The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-13

liant style after successful, enssaa-
ment. engage
Lord Roberts does not appear 70 h.
used more than two brigades of infa ntry
with strong body of cavalry. and Viii
the neaVy guns were kept well in front
mere was little work for them He had
stationed two brigades of cavalry norfb
OF Pretoria, and General HamiIton's cnl
umn TO the west and had not ATTEMPTED
70 concentrate ms forces, since the Boer
commanders were not strong
After few hours of maneuyer,np tba
capital was left defenseless. The fort.
constructed at the expense of the mine,
were abandoned, the creusots and Krunns
and the famous Long Toms. which were
to render Pretoria impregnabIe. Were
taken east to the mountains and the
burghers had boosted would be defended
for month after month. was surrendered
after single feeble engagement.
The facility with which Johannesburg
ana pretoria nave been taken leads many
military men to suspect that there has
been secret understanding between
PRESIDENT krueger and the British Gov
eminent by which the war will be
loss of life and wasteful destruction Of
property. This theory while plausible.
cannot be proved, since neither President
Kruger nor Lord Roberts will adnif
that there has been any secret intrigue or
tnat the closing scenes of the war have
been prearranged in any sense The safer
generalization is that the Beers have
fought calamity against the resources of
mighty empire and have been finally
overwhelmed by superior numbers and
energy, and that Lord Roberts has work.
ed out an intricate problem in the dynam-
les of war. He has known how much
force was needed on the advance line
and what kind OF force and how to pro-
tect his line of communications most eff
fectively by operations on the eastern
flank under General Rumble
: The campaign may now be said To have
ended west CT the line drawn from Pre-
toria to Ficksburg. General Hunters di-
tenburg, Lord Methuen will probably
turn up at Potchefstroom, and Generals
Baden-Powen and Darlington will occu-
py Zeerust and Rustenburg. The occupa-
ton of Pretoria will probably dishearten
the Free State forces and the Bethle-
hem, Harrismth and Vrode districts will
be gradually overrun by General Rundle's
forces. The remaining operations of the
war win be restricted to the Lydenburg
district to which the enemy still holding
Laing's Mex must retreat through Er-
melo.
There many signs that the struggle
viii end in the course of fortnight and
the details of the surrender of Pretoria
communicated by Lord Roberts at MIDI
Roberts report it appears that the Beers
were driven back fairly into Pretoria in
Mondays engagement and that the sur
render of the town was demanded. Cen
eral Botha proposed an armiStice for set
Ting the terms of surrender, and Lord
Roberts replied that there could be no
conditions. General Botha decided
against any attempt to defend the town
and the civil officials arranged for the
entry of the troops during the afternoon.
as had been done at johannesburg. The
wives of President Kruger and General
Botha remained in the town and at
tempt was made to remove the British
prisoners to Waterfall All the prisoners
will be speedily released and the stand
made in the Lydenburg district is not
likely to be serious.