The evening times., 1900-04-18

WOrh n spun iNnp hea1 ~ NAeft ~ N+ASA
cised by Lord Roberts. has been recalled
from South Africa and ordered to return
TO England.
In his report to the War ONCE General |
Lord Roberts complains that the ian Of
operations is not clearly dsze-.oed. After
sketching General Buffers intentions. as
communicated TO Sir Charles Warren, who !
commanded the whole force Lord Roberts
points out that General Warren seems TO
have concluded. after consultation with his
officers. that the Ranking movement. or
dered by General Butler was impractical
BILE and. therefore, so changed the plan Of
advance ae to necessitate the capture and
retention Of Spion Kop. Lord Roberts con-
tInues:
As Warren considered il impossible TO
make the wide Ranking movement which
was recommended, If not actually pre-
scribed. in the secret instructions. he
should forthwith have acquainted Butler
with the course he proposed to adopt.
There is nothing to show whether he lid
so or not. But it is only fair to Warren
70 point out that Butler appears through
out 10 have been aware o. what was hap
peniug."
Regarding the withdrawal from Sp.on
Kop. the retention Of which had become
essential to the relief OF Ladysmith, lord
Roberts says:
Il regret to be unable 70 concur with
Butler in thinking Thorneycroft exercised
wise discretion in ordering the troops to
retire I am OF the opinion that ThOrney-
croft's assumption Of responsibility and
authority was wholly ine,,cusable. During
the night the enemy's fire could not have
been formidable, and it would not have ia
ken more han two or three hours for
Thorueycroft to communicate by messen-
ger with Major General Coke or Warren.
Coke appears TO have left SpiOn Kop
at $3.50 O'Clock in the evening for the pur-
pose Of consulting with Warren. Up TO
that hour the idea Of withdrawal had not
been entertained. Yet. almost immediate
" after Coke's departure Thorneycroft is
sued the order. without reference TO su-
perior authority, which upset the whole
plan Of operations and rendered unavail
ing the sacrifices already made TO carry it
into effect On the other hand. it is only
right to state that Tnorneycroft appears to
throughout the day.
Warren Not at Spfon Kop.
1T is to be regretted that Warren did
not himself visit Spion Eop in the after
noon or evening, knowing, as he d.d. that
the state Of affairs was very critical and
that the loss Of the position would involve
the failure Of the operations He conse-
quentIy was Obliged to summon Coke TO
his headquarters. and the command at
Spion Kop thus devoIved on Thorneycroft
unknown e, Coke. who was under the i'm
preston that the command devolved upon
Colonel R.I. as senior officer. Omissions
CT mistakes os this nature may be trivial in
themselves yet they may exercise an i'm
portant influence on the coIrse OF events,
and l believe Butler was justified in re-
marking. There was a want Of organiza-
tion and system which acted most unfav-
Orably on the defeuce.'
The attempt 10 relieve Ladysmith was
well devised and l agree with Butler in
thinking il ought 10 have succeeded. That
II failed may in some measure have been
due 10 the difficulties Of the grU.1d and the
commanding positions held by the enemy,
and probably also to errors OF judgment
and want Of administrative capacity on the
part Of Warren. But whatever faults
Warren may have committed. the failure
must also be attributed to the disinclina-
ton Of the officer in supreme command to
assert his authority and see that what he
thought best was done. and also to the un-
warrantabIe and needles assumption Of
responsibility by a subordinate officer"
The despatch concludes:
The gratifying feature Of these des-
patches is the admirable behavior Of the
troops throughout the operation"
General Buffers report disputes General
warren's statements in his report on
Spion Kop. He tells how he saw the force
at Spion Kop had given way before War
ren knew OF it, and telegraphed to War
ren:
Unless you put a really good, hard
fighting man in command on top, you will
lose the hill I suggest Thorneycroft."
General Butler continues:
No investigation Ordered.
Il have not thought it necessary to order
an investigation. IT, at sundown, the de-
fence OF the summit had been taken in
hand. entrenchments laid out, and the
dead and wounded removed. the whole
place would have been brought under reg
ular military command and the hills
would have been held. am sure But no
arrangements we're made. Coke appears to
have been ordered away just as he would
have been useful, and no one succee ded
him. Those on top were ignorant Of the
fact that the guns were coming up, and
generally there was a want Of orgauza-
tion and system that acted most unfavor-
ably on the defence. Preparations for tn.
second days defence should have been o.
ganized during the day and commenced a
uightfall As this was not dc1e, I th.nl
Thorneycroft exercised wise discretion"
General Warren says that on coRsulta
tion with the commander in -chief wheI
the question OF retiring or attacking Spior
Kop was discussed. Warren expressed hi
preference for attackipg. This was sue
cessfully accomplished by Woodgate, VIII,
was wounded. Then came the order from
Butler TO put Thorneyeroft ir command Of
the summit. In the meantime, Warrer
had sent Coke up 70 re-enforcs him, will
orders TO assume command After man,
Intellectual efforts TO heliograph Thorney
croft and find whether he had assume
command Warren was finally able to pc