The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-06-05
| NEW COURAGE.
Beers at Pretoria BraciDg
Up.
Council Of Generals Re-
ported Held.
Deep Anger Pelt Against Kruger for
Fleeing.
Took Gold and Left Sol
diers Unpaid.
Attempt TO Cut Off Lord Roberts
Baffled.
Attempt TO Cut Off Lord Roberts
BafIled.

London, June $3.50 y. m. -of official
intelligence regarding what is transpiring
out side Pretoria there Is little or nothing
today. Lord Roberts is silent. Never
theless, by pieceing together items from
various correspondents 1t would seem
that Lord Roberts's immediate army is
all employed north of johannesburg, ex-
cept one brigade, which is at Johannes
burg, and that six columns are converging
on Pretoria.
An undated news agency message from
Pretoria, via Lourenco Marquee, June
4, says:
Pretoria is now invested by the Brit
ish. No Resistance will bs offered. The
city win be surrounded by the burgo-
master as soon as formal demand is
made"
This me ssage purports to come in
cipher. President Kruger commands the
telegraph eastward from Pretoria, and
telegraphic news from Pretoria to
Lourenzo Marques has ceased; but the
messengers of newspaper correspondents
continue to pass to and fro on the rail
way. The latest 20 sarr.va at zLourenzo
Marques brings events at the Boer capital
down TO a late hour Friday night. At
that time according to these sources of
information, the military leaders had
quite recovered from the panic and ha d
determined to defend the town. One
message which is dated June 1, says:
pretoria Is full of strange burghers;
but most Of the commanders are laagered
outside. A great war council of generals
has just concluded its deliberations. The
decision as to the future military course
has not been made known. Louis Botha
and De La Rey sat in the council"
Another despatch brought to Lourenzo
Marquee by messenger and dated at Pre-
toria Friday ut midnight, says:
1.-THE war council assumes the powers
Of the government. Its members declare
that the capital may still be successfully
defended. One com mmander declared:
With the help of God the hour will still
come when Great Britain will acknowl-
edge the independence of the two
republics. A tremendous change will yet
come over the situation
General De La Rey said that Pretoria
would be defended to the utmost, adding:
There is every chance that we will yet
beat the enemy out Of the country
President Kruger Is somewhere to the
eastward but is in constant wire COM
munication with the leaders here. There
is, however, a deep feeling Of anger
against him on account Of what Is now
called his unnecessary flight and because
he and the officials took all tn. gold and
left their subordinates unpaid. The
latest phase Of public opinion is mar
velous revival of courage"
From Lourenzo Marques comes des-
patch, dated June 4, saying:
at is known that some great British
move Is in progress outside Pretoria.
The mysterious movements OF President
Krug er's secretary and physician, par
ticularly their secret visit to the Dutch
warship Friesland which is in the harbor
here, has aroused suspicious that import
ant personages are expected"
The news from the minor theatres of
hostilities is less cryptic. The Boer op-
erations to break Lord Roberts's COM
muntcaUiOus nave urtu COiliplcteiy bdAucu
and the Boer columns are in danger of
being surrounded by the British forces
at Ficksburg, Senekal, Heilbron and
Lindley. General Rumble, instead of
throwing himself against the Beers en-
trenched at Bedulphberg moved toward
Ficksburg and established communica-
tion with General Brabant. The Beers
marched parallel with Rumble, intending
to seize strong position on the Fieks-
burg road, but Rumble got there first.
The fifteen hundred Beers who were
in this movement are now reported to be
going elsewhere.
The correspondents with General Run
die continue to point out the hardness Of
the fight Of last Tuesday, but they
believe that it will be the last real resis T.
ance. Col. Lord was thrice wounded.
A new phase Of the Anglc-Dutch con-
filct is opening in Cape Colony. The
headers Of the Afrikander purposes, 1t Is