The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-06-13
LAING'S MEX AND MAJUBA
GEN. BULLER NOV MASTER OF
 THESE sTRONGHoLDS.

THESE sIRONGH0LDS.
 Boers Completely Evacuaae Them and
 the British Advance Four Miles Be-
 yOnd yoIksrust-R1bsr C0mmuni-
 cations Expected to be Restored To-
 day-Hunter Reported to Have se-
 vere1y Defeated the eBurghers-Fxrugrr
 Posts News of the British Defeat at
 Ro0dtvnl.
 Lodndon, June 13, 3;20 a. m.-TWo pieces of news encouraging to the Brit ish in the official dispatches are that the broken communications Of Lofd Roberts are in a fair way to be mended by the forces moving northwards and southwards and driving off the rowing commanders, and that Sir Redvers Bull Ter is at last master of Laing's Nek and Majuba, having encamped beyond Volksrust in the Transvaal.
 General Butler was unable on Monday to follow up the Boers from lack or cavalry as well as water. The dis patches describe him as fighting q spir- ited advance over a rugged field under prolonged rifle fire. The Boers had two guns which they got away. Few dead or wounded Boers were found. It seems probable that the major portion of the Boers had withdrawn before the ad- vance was begun
 Lord Methuen, General Rundle and General Brabant are reported to have 95,000 men and fifty guns engaged m enclosing the Boers in the eastern part of Orange river colony.
 Photographic communication with Lord Roberts is expected to be restored to- day, as a dispatch from Bloemfontein yesterday says that the railway Is in British possession again and that the work of repairing the line is going on rapidly with the abundant material warehoused at Bloemfontein.
 From the subtoined telegram it would appear that General Hunter was in command of the troops referred to by General Kelly-Kenny in his dispatch from Bloemfontein: 'Bloemfontein, June 12.-General Hunter is coming up rapidly from the northwest, having se- verely defeated large commando of Boers who had destroyed two miles of railway north of Kroonstad."
 The Boer government is also issuing news cheering to it's sympathizers. The following bulletin, the Boer version of the disaster to the Derbyshires, was posted by President Kruger, Sunday, at Machadodorp: "On June 7, four divis- JoI ,1y Ramp, Froneman, Duploy, Fourie and Mel attacked the British at Roode val, killed 200, took 700 prisoners and captured immense stores of food and ammunition, Maxim gun and 1000 lyddite shells. Some food was taken by the Boer farmers and the rest was burned. The English mail was taken. The burghers attacked from the open veldt and gave evidence of unprece- dented bravery"
 General De Wet was also fighting on June ?, whether at Roodeval or else where is not clear, but the Boer war Of fee gives it out that he captured 5000 suits of clothing, blankets. gloves and boots. Being unable to carry them with him in his rapid sweep through the country, according to the Transvaal war office he burned the whole mass General De Wet has also reported that he put 1000 British out of action and destroyed property valued at e100,000. | As Lord Methuen is officially described | as fighting on June {, it is possible that l he was engaging General De Wet.
 According to a dispatch to the Daily | Express from Machadodorp dated June | 10, via Lorenzo Marques, those around | President Kruger say that Louis Botha | and Delarey have been offered indirect y e1 900 a year to lay down their arms, and President Kruger expects the same offer to be made to himself, President | Steyn and De Wet. President Kruger believes that the British make these Of fers to close the war on the principle that it would cost less than to fight it put.
 A dispatch from Lorenzo Marques says that 15,000 Boers are reported to De retiring on Middeburg from various quarters and that after wedding out .he faint hearted, 10000 steadfast men Ire still left.