Battalion of Yeomanry.

"On June 7 the Derbyshire Militia lost 36 killed and 104 wounded. All of the latter were in the Yeomanry Hospital, which was captured by the Boers and retaken by Methuen."
Lord Roberts's intelligence is regarded as eminently satisfactory. It ends the period of suspense caused by the cutting of his line of communications, and indicates what a strong grip he has on the situation.

The result of the battle between Lord Roberts's forces and those of Gen. Botha is eagerly awaited here, but it is believed the Boer commander will only complete his retirement, which he seems to have already commenced, though there is some hope in London
that Lord Roberts will be able to surround him.

The decisive victory scored by Gens. Methuen and Kitchener is regarded as likely to have a more far-reaching effect than any recent action in the Orange River Colony.

Gen. Kitchener's progress south, it is believed, must have almost equalled the records of all forced marches. His detachment from headquarters was merely a routine procedure, as he is responsible fro the line of communications.
Military observers, noting that no mention is made by Lord Roberts of prisoners, assume that De Wet got away with his forces practically intact.
Gen. Buller entered Volksrust yesterday, passed through Charleston, and encamped near Laing's Nek. The tunnel was not much damaged. Both ends were blown up: but the engineers think that repairs can be effected in about four days.

The advance troops of Gen. Buller saw the Boer rearguard four miles distant yesterday. It was estimated that 8,000 Boers were withdrawing. The townspeople at Ermelo counted fifteen guns.

Three hundred Free Staters, released from guarding Van Reenan's Pass, have gone to join President Steyn's commando in the eastern part of Orange River Colony.

Gen. Rundle has sent notice to the Free Staters that unless they surrender by June 15, their farms and other possessions will be confiscated.

President Krueger, according to a dispatch from Lorezo Marques, keeps a locomotive with steam up attached to the car in which he
concentrates the executive officers of the Government, and he intends to leave Machadodorp soon and to establish the Transvaal capital at Nel Spruit, in the mountains, a fine defensive region.

The State printing press is operating at Machadodorp, producing leaflets containing war news for distribution among the Boers.

It is again reported at Lorenzo Marques that the British are advancing through Swaziland. Lord Roberts, it appears, however, countermanded the order given to Strathcona's Horse to land on the coast and to penetrate to the Transvaal through the Swazi country.

A list of Gen. Buller's casualties on June 10 has been issued by the War Office. They were 26 killed, 126 wounded, and 2missing.

Published NY TIMES, June 14, 1900
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FOUR MONTHS BESIEGED: THE STORY OF LADYSMITH, being unpublished letters from HHS Pearse, the Daily News special correspondent, London: Macmillan & Co.
LADYSMITH UNDER SIEGE.
No-one can read more than he desires to read at this time about the siege of Ladysmith. The investment of the town and its stubborn defence form one of the most absorbing chapters in the history of a stirring war. "Four Months Besieged" is a book made up of letters written by Mr. H.H.S. Pearse, the correspondent of The London Daily News, who was shut up in the beleaguered city and could not get his letters through to his paper. He kept a diary through the investment, however, in full faith that the time would come when he would be able to print it as a record of what took place in a city at a time when it was cut off from the knowledge of the outer world. Well he knew that the interest of most of the civilized world centred on that isolated town "where Sir George White, with his army, maintained a valiant resistance against a strenuous and determined foe without, and disease and hunger within, until, to use his own words, that slow-moving giant, John Bull, should pass from his slumber and bestir himself to make back his own."

Mr. Pearse was in Ladysmith during the whole siege. Only three of his letters succeeded in passing the censor and the Boer captors who lay in wait for th Kafir runners. These three appeared in The Daily News. The rest of the matter in the book now appears for the first time. Together with Winston Churchill's account of the movements of the relieving column under Sir Redvers Buller, this book affords a pretty complete story of the siege as seen from the British point of view. The book begins with a letter which reached the paper for which it was intended. This letter tells the story of Lombard's Kop and Nicholson's Nek, the last fights before the investment of the town. An early incident of the siege narrated by this author throws light on the manner in which the Boer artillery acquired knowledge of the location of important points to fire at.

Under the pretence of treating the wounded from this column [that of the Gloucesters and the Irish Fusiliers] with great consideration, Joubert sent them into camp here, taking their parole as a guarantee that they would not carry arms again during the campaign. With the ambulance wagon was an escort of twenty Boers, all wearing the Red Cross badge of neutrality. Their instructions were to demand an exchange of the wounded, and on the plea of being responsible for the proper care of their own men, they claimed to be admitted within our lines. Such a preposterous request would not have been listened to for a moment by some Generals, but Sir George White, being anxious, apparently, to propitiate and enemy whose guns commanded the town, full as it was, of helpless women and children, yielded that point, so the ambulance, with its swaggering Boer escort, came into town neither blindfolded nor under any military restrictions whatsoever. Among the mounted escort Ladysmith people recognized several well-known burghers who were certainly not doctors or otherwise specially qualified for attendance on wounded men. They were free to move about town, to talk with the Boer prisoners, and to drink at public bars with suspected Boer sympathizers - all this while they probably picked up many interesting items as to the number of troops in Ladysmith, the position of ordnance stores and magazines, and the general state of our defences, which were chaotic at the moment. One among the visitors was particularly curious about the names of officers who dined habitually at the Royal Hotel mess and very anxious to have such celebrities as Col. Frank Rhodes, Dr. Jameson, and Sir John Willoughby pointed out to him. Does anybody in his senses believe that such careful inquiries were made without object, or that the Red Cross badge was regarded as a sacred symbol sealing the lips of a Boer as to all he had seen and heard in Ladysmith?

At any rate, when Gen. Joubert's artillery began shelling the town, important stores were singled out for aim with a certainty which denoted something more than guesswork. The volume of teems with thrilling incidents of the siege, and the records of individual bravery, of silent endurance, of heroic fortitude, on the part of women and good-humoured patience in trial on the part of men hungry and weary will long give delight to those who admire the strong qualities of the Anglo-Saxon race. One of the finest incidents was the celebration of the birthday of the Prince of Wales. The author says:
"At that hour a curiously impressive incident astonished many of us in camp not less than it did the Boers. Guns, big and small, of our naval battery, having shotted charges, were carefully laid with the enemy's artillery for their mark, and at a given signal the began to fire slowly with regular intervals between. When twenty-one rounds had been counted every body knew that it was a royal salute in celebration of the Prince of Wales's birthday. The loud cheers, begun as of right by the bluejackets, representing the senior service, ran round our chain of outposts and fighting men, shaken into light echoes by jagged rocks, to roll in mightier chorus through the camps, thence onward by the river banks, where groups emerged from their burrows, strengthening the shouts with even more fervour, and into the town, where loyalty to the crown of England has a meaning at this moment deeper that any of us could ever before have attached to it. "What do you make of it all?" was the signal flashed from hill to hill along the Boer lines, and intercepted by our own experts, who hold the key. And well they might wonder, for, in all probability, a Prince of Wales's birthday as never been celebrated before with a royal salute of shotted guns against the batteries of a besieging force, and all who are here wish most heartily that the experience may remain unique."

The volume is handsomely illustrated, and some of the pictures bring home the condition of affairs in the beleaguered town as no
text could. The picture of the Public Works shell shelter, with its sign reading "Shrapnel Hotel, proprietors, P.D.W., the same old firm," shows that humour did not desert the besieged in the trying circumstances by which they were surrounded. The story is excellently written, which cannot be said for all the records of the war published up to the present time.

Published NY TIMES, June 16, 1900
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THE PRETORIAN CAMPAIGN.

It would seem that at Lydenburg the curious strategy of the Boers, which has characterized the Pretoria campaign from the first, has again been employed with the result that a practically impregnable position has been presented to the British while the enemy has moved on to some new place of refuge. It was so at Pretoria, which could have been defended for several weeks perhaps, and it was so at Machadodorp. At the latter place particularly Botha waited until the British had discovered him, had sent an overwhelming force against him, had almost surrounded him. Then just as a siege was to be forced upon him he moved swiftly on, making it necessary for the forces that had concentrated to demolish him, to scatter and renew their search.

About the middle of last month Lord Roberts heard that the Boers were gathering at Machadodorp to the number of about 8,000. He removed his headquarters to Belfast, a few miles west of Machadodorp, on the Delagoa Bay Railway, hurried forward his 22,000 of reserves from Pretoria and prepared to employ every means to make the Boer stand and fight. Several of Botha's lieutenants were in favour of falling in with the British commander's desire. Botha advised a retreat northward thirty-five mils to Lydenburg. This plan was ultimately followed out, for the Boers, after a brief but spirited opposition at Bergendal, calculated to make their pursuers believe that hey had at last determined to end matters according to the precepts of modern military procedure, suddenly withdraw to the north, leaving the British in possession of the railway and abandoning their line of communication and supply with Lorenzo Marques.

According to Lord Roberts's dispatch from Belfast, "the Boers are split up and going northward and eastward." Either they were outnumbered and forced to separate or the movement was made with the intention of dividing their pursuers and to attempt to restore communication with their base of supplies across the Portuguese frontier. Apparently the end of the war has been carried considerably further into the future than was a few weeks ago believed possible. Lord Roberts's tactics of chasing the enemy by relay divisions which relieve each other, keeping in the meantime a powerful reserve at Pretoria, must of course, win sooner or later, but the time consumed in winning the Pretoria campaign pointedly demonstrates the wide difference between the Boer's mobility and that of the British.

Published NY TIMES, September 10, 1900

 

LONDON TOPICS OF THE WEEK
Gloomy Effect of Conflicting Advices from South Africa.
LORD ROBERTS'S RECEPTION
Alleged to Neither as Great Nor as Significant as the Papers Said.
The Daily News an Anti-War Organ Again.
Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES, copyright, 1901.
LONDON, January 5, 1901. - "Now is the Winter of our discontent" the new year has not opened very auspiciously for us. Afflictions abound, and it is no use for us disguising the fact that our mental attitude is one of profound discouragement. We try to hope for the best about a new development in the South African conflict, but bitter experience has taught us to distrust information form the front, and Lord Kitchener is more sparing in his facts even that was Lord Roberts. We are assured many times a day that the raids into Cape Colony by the northern farmers must come to nothing, that the Cape Colony Dutch are not joining them, that the invading columns are being headed back or are returning northward on their own accord, after having looted farms and provided themselves with stores. Against this, however, we have to place the proclamation of martial law over more than half the colony and Milner's call to arms, which, in the circumstances, means civil war. So great is the contrast between the military assurances and the actions of the civil Government that we are mystified and unable to think the best, even when inclined.

Out-and-out war partisans are offended at Lord Kitchener's latest movement toward conciliation. This, they say, will only encourage resistance by the leading burghers, who suppose we are getting tired of war; and it must be admitted that the contention is plausible. I fear the time is ill-chosen for making advances to the fighting burghers with a view to their surrender on some kind of reasonable terms. Had this been done immediately after Paardeberg, when we could have assumed the position of a triumphant conqueror dealing generously and humanely with our beaten for, there seems to be a probability that, at least a patched-up peace might have been attained, and that a better order of civil life might then gradually have arisen all through South Africa. Our Government deliberately took a provocative course, and, as I warned you at the time, in so acting made a prolongation of the war certain. As Botha said to his commandos, "We have nothing to lose and everything to gain by continuing the struggle." Yet what could Lord Kitchener do but palaver?
ATTITUDE OF THE COUNTRY.
However our newspapers may objurgated and breathe threatening slaughter there is no denying that the country is becoming thoroughly sick of this country or that a very influential and increasing body of citizens bitterly resent the barbarities into which some of our commanders have been betrayed. Unless this feeling is in some way met, the storm that was smothered when Parliament assembled, in December, may break out with uncontrollable fury in February. Passions are getting to a white heat on both sides, and the Government simply dares not continue to farm-burning-deportation system of pacification. Not only has that proved an intolerable measure for driving the burghers to continue fighting, but it has become disastrous to ourselves in depriving our troops of valuable local sources of food supply. For these reasons alone Kitchener has no choice but to try to come to terms. I only wish it were possible to hope his efforts may be crowned with success, but I fear the contrary.

If I have accurately described the feeling of the country, how comes it, you may say, that Lord Roberts had such a magnificent reception on his return? By reading the newspapers you would imagine that no conquering hero of England ever welcomed back from the field of his triumphs had been received with greater enthusiasm. The explanation is twofold but simple. First, enthusiasm was not visible to anything like the extent the newspapers allege, and disappointed the jingoes alike in mass and sound. A jingo lady of my acquaintance naively complained that the crowd did not cheer "Bobs" any more enthusiastically than the Prince of Wales. There was a crowd, however, and much organization was devoted to working it up and keeping the enthusiasm boiling. Also, and this is the second reason for the good reception, most reflecting people blame Lord Roberts much less than the home Government for the troubles into which our arm fell after he had triumphantly conducted it to Pretoria.
ROBERTS NO POLITICIAN.
The old man is no politician, does not understand the rudiments of politics and therefore simply obeyed the hints or orders from home in his earlier proclamations of annexation and surrender out of which all his later afflictions arose. Had the nation really blamed this Anglo-Indian soldier for all the deeds of rapine laid to the charge of his subordinates he would have met with a very mixed reception indeed. As it is, the great majority is willing to think kindly of him. It is in manner a satire upon our civilization and a grim commentary on the progress of mankind that his Lordship's fitness to act as Commander in Chief should have been the issue of the appeal to the nation to come to the assistance of the starving wives and families of the soldiers at the front. That is the reverse side of glory's shield and the one I do not care to dwell upon.
We have been called upon this New Year to enthuse about the Federation of Australia, and I am afraid that also has been poorly done. We are all very glad that the new Commonwealth promising great things for the future should have been formed pacifically and amid tokens of mutual good will, but it cannot be said that we are deeply interested in the change or that any but the vaguest conception has entered the public mind as to what the step implies. In the colonies themselves the joy has been immense, particularly in Sydney, and I hope that the fruits will not belie the extravagant ideas evidently prevalent among the colonists. I, however, see many rocks ahead for the new Government, and not the least is the rock of colonial debts.
A JOURNALISTIC EVENT.
An interesting journalistic event has happened since I wrote last. The Daily News has been recaptured by the anti-war party, or, as I would prefer to call it, the old Liberal Party. What happened is briefly this: After Walsingham and his colleagues left The Daily Chronicle friends interested in him began efforts to get capital together to start a new morning penny newspaper. They had but indifferent success for some considerable time, but lately Liberal capitalists have been coming forward and the project looked like early realization. The it was discovered that The Daily News was in the market cheap. Its circulation had been falling off because while it offended many of its old adherents, it had gained few new ones. It had only been beating the same drum nearly as all the other papers pounded it. Although retaining many of its distinctive and always excellent features, it could not hope to entice people who were satified with the other performers to leave them and come to it. Then, as one of the principals in the negotiation tells me, the proprietors were divided, a majority of them in number, though weaker in financial stake, being opposed to the paper's present policy. The end of a long story was that last Saturday a preliminary agreement for transfer was signed and next month the paper will revert to its old function. Who will edit it I do not know, but it will unquestionably be recruited from most of the brilliant members of the old Chronicle staff. Nevertheless it is an up-hill fight to recover lost ground.

A.J.W.

Published NY TIMES, January 6, 1901
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LORD ROBERT'S REPORTS.
Buller Said to Relieve Ladysmith Was Impracticable, but Was Told He Must Do It - Kitchener Praised.

LONDON, February 9, 1901. - Earl Roberts's detailed mail dispatches, ranging from Feb. 6 to Nov. 15, 1900, were gazetted last evening. They fill 157 quarto pages, and make up the official history of the war.
Hundreds of officers, non-commissioned officers, and men are favourably mentioned, including Lord Kitchener, who is referred to in warm terms. Sir Redvers Buller comes in for criticism.

The first dispatch undertakes to "give a concise account of the state of affairs in this country [South Africa] on my arrival, January 10." It describes the forces as much scattered. Lord Roberts decided to leave Gen. Buller with a free hand in Natal, but otherwise to remain on the defensive until reinforced and until transport had been organized. He found no transport had been organized. He found no transport corps existing. The colonial forces had not been sufficiently used. Cape Colony was restless.

Writing from Jacobsdal, Feb 16, Lord Roberts says:

"Gen. Buller, on Feb 6, wired that the had pierced the enemy's lines, but that to give his artillery access to the Ladysmith plain would cost from 2,000 to 3,000 men. I replied that he must relieve Ladysmith even at that cost. Buller telegraphed, February 9, that he was not strong enough to relieve Ladysmith without reinforcements, and regarded the operation in which he was engaged as impracticable. I replied that my instructions must hold."

In the course of a sketch of the capture of Gen. Cronje, the occupation of Bloemfontein, and the long wait there, Lord Roberts wrote:

"The enemy knew exactly how we were situated and had accurate information as to the conditions of our supplies, transport, artillery, and cavalry horses, and they regained courage."
The marches to Johannesburg and Pretoria were uneventful as described by Lord Roberts, his chief concern being to provision the army. "We were practically living from hand to mouth," he wrote, "and at times had not even one day's rations to the good."

The Field Marshall finds that no specific blame can attach to Col. Broadwood in the Sanna's Post affair, as "the disaster was mainly due to the failure of the patrol at Boesman's Kop to warn their comrades that an ambush was prepared."

The officer who was place in command of the patrol is not mentioned.

Writing from Johannesburg November 15 Lord Roberts said:

"With the occupation of Komati Poort and the dispersal of Louis Botha's army, the organized resistance of the two republics may be said to have ceased"; but, he added, "there still remains much for the army in South Africa to do to meet the conditions of guerrilla warfare with forces broken up into small columns and operating over an area larger than France, Germany, and Austria combined."

Looking at all the circumstances, Lord Roberts says the campaign is "unique in the annals of war," and he pays the highest tribute to the gallantry and worth of the troops, declaring that "no finer force ever took the field under the British flag."

Lord Roberts asserts deliberately that the permanent tranquillity of the republics "depends upon the complete disarmament of their inhabitants, a task difficult, I admit, but attainable with time and patience."

Lord Roberts's dispatches are not regarded as giving any further elucidation of the conduct of the war, but they are interesting as proving that throughout the campaign he never had sufficient men, horses, or supplies to cover such a vast field of operations.

There is a general idea that the dispatches have suffered considerable excision at the hands of the War Office. They do not throw any further light on the summary retirement of Gen. Colville or many other matters regarding which the public is anxious to hear.

Incorporated with the dispatches are reports from subordinate commanders, including the narrative of Gen. Baden-Powell, who says the newspaper correspondents gave him much trouble, as the enemy "derived a great deal of information as to our circumstances in Mafeking form the newspapers." Sir George White gives an account of the siege of Ladysmith and of the struggle of the population and the garrison against starvation and enteric fever. Gen. Buller mentions favourably Col. Steele, Major Jarvis, Major Belcher, Capt. Mackie, and Lieut. Magee of Strathcona's Horse.

Commenting upon the dispatches, The Times says:

"The most vivid impression produced is that on its fighting side the British Army need not fear comparison with any troops in the world. A second, and less agreeable, impression is that the army is less strong on its business than on its fighting side. It splendid qualities have been largely neutralized by want of foresight, initiative, organizing ability, common intelligence, and common sense on the part of those whose business it was to utilize the fighting qualities to the utmost."

Published, NY TIMES, February 9, 1901.
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SURRENDER OF BOTHA REPORTED IN LONDON

No Confirmation, but Dispatches Locate Him Near Kitchener.

British War Office Does Not Believe, Even If the Report is True, that Hostilities Will Be Ended.

LONDON, Feb. 28, 1901. - The Daily Chronicle has received a report, which it believes to be trustworthy, that Gen. Botha has surrendered to Lord Kitchener. The paper says:
"According to earlier information Gen. Botha was to be received at Lord Kitchener's camp about the end of this week, but if the foregoing report is correct events have ripened with unexpected rapidity."

Dispatches from Pretoria locate Gen. Botha, with a small force, north of Middelburg. They point out that he is probably making Viljoen and the seat of the Boer Government beyond Roosenkal.

Lord Kitchener has been at Middelburg for the last few days, but there is no indication from any quarter other than that relied upon by The Daily Chronicle that Botha has surrendered.

Lord Kitchener, telegraphing from Middelburg, under date of Feb. 27, says:

"The following additional captures are reported by French up to Feb. 25: Three hundred Boers, surrendered; a nineteen-pounder Krupp, one howitzer, a Maxim, 20,000 rounds of small arms ammunition, 153 rifles, 388 horses, 834 trek oxen, 5,600 cattle, 9,800 sheep, and 287 wagons and carts."

Whether or not it be true that Botha has surrendered or is about to surrender, Gen. French's most recent success, combined with the other advantages gained by the British forces in South Africa, have created a most hopeful feeling in the War Office here. Lord Raglan, Under Secretary of State for War, described French's work as being "the thin edge of the wedge," and this also is the opinion of the military critics, who reiterate that, while the war cannot be expected to end with a sudden stroke, this constant capturing of men, guns, supplies, and horses means that the operations will soon be reduced to a Dacoit stage. Gen. French is quite the hero of the hour in Pall Mall, though, of course, Lord Kitchener's controlling hand is recognized under every circumstance.

It is not believed to be at all likely that Gen. Kitchener will grant any armistice as a preliminary to peace, or, if he does, he will not let the War Office know of it until he learns the result. In fact, small reliance is placed on such an offer, for even if Gen. Botha has given in, the War Office is inclined to consider that his action will only affect the force under his immediate individual command, and that the same policy which is now being pursued will have to be continued against the other Boer forces operating in vicinities far removed from the Boer Commander in Chief.

Published NY TIMES, February 28, 1901
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LONDON TOPICS OF THE WEEK

Campaigns Against Botha and De Wet Explained and Criticised.

KITCHENER'S ALLEGED PLIGHT

Said to Lack the Ability to Manoeuvre Large Bodies of Troops.

Signs Which May Foreshadow a Change of Attitude Toward the Boers - How the Cost of War Has Advanced

Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES Copyright, 1901

LONDON, March 2, 1901 - Is it peace? No, but it might be a truce. Thursday several f the lest reputable of our evening newspaper flamingly published the assertion that Gen. Louis Botha had surrendered to Lord Kitchener, and one of them, controlled by the notorious Bottomly, went so far as to declare the story official. It was absolutely untrue, and from the fact that every newspaper in London of any standing had received a communication Wednesday night to the same effect, but couched in somewhat indefinite language, the inference that might be drawn is that the tale was concocted for Stock Exchange purposes. It certainly had the effect of raising prices for the Kafir shares, and caused quite a flutter not only in the City, but among all the speculative groups of the West End.

Is it wholly a lie, then? I am inclined to think not. As far as surrender goes it is pure untruth, but there may be a foundation for the story in the resumption of negotiations with the Boer leader by Lord Kitchener. This is the theory prevalent to-day, and support for it is found both in some mysterious words of Secretary Brodrick about "better terms than could have been looked for were offered the fighting Burghers," as well as in the fact, no longer concealed, that Lord Kitchener has once more failed and failed lamentably. I have never believed much in this man's capacity as a fighting General, and think that he has been rather cruelly used by fame. Most of the narratives of his campaign on the Nile I have read, and the impression they left on my mind was that, however good as an organizer of transport or as a constructive engineer, Kitchener is entirely ignorant of the art of handling and manoeuvring large masses of troops in the field, and is rash to an astonishing degree. Either Stevens's book or Winston Churchill's demonstrates this, and one cannot study the plans of the battle of Omdurman without shuddering at the thought of what might have happened if MacDonald's Black Brigade had not stood firm against the second dervish army that, unknown to Kitchener and unheeded by him, came sweeping round some hills full upon the loosened ranks of his troops, who had been ordered by him to march on into the town in the full belief that the battle had been won. The same impression is conveyed by this week's belated Paardeberg dispatches, scanty and badly clipped though they may be, Kitchener ordered it, and it was the most deadly for us in all the war. The truth is, Kitchener never had any experience in handling a large army on a campaign, and it is his misfortune rather than a crime to have left to him to complete the task which was too heavy for Lord Roberts.

KITCHENER'S FAILURE.

We had all been reading about the wonderful enveloping movement organised in January, the object of which was, by means of seven columns marching into the east and the southeast of the Transvaal, to surround the largest of the Boer armies under Botha and force it to surrender. The whole thing was to be over ten days ago. It is not over now. On the contrary, these columns have been baulked of their purpose. We have been entertained with catalogues of the numbers of beeves, sheep, horses, carts, guns, and human beings captured by these columns or those of them immediately under the command of French, Smith, and Dorrien, but since the latter General had a sharp fight with Botha on his way east there has been no fighting worth speaking about and no foe visible.

The ones surrendering then are peaceful farmers with their wives and families, and the ammunition captured was no more than what farmers living on the lonely veldt would inevitably keep in their houses, This is no the worst of it either. Louis Botha was never hunted down into that southeast corner of the country where we have been told to expect his capture between the column coming up from Natal and converging to the east and that sent out from Pretoria. When he withdrew northward away from our line of march we cannot tell, but it seems probable that he never went east in force at all, and the situation therefore now is that he, with the bulk of his army intact, seems free to fall upon the eastern lines of communication essential to the subsistence of those very columns. Possibly, also, he holds control over the Delagoa Bay Railway in the neighbourhood of Knomati Poort. It is admitted that supplies cannot get through to French because of floods, and therefore Kitchener has seemingly landed all his available Transvaal movable forces except a division under Methuen, in a mountainous and partially desert country about the size of England and Wales north of the Thames, a country very scantily peopled except by blacks with only a few villages in its entire compass, and the problem before him is how to get these columns back without serious loss.

SITUATION IN CAPE COLONY.

In the south, matters do not seem to be really much better, but it is not so much the wanderings of De Wet or the junctions of his force with other Boer forces, as the condition of Cape Colony as a whole that excites apprehension. The so-called Loyalist British colonists are becoming thorough dissatisfied with the state of affairs as disclosed in the inability of England to protect them. The plague, too, is raging in Cape Town, and although we are assured it has not yet attacked our troops, the mere mention of such a disease excites apprehension and proves detrimental to recruiting everywhere.

To crown all, this morning the army estimates for the coming financial year were presented to us, and they are perfectly staggering, especially the assumption that the state of war in full swing will only last four months into the year. The total is £88,000,000: add that to the figures for the current year including supplementary estimates, and we arrive at a military outlay of £180,000,000 actual or estimated, within a period of two years, all but £40,000,000 being for the war. What a contrast is this with Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's presentiment of his first supplementary war estimate in October, 1899! "We may want £10,000,000," he said, "I will take powers to raise £8,000,000 on Treasury bills, but in reality I expect to require only £7,000,000." No wonder the country begins to doubt whether the policy that has been pursued was the wisest possible.

THE WAY OUT.

Everything thus conspires to urge upon the Government and nation a change of attitude toward the majority of white inhabitants in South Africa, and I think it probable that attempts are being made to come to terms of some sort with the chief Boer commander. That Milner has gone north with this object in view is a prevailing theory. On what terms could a solid peace be arranged? I really am unable to formulate a plan. We shall have to abandon many pretensions and make up our minds to submit to many losses and to suffer much in our imperial pride if a healing peace is to come in that vast territory now all in confusion with brethren in arms against each other. A truce, however, that might grow into such a peace is conceivable enough, and it might
be arrived at on the basis of withdrawing from the Burghers all control over the Witwatersrand mineral sources, leaving them with full rights of self-government in the rest of the territory, subject merely to a nominal suzerainty of England and disarmament.

Until this unfortunate quarrel broke out the Cape Colony Burghers were becoming proud of their English connection. They may never be that again, but their leaders are sharp enough to recognize that with all her faults England is capable of dealing, her fit of passion of over, more generously with them than any other European power. Also, they recognize that their own national strength is not yet enough to enable them alone to defy the world or the marauders thereof. Add compensation to the farmers for the loss of stock and buildings, together with some advances of money to enable those who have been stripped of everything to resume their old life and the necessity for further fighting might be ended. A truce of this kind would be cheap at £10,000,00, aye, £20,000,000, and I therefore hope for a chance of reducing the monstrous war estimates by some such patch-up. At the same time I am only conveying to you the hopes and impressions prevailing in the more enlightened political circles. We have absolutely no
facts to go upon, and for all I know to the contrary, the Cabinet may still be pig-headedly determined to pursue the conflict to the bitter end, and no matter at what cost. Indeed, Chamberlain said as much yesterday in conversation.
Published NY TIMES, March 3, 1901
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BRITISH LOOK FOR SURRENDER OF BOTHA

Kitchener and Boer General Are Discussing Terms.

If Surrender is Made it Will Be Only of the Forces Immediately Under Botha's Command.

LONDON, March 7, 1901 - Private information received in London this morning confirms the rumours of negotiations between Lord Kitchener, Sir Alfred Milner, and Commandant General Louis Botha. Nothing is known as to the actual presence of the Boer Commander in Chief at Pretoria, and no more London paper publishes a statement that he is there, but it is reasonably certain that Gen. Botha is in either personal or very close touch with Lord Kitchener.

To-day Sir Henry Campbell Bannerman will endeavour to extract some information from the Government on the subject in the House of Commons.

It is asserted that Sir Alfred Milner has gone to Pretoria with the object of assisting Lord Kitchener in these negotiations, the length of which appears to be due to Gen. Botha's desire to consult with Acting President Schalk-Burger at Pietersburg, and to make terms applying to the whole Boer forces, but militating against this is Lord Kitchener's doubt as to Gen. Botha's ability to control Gen. De Wet and other leaders, as well as the internal opposition best-informed South African authorities said last evening:

"We have little doubt that Gen. Botha will surrender. The question now is as to what forces he can bring with him. We have private information tending to show that Lord Kitchener and Sir Alfred Milner have decided to accept his surrender on the basis that he is merely an individual commander rather than Commander in Chief of the enemy's forces.

"Gen. De Wet and Gen. De la Rey, as well as the other leaders, will probably have to be dealt with individually on similar terms. If the negotiations with Gen. Botha reach a successful termination it will be - to use an expressive Americanism - just 'one of the bunch.'"

It is also understood that Dr. Leyds was recently negotiating to secure peace terms, but when it was discovered that he was merely acting a farce, not being in communication with Gen. Botha or able to live up to the tentative suggestions made, the British Government, having learned his views, quickly ended the proceedings, especially when it was found that Lord Kitchener was treating with Gen. Botha, while Dr. Leyds was unable to speak authoritatively for the forces in the field.

Curiously enough, the War Office seems genuinely without definite information regarding the exact status of affairs. The great financial firms whose interests in South Africa are almost equal to those of the Government, believe, from their private advices, that the present situation is likely to result in the surrender of Gen. Botha and the forces under his immediate command, while the other Boer units will remain in the field.

The Daily Mail publishes the following from Colesberg, dated March 5: "A big movement is being prepared to clear the whole of Orange River Colony, from north to south, of Boers."

Published, NY TIMES, March 7, 1901

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TERMS TO THE BOERS.

The official announcement by Mr. Chamberlain that the conference with Gen. Botha of Lord Kitchener had ended in a rejection by the Boer leader of the British General's terms of peace has evidently produced a profound sensation in England. The most irrational manifestations of this sensation have been made by those organs of public opinion which profess shame that it should have been Great Britain which, as they express it, "sued for peace." That is a very wrong way of putting it. The United Kingdom counts something between forty and forty-five millions of people. The British Empire, which has been largely drawn upon for its own extension by means of a South African war, counts something like a quarter of the population of the planet. Whatever the geographical difficulties may have been of the subjugation of less than half a million of remote farmers and herdsmen, as soon as this vastly preponderant Power had gained a respectable measure of military success over the distant and belated republics, it was the dictate, not merely of magnanimity, but of humanity and decency, for it to hold out to them its imperial olive branch. That any Briton should take such an offer for a confession of weakness is only another proof how his nerves have been shaken by the unexpected obstinacy of the Boer resistance.

Whatever happens, Great Britain will have no occasion to reproach herself for her generous efforts to put a stop to such a war. But how far the hatred of the British for the Dutch in South Africa has gone, we have another instance in the extraordinary proposal reported to have been made by Gen. Ian Hamilton. It is the more extraordinary because its author was himself a soldier in South Africa, and a brave one. Yet he proposes, as the cable reports him, that the Boers captured in arms shall be sent to Canada to do forced labour on the railroads.

It would be more gratifying to have such a proposition as this made by some Briton who had never smelled powder, in South Africa or elsewhere. The proposal shows that Gen. Ian Hamilton, whatever he may be as a soldier, is not much of a statesman. It also shows how much the war has "got on the nerves" of the British people in general. For this is a proposal to establish a new Ireland in South Africa, and that is a consummation which every Englishman with the least pretensions to the character of a statesman must be particularly anxious to avoid. We have no idea that Lord Kitchener's proposal to Gen. Botha was conceived in any such spirit. The precise terms which he was authorized to propose, and which Gen. Botha felt bound to reject, have been laid on the table of the House of Commons. The publication of them will be awaited with great interest.

Published NY TIMES, March 22, 1901
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WHAT THE BOERS REFUSED

Kitchener Said to Have Offered Immediate Self-Government.

Also £1,000,000 for Property Destroyed by Burghers - Botha Wanted Jews Discriminated Against.

LONDON, March 22, 1901. - The Daily Chronicle, professing to be able to give an outline of the negotiations between Lord Kitchener and Commandant Gen. Botha, says:

"The chief obstacle to a settlement was Lord Kitchener's refusal to grant complete amnesty to the leaders of the rebels in Cape Colony. He offered self-government on the lines of Jamaica immediately upon the cessation of hostilities, with legislative bodies
partly elected by the burghers.

"The Government agreed to provide £1,000,000 to compensate the Boers for property destroyed and articles commandeered by the Boers
on commando, provided the signatures of the officers who commandeered the goods were forthcoming. It also offered to grant loans on
easy terms for rebuilding and restocking farmsteads.

"Moreover, it agreed that children should be instructed in English or Dutch at the discretion of their parents. The Government undertook to make no claim on church property or funds or upon hospitals or hospital funds or upon private investments.

"No burgher of either State was to be allowed to possess a rifle except by special license.

"Gen. Botha was generally in favour of these conditions, but he dissented strongly from a proposal to give full privilege of citizenship to properly domiciled and registered blacks. He was also greatly concerned about the position Jewish capitalists would occupy in the country, and was told that Jews and Christians would enjoy equal rights, no distinction being made in the matter of concessions."

The Parliamentary papers on the subject are still delayed, but will probably appear to-day, (Friday.)

The Times, commenting on the Kitchener - Botha negotiations, says:

"The event shows that the Boers are still hopeful of something turning up to their advantage. It is difficult otherwise to understand their rejection of Lord Kitchener's terms, which the Parliamentary papers on the subject will no doubt show were lenient to the verge of weakness."

Published NY TIMES, March 22, 1901
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KITCHENER AND BOTHA.

The terms proposed by Sir Alfred Milner and Lord Kitchener and rejected by Gen. Botha, for the speedy publication of which we were wishing yesterday, are now made public. The differences between the two positions do not seem to be irreconcilable. If they are not, it behoves both parties to reconcile them. For if the Boers are fighting in absolute desperation, the condition to which the war has reduced the British Empire is, "Imperially" speaking, not so far from desperate. When President Krueger said that, under
pretence of wanting more privileges for the Outlanders, what the British really wanted was "the country," he said words that have since been abundantly verified. In fact, the war had scarcely begun when The London Times announced its main object to be the establishment of British as against Dutch supremacy in South Africa. That object has been attained. It is idle for the Boers to pretend that it has not been. As Mr. Morley said, at the beginning of hostilities, quoting Swift, it must be agreed that ten armed men are an overmatch for one man in his shirt. But it is none the less true that the charges as to the objects of Mr. Joseph Chamberlain and those whose representative he was, charges indignantly disclaimed by no less important a British politician than
the Duke of Devonshire, have been amply sustained. The British have bought their triumph at a frightful cost in men and money, and a still more frightful cost in loss of prestige throughout the world. They simply must be sincerely anxious to put a stop, on any terms not intolerable, to the prolongation of a war which, as Mr. Frederic Harrison reminded them at the beginning of it, "could have no triumphs.

And, as a matter of fact, the terms offered the Boers are, from the British official or the British unofficial point of view, not only tolerable, but handsome. The deportation of many Boer prisoners of war and the deportation of others suggested by Gen. Ian Hamilton, might be worth consideration as a military measure. As a political measure it is nugatory, unless it is carried further than the most earnest British imperialist has thus far proposed. The whites of Dutch descent in South Africa far outnumber the whites of British descent. To remove the majority would require "more men from England," even if it were not intolerable to even British Christians. Some way must be found of enabling the two races to live together. And Sir Alfred Milner and Lord Kitchener must have sincerely sought for such a method. The alternative is to keep in South Africa, a British garrison, drawn from Britain, of at least two hundred thousand men, for and indefinite time to come, at an indefinite but enormous expense to the British taxpayer. The British taxpayer has already begun to ask, and he is likely to continue with increasing urgency to ask, whether this kind of "foreign conquest and subjugation" pays.

There are two apparent sticking points in the negotiation. The Boer leaders desired that Boers who had advanced money or supplies to the Boer cause should be reimbursed. To that end they desired that the British Government should assume the debts of the two republics. This proposal seems to have been most emphatically declined. And, in a sense, quite rightly. The expenses incurred in good faith, before the war, for the development of the two republics are of equal value to their subsequent possessors. No doubt some arrangement should be arrived at to transfer these obligations, so that creditors in good faith and for value should not suffer. But all Boers and non-Boers within the territory of the republics have been requisitioned for supplies for the Boer armies. The proposition of the British Government is, while entirely rejecting any liability for such debts, to set aside a million sterling, as an "act of grace," to make good those who have fulfilled requisitions in good faith and given value This is more than the Boers could have expected, and more than could have been expected of the British. It is not only a very conciliatory proposal, but, we repeat, a very handsome proposal.

It may be assumed that this is not the real sticking point of the negotiations. It may equally be assumed that the real sticking point, upon which the negotiations broke, was the demand of the Boers that the Boers of Cape Colony and Natal who had borne arms against the British should receive the benefit of the amnesty offered to the Boers of the two republics. In refusing this demand we believe that the British negotiators were ill-advised. Although Great Britain has claimed the sovereignty of Cape Colony for almost a century, and that of Natal for more than a generation, that sovereignty has never been acquiesced in by the agricultural population of the two colonies. That population cherished a hereditary loathing for the British which had never been mitigated or complicated by any practical experience of British rule. They had never been in any effective sense British subjects. Blood was, with them, thicker than water. When the test came, they went with their own people. Such expressions of British irrigation as Mr. Rudyard Kipling's silly deliverance on the "Sin of Witchcraft" have no real applicability to the situation. If the British continue to insist upon punishing people on one side of a geographical line for what they pardon to the kinsmen of those people on the other side of the line, they are simply perpetuating the race hatred in South Africa, and making impossible any other government of it than by the sword. If they are wise they will extend their offer of amnesty to all Dutch speaking inhabitants of South Africa, without exception. That course would disarm Botha by leaving him no further substantial object to fight for. To insist upon the present British position would create an Ireland in South Africa which would give the British Empire great trouble for generations to come.

Published NY TIMES, March 23, 1901
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BOTHA OBJECTED TO MILNER.

The Only Reason Mr. Chamberlain Can Give for the Rejection of the Peace Terms.

LONDON, March 24, 1901. - The Colonial Secretary the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, in the House of Commons yesterday, replying to a question, said no specific objections had been made by Gen. Botha to any of the peace terms offered by
Lord Kitchener, and Gen. Botha made no counter-proposals.

Mr Chamberlain added that the only information in the possession of the Government, outside of that published in the papers, was contained in a private telegram from Lord Kitchener saying that Gen. Botha had a strong objection to Sir Alfred Milner.

Published, NY TIMES, March 24, 1901
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Pigeon Carrier Service in Africa.

From St. Nicholas.

The pigeon post at Durban, in South Africa, was the beginning of the pigeon experiments conducted in recent campaigns between the English and Boers, and scores of messages were carried from one part of the English Army to another by means of the birds. Col. Hassard of the Royal Engineers, a staff officer at the Cape, had made a life study of the carrier pigeons, and before the war broke out the had established pigeon posts between most of the beleaguered cities. From Ladysmith, Kimberley, and Mafeking, pigeons early in the sieges regularly brought messages from the English soldiers cooped up in the towns. Sir George White's first message from Ladysmith was carried by a pigeon, and this means of communicating with the outside world continued until the number of birds in the city was exhausted. It was only a short time before that The English Government had decided to establish a service of carrier pigeons. In the navy pigeon posts were recognized means of carrying information as early as 1896, and there are over a thousand birds recorded on the books of the royal navy. The first naval loft was at Portsmouth, and now there are two others. In the English Army the posts have been confined almost exclusively to the Cape, where the nature of the country makes the homing pigeon service of more value than in England.

Published NY TIMES, June 16, 1901.
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MR. KIPLING ATTACKS WAR OFFICE METHODS.

Denounces Giving of Commands to Gens. Buller and Wood.

Other Criticisms of the Government - The Spectator Wants Roberts to Return to South Africa.

LONDON, October 5, 1901. - "In spite of the pledges of the Government, the whole army machine is to be hauled back as soon as it may be to the old ruts of impotence, pretence, and collapse," writes Rudyard Kipling in a striking letter to The Spectator upon the appointments of Gen. Sir Redvers Buller and Sir Evelyn Wood to command corps.

This pungent sentence voices the national feeling that has prevailed this week without regard to party politics.

"Men see," adds Mr. Kipling, "that the chosen commanders are not quite in touch with the real army, which, with a little tact and a little seriousness, might so easily survive. It is not the triviality or ineptitude displayed in this matter that appals, but the cynical levity.

"The English people have paid no small price in money and in blood that there might be born an army handled by fit and proven leaders."

Very much on these lines, all the weeklies, regardless of politics, take the Government to task. The Spectator, although among the most cautious of the Government's supporters, comes out bodly, not only with a declaration that the appointments of Gens. Buller and Wood are absurd, but also with a demand that Lord Kitchener be recalled. This demand is carefully but unmistakably worded.

"From the moment Lord Roberts left South Africa we seemed to lose our strategic grasp upon the country," says The Spectator, and it urges, though without much hope, that its suggestion be adopted, and Lord Roberts be send out again. According to The Spectator, Lord Kitchener "has accomplished nothing in a year except by process of attrition." It compares his methods with those of Grant, but does not believe that "a hammer-man" is the man to command in South Africa, although it thinks Lord Kitchener would make and excellent Commander in Chief at home. It suggests that Lord Roberts should go back for six months. Lord Kitchener either relieving him in London or acting again as his Chief of Staff in South Africa.

"If Lord Roberts went out to finish the war," says The Spectator, "he would, we believe, finish it by making the best possible use of the material in hand."

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, speaking last night at Oldham, delivered himself of another severe censure of the war policy of the Government. He declared that the military situation in South Africa was now "not less momentous than when the Boer armies threw themselves into Natal at the beginning of the war," and that the empire to-day "confronts difficulties and dangers more embarrassing than those which hung over it in the black week of December 1899."

Published NY TIMES, October 5, 1901.
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BOTHA LIKELY TO ESCAPE

Part of His Force May Elude the British Cordon.

THE BATTLE AT FORT ITALA

Gallant British Defence - That Action and the Defence of Fort Prospect Saved Natal from Invasion.

LONDON TIMES - NEW YORK TIMES
Special Cablegram.

LONDON, October 10, 1901. - A dispatch from Durban to The Times says there has been silence lately regarding Gen. Lyttleton's operations on the border of Natal, which have been directed against the desperate attempt of the Boers to extricate themselves from the critical corner in which their bold dash on Zululand placed them.

Though he is still in an unsafe place, it seems as though Commandant Gen. Botha is likely to escape the inner cordon of British troops, put in the field to intercept his retreat, but he will be obliged to leave part of his force behind. With the troops at his disposal it was impossible for Gen. Lyttleton to blockade the whole distance from the Natal border across the Vryheid.

Gen. Botha, moving north on Sunday, passed the British line with half his force. Leaving their wagons and cattle in laager, the Boers made a night march under Botha and Emmett. They were caught up in Northeast Vryheid by Gen. Kitchener (Lord Kitchener's brother,) and an engagement followed, the Boers retiring north. Four of their number are known to have been wounded.

The operations are not finished, but Gen. Botha has secured a wider and less restricted area for his future movements.

A dispatch to The Times from Dundee gives fuller details of the Boer attacks on Forts Itala and Prospect on Sept. 26.

The Boers who attacked Fort Itala numbered from 1,800 to 2,000. Their operations were conducted under the direction of Commandant Gen. Botha, by means of the heliograph and dispatch riders. It is estimated that the Boers lost 128 killed and 270 wounded. Commandant Potgieter was killed with a revolver by Lieut. Lefroy.

Major Chapman, in command at Fort Itala, had been warned of the Boer advance in the afternoon. His force comprised the Fifth Division of Mounted Infantry, two guns of the Sixty-ninth Battery, and one Maxim. Some mounted infantry under Lieut. Lefroy of the Royal Dublin Fusiliers and Lieut. Cane of the South Lancashires, occupied the highest point of the mountain, away from the camp. At midnight the Boers opened fire on this post, and two hours later they rushed the position, the few defenders who were not wounded escaping to the main body of the British.

The action now became general, the Boers attacking on three sides. They were led by Chris Botha, Scholtz, and Potgieter. The attack ceased toward the morning, and recommenced soon after dawn, continuing all day. The garrison were exposed to a terrific fire, and were without food and water. The guns were in action only early in the day, as it was found that they were too great an attraction for the enemy's rifles. Between 7 and 8 o'clock in the evening the Boers retired. Major Chapman withdrew at midnight to Nkandhla, leaving a Lieutenant and twenty men, with field hospital appliances.

In the flight at Fort Prospect the Boers were led by Commandant Grobelaar and numbered 500, while the small garrison was commanded by Capt. Rowley Mosely of the Durham Militia Artillery. The attack began at 4:30 A.M. and the fighting lasted all day. The garrison lost 1 killed and 8 wounded.

The defences of Forts Itala and Prospect are regarded as among the finest performances on the part of the British in the course of the entire war. They saved Natal from invasion, and greater loss was inflicted upon the Boers than in any engagement of the campaign except Paardeberg.

Published NY TIMES, October 10, 1901
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GEN. BOTHA GETS AWAY.

LONDON, October 11, 1901.- Lord Kitchener yesterday wired that Commandant Gen. Botha had crossed the Pivaau River, twenty miles north of Vryheid, which means that he has again escaped the British cordon.

Published NY TIMES, October 11, 1901.
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SYMPATHY FOR GEN. BULLER.

Cheers for Him in London Music Halls - Many Indian Newspapers Support Him.

LONDON, Oct. 26 1901 - It is learned that Gen. Buller, after delivering the speech which resulted in his retirement, received a personal letter from King Edward, disapproving of his utterances and clearly intimating that his Majesty would be glad if Gen. Buller would resign. The War Secretary, Mr. Brodrick, summoned Gen. Buller and point-blank demanded his resignation. It was a stormy interview, ending in Gen. Buller's flat refusal to resign.

It is said that the General, even then, did not believe the War Office would venture to retire him. After the interview, however, Mr. Brodrick went straight to King Edward, in Scotland, and the result of his visit was the action which has now so stirred up the country.

It is undeniable that the Liberal leaders, in common with the majority of the sober-minded public and most of the army officers, believe that the War Office acted correctly in retiring Gen. Buller. The efforts made by several of the London daily newspapers to create a feeling in Gen. Buller's favour are patently due to their desire to make party capital, as these papers, previous to the action of the War Office, could scarcely say anything bad enough about the General, for whom they have now taken up the cudgels. They have succeeded in working up a certain amount of popular enthusiasm, which finds vent in music hall demonstrations whenever Gen. Buller's name is mentioned.

A great meeting of sympathy in Hyde Park is now under consideration, and there is talk of the presentation to the General for a sword of honour as a national tribute. In the West of England, where Gen. Buller's home is situated, feeling runs high. Frequent meetings have been held to denounce the Government's action.

The Right Hon. Walter H. Long, President of the Local Government Board, in the course of a long speech at Liverpool yesterday afternoon, said the Government would defend Gen. Buller's appointment to the command at Aldershot on the grounds of policy and justice. His dismissal was solely because his recent speech was subversive of military discipline. Agonized consideration had been extended to the case and the Cabinet unanimously supported Lord Roberts's action. Probably no man possessing the traditional qualities of the British to a greater degree than Gen. Buller ever wore the King's uniform, but a greater mistake than his no soldier could make.

The Daily News makes the interesting statement that when the Liberal Government was overturned in 1895 by a snap division, a document was actually ready for signature appointing Sir Redvers Buller Commander in Chief.

Published NY TIMES, October 26, 1901
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Hunting Gen. Botha's Men.

NEWCASTLE, Natal, October 26, 1901. - Commandant Gen. Botha, with a small escort, has rejoined Schalk-Burgher, whose movable Government is established to the westward of Amsterdam, guarded by 100 horsemen. Gen. Botha's forces have separated into small commandos, which are operating in a rough, bushy country well adapted to Boer tactics. Several British columns are hunting them.

Published NY TIMES, October 27, 1901
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BULLER'S DISPATCH TO WHITE.

Controversy Over the Terms of the Famous "Spatch-Cooked" Message.

LONDON, October 31, 1901. - The National Review recently published the alleged essential terms of the "spatch-cooked" dispatch of Gen. Sir Redvers Buller to Gen. Sir George White, when the latter was in command of the beleaguered British garrison at Ladysmith. According to this authority, the message ran as follows:

"I have been repulsed. You will burn your ciphers and destroy all your ammunition. You will then make the best terms you can with the Boers after I have fortified myself on the Tugela."

Gen. Buller in the speech which led to his dismissal from the command of the First Army Corps, challenged The National Review to publish the complete dispatch, and to explain how it was obtained, declaring that he would then publish a certified copy of the original and allow the public to judge the matter.

The editor of The National Review now explains that he obtained the dispatch from a civilian who was in Ladysmith at the time of the siege, and who said there was nothing secret about it. The editor asserts also that he understands that both Gen. Buller and Gen. White have officially asked permission to publish the authorized version, and he cannot conceive why permission has been withheld.

The civilian alluded to giving an alleged explanation of the fact that there was no co-operation between Gen. Buller and Gen. White during the battle of Colenso, says Gen. White was informed that the attack was fixed for December 17, but Gen. Buller began the attack on December 15, to the dismay of Gen. White, who had not completed his preparations.

The Morning Leader characterizes The National Review's version of Gen. Buller's dispatch to Sir George White as "imaginary and misleading."

Published NY TIMES, October 31, 1901.
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BULLER'S MESSAGE TO WHITE.

Alleged Authentic Version - Buller Did Not Instruct White to Surrender.

LONDON, November 5, 1901. - The Daily Express, on the authority of Dr. Miller Maguire, a famous military coach, gives what it alleges to be the authentic version of the heliogram sent by Gen. Buller to Gen. White at the time of the siege of Ladysmith. It is as follows:
"I have failed. Unable to try again without siege operations taking a month. Can you hold out so long? If not, I suggest your firing away as much ammunition as possible, and finally making the best terms. If you have any other alternative to suggest, I can remain where I am as long as you like."

"Further dispatches were exchanged," adds The Daily Express, "and learning that Sir George White was able to hold out. Gen. Buller settled down to prepare to force the Tugela."

Dr. Maguire, through whose hands half the officers of the British Army have passed for study, professes to have acquired the information, without seeking for it, some months ago.

Published, NY TIMES, November 5, 1901.

 

THE JOHANNESBURG STAR RESUMES PUBLICATION.

It Was One of the Bitterest Opponents of the Boer Government - Mr. Monypenny Will Again Edit It.

JOHANNESBURG, January 3, 1902. - Lord Milner, the British High Commissioner in South Africa, to-day started anew the machinery of The Johannesburg Star, and the paper has resumed publication.

The Johannesburg Star was one of the most bitter of the opponents of the Boer Government before the beginning of the war, and Mr. Monypenny, the editor, advocated British interests so strongly and fearlessly that he incurred the deadly hostility of the burghers. On one occasion he barely escaped with his life. The suppression of the paper was one of the first things ordered by the Government at Pretoria when war was regarded as inevitable.

Mr. Monypenny, on the outbreak of hostilities, accepted a commission in the Imperial Light Horse, and served with distinction. He was shut up with Sir George White's forces in Ladysmith, and again nearly lost his life through an attack of enteric fever.

The London Times, in a recent editorial article, alluded to the approaching resumption of publication of The Star as one of the most significant signs of the establishment of a stable order in the Transvaal. It announced that The Star would appear, as before, under the editorship of Mr. Monypenny, and added:

"Mr. Monypenny will now carry on his paper under more favourable conditions, and will, no doubt, help forward that social reorganisation of which its reappearance is a notable assurance."

Published NY TIMES, January 4, 1902.

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GEN. BOTHA NEARLY CAPTURED.

LONDON, January 15, 1902. - Lord Kitchener, in a dispatch from Johannesburg, dated January 13, reports the narrow escape of Commandant General Botha from capture by Gen. Bruce Hamilton.

Hearing of a concentration of Boers at Knapdaar, Gen. Hamilton went to the spot, only to find the Boers had received the alarm and that 400 of them were trekking, three miles distant with Gen. Botha, in a cape cart, leading. Gen. Hamilton's force chased the Boers for seven miles, until their horses gave out. They captured thirty-two Boers and quantities of ammunition and stock.

Perhaps the most important point in Lord Kitchener's weekly report, also dated Johannesburg, Monday, is the omission of any mention of De Wet, from which it is deduced that the British Commander in Chief is more than usually hopeful of effective results from his present effort to surround De Wet. Since the disaster at Zeefontein strong British columns have been persistently dogging at the heels of De Wet's force, while armoured trains have prevented him from crossing the railroad line and have forced him northward. Lord Kitchener is supplying De Wet's pursuers with relays and remounts.

The British Commander in Chief reports that since January 6, 20 Boers have been killed, 9 wounded, 203 captured, and 95 surrendered.

Published NY TIMES, January 15, 1902
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Letters from Readers on Various Timely Topics.

To the Editor of The New York Times:
‘The burghers of the Transvaal being either our prisoners or in the field, and their women and children on the farms being surrounded by vast numbers of blacks, and blacks violently hostile because of frequent ill-treatment, it had always seemed to me that the collection of their women in camps was inevitable if horrors were to be avoided. But the case is much stronger than this, and in presenting the latest "Blue Book" to Parliament with the official correspondence, Mr. Chamberlain explains the situation very clearly. May I ask of your kindness the publication of the quotation I enclose?’
MORETON FREWEN, New York, Feb. 6, 1902

Mr Chamberlain in the House of Commons January 20, 1902. - "In the first place I ask them to remember how concentration camps arose. They wil find that they arose because Gen. Botha declared his intention of burning and destroying the farms and of compelling the inhabitants of the farms to take action, if they refused to join his forces. Lord Kitchener offered to Gen. Botha to allow these people, women and children, to remain in their own homes and even so far as possible to supply hem with food if Gen. Botha would permit their neutrality. He did not ask the to take up arms on our behalf, but that they should give an assurance of absolute neutrality, and they would remain absolutely unmolested.
And Gen. Botha's reply was clear and categorical. He said 'I have a right to impress all these people, and they will suffer if they do not come to me.' And therefore when asked 'what is the alternative?' he said: 'You had better remove them out of the country, or otherwise I shall punish them.' That is the first stage. Later on we have an intercepted letter of Gen. Smuts addressed to Gen. Botha and in the course of this letter to Gen. Botha, Gen. Smuts says: 'You know that with regard to the transport of women you instructed me to load them into the British lines.' And then ofr a humanity absolutely unprecedented in the history of war, we upon whom the women and children have been force, we who have executed the duty and responsibility in the name of humanity, are accused of 'loathsome cruelty.' I go on; that is not all. Later on again we hear that a rumour that Lord Kitchener was seriously thinking of breaking up these camps and sending the women and children back into the veldt. Gen. de Wet published an instruction, a circular to all his commandants, and he order them not to receive these women back into their camps. And lastly, only the other day Lord Kitchener made a further offer to Mr. Schalk Burger telling him if he thinks he can take care of the women and children, he (Lord Kitchener) will be perfectly prepared to hand them over to him at any price he may appoint."

Published NY TIMES, February 9, 1902
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INCREASED HOPE THAT BOER WAR IS ENDING

Indications That Kitchener Has Sent Important News.

CHAMBERLAIN SEES THE KING.

Remains Two Hours With Him - British Cabinet Conference Held at Midnight on Saturday.

LONDON, April 14, 1902. - The announcement of the presence at Pretoria of the Orange Free State and Transvaal leaders and Generals, who have been at Klerksdorp considering terms of peace, has caused a decided increase in the hopefulness of the public concerning the possibility of peace.

The comparatively brief duration of the conferences at Klerksdorp is regarded as an indication that the Boer leaders found little difficulty in agreeing upon some basis of negotiation. The transfer of the negotiations to Pretoria, where both Lord Kitchener and Lord Milner (British High Commissioner in South Africa) are at present, is interpreted by the morning papers as meaning that the Boers are prepared to make formal peace proposals.

The latest reports received here from the Boer headquarters at Brussels and The Hague are to the effect that the delegates will raise no opposition if honourable terms are granted and that the Boer leaders in South Africa have agreed to accept the maximum obtainable.

The expectations aroused by the conference at Pretoria have been further heightened by the movements of the Right Hon. Joseph Chamberlain, the Colonial Secretary, and other members of the Cabinet, and by evidence that important dispatches are passing between Lord Kitchener and the Government.
A conference of members of the Cabinet was held on Saturday night at midnight in Mr. Chamberlain's house. Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Brodrick, (War Secretary,) Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, (Chancellor of the Exchequer,) and the Duke of Devonshire, (Lord President of the Council,) were present. The conference terminated at 1 o'clock yesterday morning, and yesterday Mr. Chamberlain and several of the Colonial Office officials were in their officers. Messengers passed between them and Sir Michael Hicks-Beach.

At half-past 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon Mr. Chamberlain drove to Buckingham Palace and remained with King Edward for two hours. In the course of the afternoon messengers carried dispatches from the Foreign Office to Lord Salisbury, who, with Mr. Balfour (the Government leader in the House of Commons,) was at Hatfield House, Herefordshire.

These outward signs of Sunday activity have not been supplemented by any authentic or official statement. The question most discussed thus far has been whether the peace negotiations will affect the Government's financial proposals, which may be submitted to Parliament to-day. The fact that Sir Michael Hicks-Beach was engaged in his office nearly all day yesterday is taken in some quarters to indicate a modification of the budget statement.

There appears to be no doubt that the Boer leaders have communicated the results of their deliberations to Lord Kitchener. Attempts will be made in Parliament to-day to draw out what information the Government has on the South African situation and to learn its intentions, but it is not expected that the Government can forecast the probable outcome of the negotiations. Whatever instructions have been sent to Lord Kitchener are believed to be only provisional in character.

Published NY TIMES, April 14, 1902
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By The Associated Press.

LONDON, June 2, 1902. - Peace has been declared after nearly two years and eight months of a war which has tried the British Empire to its uttermost and which has wiped out the Boers from the list of nations. The war has come to an end with Lord Kitchener's announcement from Pretoria that he, Lord Milner, and the Boer delegates have signed "terms of surrender."

This announcement had been anticipated for several days, but its receipt yesterday afternoon took the nation by surprise, as everybody had confidently believed that the House of Commons would hear the first news to-day.

MESSAGE FROM THE KING.

The edge of the anticipation with which Great Britain awaited the promised statement in the House of Commons from the Right Hon. A.J. Balfour, the Government leader, was still further dulled by the following message from King Edward to his people, which was issued after midnight:

"The King has received the welcome news of the cessation of hostilities in South Africa with infinite satisfaction, and his Majesty trusts that peace may speedily be followed by the restoration of prosperity in his new dominions and that the feelings necessarily engendered by war will give place to earnest co-operation on the part of his Majesty's South African subjects in promoting the welfare of their common country."

How greatly King Edward's insistence that peace in South Africa be secured prior to his coronation influence the present agreement will probably never be known until the private memoirs of the present regime are given to the public.

According to a dispatch to The Daily Express from Utrecht, Mr. Kruger was informed last night that peace had been declared. He had been asleep. "My God!" he said, "it is impossible."

Mr. Kruger and his entourage, the dispatch continues, hope to be permitted to return to the Transvaal. This, however, is quite unlikely.

The news which Great Britain was so anxiously awaiting came on a Sunday afternoon, when London presents a sadly dead and deserted appearance. Very late on Saturday night a dispatch was received from Lord Kitchener, in which he said that the Boer delegates were coming to Pretoria, that they had accepted Great Britain's terms, and that they were prepared to sign terms of surrender. The Right Hon. W. St John Brodrick, the War Secretary, personally communicated this message to King Edward, who was at Buckingham Palace. But the Government declined to take any chances, and nothing concerning the receipt of the message was allowed to leak out.

KITCHENER'S DISPATCH

At about 1 o'clock yesterday afternoon the War Office received the following dispatch from Lord Kitchener, dated Pretoria, Saturday, May 31, 11:15 P.M.

"A document concerning terms of surrender was signed here this evening at 10:30 o'clock by all the Boer representatives, as well as by Lord Milner and myself."

The clerk on duty at the War Office transmitted this message to Buckingham Palace, where King Edward was lunching. At about 5 o'clock word was received permitting the publication of the message, and the small notice which was stuck up outside the War Office consisted of a copy of Lord Kitchener's cablegram. A similar notice was put up outside the Colonial Office. From these two skimpy bits of paper London obtained its news of the great event. In the clubs, the hotels, and the newspaper offices, the momentous intelligence was ticked out on the tape.

Then, like wildfire, at about 6 o'clock, and without any visible means for the transmission of the news, London awakened to the fact that the South African war was over. The inhabitants of the East End, who were busy airing their Sunday clothes, flocked to the Mansion House, that Mecca of the boisterously patriotic, just in time to see the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Joseph C. Dimsdale, come to a balcony on the front of the municipal headquarters and announce that the terms of surrender had been signed in South Africa. Amid many cheers the Lord Mayor made a short speech, in which he expressed his hope that good news by behaving itself decently and in an orderly manner. "Let us," he said, in conclusion, "now pray for a long and happy peace."

The assembled crowd, which was in no humour for praying, yelled lustily, and at the instance of the Lord Mayor gave hearty cheers for King Edward, followed by others for the men who had died in South Africa since the war commenced.

JOYFUL STREET CROWDS.

By 8 o'clock last night the news had become generally known. A few belated extra editions of newspapers were peddled about the streets, but before their appearance the enterprising hawkers, who for a long time past had kept union jacks, feathers, and horns stored up in anticipation of the present event, were much in evidence. The efforts of the hawkers received lucrative rewards, with the result that until long after midnight the national flags were waved indiscriminately by well-meaning roisterers.

There was scarcely an omnibus or a cab which was not adorned with the national emblem. Improvised processions marched up and down the Strand and Piccadilly. Sporadic cheering and much horn blowing toned for the slimness of the crowds, which had their volume been greater, would doubtless have rivalled those of "Mafeking Night." As it was, the demonstrations of the night resulted in a genial and harmless sort of jubilation.

Outside of Buckingham Palace, where King Edward kept himself in wise seclusion, a crowd of fairly good proportions gathered, and there, as elsewhere, the national anthem was sung lustily.

Two sentries and many policemen guarded the historic message outside the War Office, which could scarcely be read by the flickering gaslight. After reading this notice, the people passed on in eager crowds into the more easterly districts of London, where there were no illuminations such as made the clubs in Pall Mall noticeable.

"Good old Kitchener!" and "We're blooming glad it's over," were among the phrases shouted by the crowd. A large number of those who have relatives at the front participated in the street scenes, and lent a serious and often pathetic touch to what would otherwise have been an amusing jollification. "Dear old Bill," or some such name, would be called out by some one in the crowd, with an added "He'll soon be 'ome."

While the general public celebrated the news of peace in the streets, society was equally joyous, although perhaps not quite so demonstrative. Many referenced were made to the coincidence of the declaration of peace in South Africa with the "Glorious First of June," ever memorable in Great Britain's history by reason of Howe's victory over the French fleet in 1794.

At the fashionable hotels and restaurants patriotic airs were played, and those present repeatedly stood up and cheered when the bands played "God Save the King." At the Carlton Hotel a particularly brilliant crowd of fashionable people celebrated the news from South Africa in this manner. Among the people at the Carlton were a good many Americans, who good naturedly joined in
the enthusiasm.

NEWS READ IN CHURCHES.

In the meanwhile the news had been conveyed to most of the churches, whose bells clanged out the message of peace. Clergymen stopped in their prayers and their sermons to read Lord Kitchener's laconic message to their congregations. At St. Paul's Cathedral the Bishop of Stepney made the announcement and impressively prefaced the reading of Lord Kitchener's message by saying: "God has been pleased to answer our prayers and give us the blessings of peace."

Dr. Parker electrified 3,000 listeners at the City Temple by suddenly interjecting the dispatch received at the War Office, to which he added an expression of hope that this would also mean peace in England, and that there would no longer be anything heard of pro-Boers or pro-Britons.

The Archbishop of Canterbury will shortly appoint a day of national thanksgiving, in which Cardinal Vaughn will join on behalf of the Catholics.

The Cabinet will meet this morning and will probably discuss the wording of the statement to be made by Mr. Balfour in the House of Commons. This statement is eagerly awaited, as it is understood that Mr. Balfour will enlighten his hearers as to the conditions upon which the Boers surrendered. On this important point not further information has been forthcoming other than the intelligent anticipations with which the papers have been filled for the past week.

KRUGER NOT CONSULTED.

Cabling from Pretoria a correspondent of The Daily Mail, after announcing the signing of the terms of surrender, says the British authorities absolutely rejected the suggestion of the Boer delegates that the terms of surrender should be ratified by Mr. Kruger, and declares that the Boers in Europe had no hand in the settlement.

"The terms will show," continues the correspondent, "that the British Government carried its contentions on every vital point, while the minor concessions, particularly those in regard to generous financial treatment, will greatly appeal to the Boers in general. The value of Lord Kitchener's personality as a factor in the conclusion of peace can never be overestimated. There is no doubt that peace will be popular among the Boers."

Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Liberal leader in the House of Commons, said in and interview:
"The whole country will rejoice over peace. I know nothing of the terms or conditions, but I hope they are such as will be full of promise for the future."

The large cities of England, notably Liverpool and Manchester, celebrated the receipt of the news from South Africa in a manner similar to London. The country, where almost every member of the Cabinet had gone for the week-end, heard the news too late for any organised rejoicings. Wherever telegrams had reached throughout the whole United Kingdom, or where the glad tidings had become known by any other means, the key note of the sentiments expressed and of the celebrations was, "Thank God, it is over."

In the absence of any knowledge of the terms of peace, the editorials in this morning's papers are rather stereotyped and uninteresting, expressing generally and without undue exultation thankfulness that long and arduous struggle is ended and the hope that the peace will be enduring.

The papers recognised also that there is still a great and difficult task ahead in reconciling and reconstructing South Africa, and, as The Morning Post significantly observes, in taking "the right means to prevent what has been won north of the Orange River from being lost to the south of it."

In this connection it should be remarked that there are some small Boer commandoes in Cape Colony, and probably elsewhere, which were not represented at the Vereeniging conference. The Daily Graphic, in this connection, says:

"This is a consideration which may well chasten our sense of triumph to-day. We have done great things in the war, but we have still greater things to achieve in peace."

Published NY TIMES, June 2, 1902
===========================================================================================
THE NEWS IN WASHINGTON.

WASHINGTON, June 1, 1902. - The official of the British Embassy here share the jubilant feeling existing in London over the termination of the war in South Africa. Official notice of the signing of the terms of surrender came to A. S. Raikes, the British Charge, in a cablegram from teh Foreign Office at London. It was very brief, and was in accord with the statements contained in the press dispatches. It probably will be communicated formally to the United States Government to-morrow. Nothing official has reached the State Department from Ambassador Choate or from any other source. To President Roosevelt was furnished a copy of The Associated Press dispatch giving the news of the signing of surrender terms.

The impression prevails in official circles that the terms of surrender granted by the British are very liberal, perhaps from the double desire to bring the war to a close and to have this happy event formally proclaimed before the coronation of King Edward.

From a commercial point of view the cessation of hostilities will result beneficially to American exports to South Africa, the reports issued from time to time by the Foreign Commerce Bureau of the State Department showing that they have suffered considerably since the beginning of the war.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.

It Has Lasted Two Years and Nearly Eight Months - Principal Features of the Campaign.

The Boer war has lasted for two years and nearly eight months. It seemed to be British nation one of the longest wars on record,
but actually, of course, many conflicts have occupied a considerably longer time, and those who were thoroughly acquainted with
the conditions in South Africa before hostilities began (they did not include the members of the British Government) quite
anticipated that the campaign would be a prolonged one.

October 11, 1899, was the last day fixed by the Boer Government for Great Britain's compliance with its "ultimatum." This word is always placed by the London papers within quotation marks, though why there should be any doubt as to whether the ultimatum was really an ultimatum has not been shown. At any rate, it was so regarded by the Boers, and when it was not complied with they proceeded to act as any other nation would have done had its ultimatum been disregarded.

The controversy which preceded the war has been the occasion for so much American newspaper comment that it need not be described at this time. Technically, the Boers began the war by invading British territory, but the question in regard to the responsibility for opening hostilities has also been so thoroughly thrashed out (though without any conclusion being reached) that it is not necessary to refer to it. Four days after the expiration of the time limit in the ultimatum, Kimberley was isolated, and a fortnight after that Ladysmith and Mafeking were also besieged.

The first battle of the war was regarded as a British success. On October 20 the Boer position on Talana Hill was captured by the troops under Gen. Symons, but the British retreat to Ladysmith followed, the wounded including Gen. Symons, being left at Dundee. They fell into the hands of the Boers, and on October 23 Gen. Symons died.

On the last day of October Gen. Sir Redvers Buller landed at Cape Town, and received the enthusiastic plaudits of the people of that city. It was supposed by the great majority of British people that he would make short work of the campaign. It was even complained by some humane persons that it was wrong to send to fight the burghers, a commander who was so notorious for his stern character.

SERIES OF BRITISH REVERSES.

Then followed that extraordinary series of British reverses, which created utter consternation throughout the Empire. In the middle of December the prospect for the British was of the most gloomy character. On December 10 Gatacre had been defeated at Stormberg, the following day Methuen sustained a terrible defeat at Magersfontein, and on December 15 Buller was repulsed on the Tugela, losing 1,100 men and 12 guns. The mobilization of a seventh division for service against the Boers was ordered by the War Office, and on December 18 Lord Roberts was appointed Commander in Chief in South Africa, with Lord Kitchener as his Chief of Staff. Great Britain had awakened to the peril which menaced the Empire.

Roberts and Kitchener reached South Africa on January 10, 1900. For a time the British reverses continued. On January 23 and 24 occurred the catastrophe of Spion Kop - that engagement which afterward, in the opinion of most British experts, cost Buller his reputation.

It was not until February that the tension in the United Kingdom began to lighten. On February 9 Roberts reached the Modder River, and soon afterward began a series of British successes that seemed all the more striking because of the fear of utter disaster which had preceded them.

When, on February 15, Kimberley was relieved, scenes were witnessed in London such as had never before been thought possible in that solemn capital. People literally went crazy with joy, and when, in quick succession came the capture of Cronje at Paardeberg, the relief of Ladysmith, and continual minor defeats of Boers, the excitement rose to a pitch which is simply indescribable. Peers walked arm in arm with chimney sweeps, ladies behaved in a manner which at another time would have caused the arrest of flower girls, and so great was the crush in the principal streets, that traffic was impossible. These scenes were repeated in the middle of May, when the news of the relief of Mafeking arrived. The two chief heroes of the war were then Roberts and Baden-Powell, with Sir George White, the defender of Ladysmith, a close third.

On May 30 Krueger fled from Pretoria, and after stopping at various Transvaal towns, ultimately reached Portuguese territory, sailing for Marseilles on October 19. Johannesburg was occupied by the British on May 31, and Pretoria fell five days afterwards.

Even military experts then supposed that the war was practically over, and no one believed that the Boers would continue fighting for two years. The history, from the burgher side of the events which followed the fall of the Boer capital, has not been written, but it would seem as though the burghers must have been encouraged by the number of recruits they obtained from Cape Colony. At any rate, it was that Colony which for a long time was the scene of the fiercest hostilities.

On November 29, 1900, Roberts transferred the supreme command to Kitchener and went home, believing, according to report, that the war was "practically ended." A short time afterward a member of the British Cabinet described the operations in South Africa as "a kind of warfare."

The operations last year presented no features of the first importance. Boer success followed British success, but always the number of Boer prisoners in British hands increased, until it became a mystery as to whence all the fighters came. It is now believed that the rebels from Cape Colony, whose number was said by the British Government to be unimportant, really formed a
formidable army.

Last August 6 Kitchener's famous proclamation notifying the Boers that all leaders taken under arms after September 15 would be permanently banished from South Africa, was promulgated. The proclamation had by not means the effect intended, and it is believed that the British authorities now realize that it was a mistake. At any rate, it is safe to assume that its provision will not be
enforced.

The war, as was only natural, was fought in its later stages with more ferocity, but not with more eagerness, by both sides. The Boers are said to have committed various atrocities, and some British troops have been proved guilty of murder. A number of Boers, including Commandant Scheepers, were executed after court-martial by the British.

Just what induced the Boers to decide for peace when they opened the negotiations now concluding, is doubtful. Probably the "sweeping" operations which Kitchener made possible by his system of blockhouses, had a good deal to do with the result, as these operations almost invariably resulted in the capture of a considerable number of Boers.

FORMER PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.

The negotiations which have now probed successful were not he first initiated with a view to peace since the conflict began. In March 1900, Boer overtures for peace were rejected. In June 1900, negotiations, which came to nothing, were carried on between
Christian Botha and Gen. Buller, with the object of arranging an armistice, and it had been said that if the British Government had shown and inclination to grant lenient terms after Pretoria was occupied the war might have ended two years ago. This claim has been made in defence of the optimistic statements of Lord Roberts, after he returned home. He is said to have known that the Boers were willing to treat for peace, but it is alleged that the demand of the British Government for unconditional surrender prevented the end of the campaign at that time.

In February 1901, peace negotiations were initiated through Mrs. Botha, the wife of the Transvaal Commander in Chief. After a visit to her husband she informed Lord Kitchener that Gen. Botha was willing to meet him to discuss means of bringing the war to an end, on the express understanding that the question of independence of the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies should not be discussed in any way. On February 28 Lord Kitchener and Gen. Botha met at Middleburg, and Gen. Botha then said he was afraid peace could not be secured without independence. However, he asked for information as to the nature of the future government proposed for the two colonies and as to other points.

After correspondence between Lords Kitchener and Milner and the British Government, a letter was sent to Gen. Botha on March7 setting forth the terms which amnesty for the Transvaal and Orange River Boers, while the rebels were to be dealt with by the special laws passed by Cape Colony and Natal. A Crown Colony Government was promised at the earliest possible date, to be followed "as soon as circumstances permit" by representative government. Both the English and Dutch languages were to be taught in schools and allowed in courts of law. Great Britain promised to set aside, as an act of grace, a sum not exceeding £1,000,000 to repay the Boers for goods requisitioned by the late republican Governments. The British Government promised to consider the possibility of assisting by loan Boer farmers who took the oath of allegiance to repair losses to farms caused by the war. Firearms for sporting and protection were to be allowed by licence to Boers who took the oath of allegiance. Great Britain promised to secure the predominance of the white race, although she refused to promise not to give a limited franchise to the Kafirs.

Gen. Botha replied that he had advised his Government of the terms offered, but that, "after the mutual exchange of views at our interview at Middelburg on February 28 last, it will certainly not surprise your Excellency to know that I do not feel disposed to recommend that the terms of the said letter shall have the earnest consideration of my Government. I may add also that my Government and my chief officers here entirely agree with my views."

An official British estimate gave the Boer losses up to the end of last year at 18,320 men killed, wounded, and captured.

Published NY TIMES, June 2, 1902
===========================================================================================
LORD KITCHENER LEAVES FOR ENGLAND

His Address to Boer Delegates Wins Hearty Response.

Gen. Botha and Gen. De La Rey to Go to Europe for Relief Funds - Boers and Britons Rejoicing Over Peace.

DURBAN, Natal, June 4, 1902. - The Times of Natal states that Lord Kitchener has left for England, and that Gen.
Lyttleton is Acting Commander in Chief of the British forces in South Africa.

Published NY TIMES, June 5, 1902

===========================================================================================
SIR GEORGE WHITE IS DEAD.

Defender of Ladysmith First Won Fame During Afghan War.

LONDON, June 24, 1912. - Field Marshall Sir George Stuart White, Governor of Chelsea Hospital, London's home for aged soldiers, and one of the most distinguished soldiers in the British army, died to-day in his 7th year.

Sir George White, who was an Irishman, having been born in County Antrim in 1835, passed through a strenuous life as a soldier fighting Britain's battles in all parts of the world. He went through the terrible hardships of the Indian Mutiny in 1857 as a young officer, taking part in many engagements with the Sepoys. It was, however, during the Afghan war in 1879-80 that he made his fame and won the rare distinction of the Victoria Cross "For valour."

At the battle of Charasiah he led two companies of his regiment, the Gordon Highlanders, up a steep mountain to attack the strongly posted Afghan fanatics. When his men halted exhausted, he seized a rifle, advanced alone, and shot the Afghan General dead. He accompanied Lord Roberts on his march to Kandahar, and in the final charge he rode straight up to the muzzles of the Afghan's cannon, captured one with his own hands, and assured the British victory. He afterwards participated in the Soudanese expedition in 1885 for the relief of Gen. Gordon, and the same year in the Burmese war.

In 1897, when he was commander in Chief in Natal, he defended Ladysmith against the Boer besiegers for 119 days. After the Boer war he was appointed Governor of the fortress of Gibraltar.

In 1900 Sir George White was created a Knight of the Grand Cross of St. Michael and St. George, and Knight of the Grand Cross of the Victorian Order. He was previously created Knight Grand Commander of the Indian Empire, and of the Star of India. He was a Knight of the Grand Cross of the Bath. Degrees were conferred on him by Oxford, Cambridge and Dublin universities.

Published NY TIMES, June 25, 1912

 

The 'other side of the hill':
Anglo Boer War Museum
Interesting site:
Anglo Boer War home page

Digger history has some nice photographs:
Boer War; Dutch farmers fighting Aussie farmers

Boer war memorials
Roll of Honour - Boer War - Photo Gallery

 

DBF, Have you been down to the Fusilier's Arch in St. Stephens Green in Dublin? It lists all the war dead from the 2nd Boer War suffered by the Royal Dublin Fusiliers.

Hi GH,
'fraid I haven't. Not been to Dublin in a long time. Furtherest I get south these days is the airport. Will make a mental note for next time I am in the city.

This it?

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1090/1362740683_c98e4c86bf.jpg?v=1189565260
Google Image Result for http://lh3.google.com/_nhEKES4EVUg/R74OM690INI/AAAAAAAAAOA/k6E0TCEh2ro/s800/IMG_2994.JPG

Thanks for pointing it out.
dbf

 

... and of course as a result of the actions of Irish Regiments in the Boer war, Queen Victoria showed her gratitude ...

 

L A, Thanks for that photo, will be great to add to Scott's file.

Diane

 

Drew that's just brilliant, thanks.
Yes, I have the citation.
D

 

James Pitts, VC