The age-herald., 1900-05-26
PRETORIA IS SILENT Not a Line of News Escapes the
 Boer CensorS. THEIR MOVEMENTS A MYSTERY
War Office in London Expects the Next Report from Roberts Dated in Sight of the Transvaal
 Frontier

London, May 26.-(3:3O a. m.)-The latest advices from Lord Roberts headquarters at Vredefort Station, filed Thursday at 5:45 D. m, that the British were rapid ly advancing. General Hamilton had eff fected a junction with Lord Roberts. The country in front of them was clear of Boers to Viljoens Drift. The Boers were evacuatng all their positions south of the Vaal river, and 5000 had already crossed to the north bank. Probably General French's cavalry is already reconnoiterng the lords of the Vaal
 War office observers expect that the next dispatch from the field marshal will be dated in sight of the Transvaal frontier.
 MT. Bennett Bureigh, wiring to the Daily Telegraph from Vredefort Thursday morning said Lord Roberts would doubt less cross the vaal river Saturday or Sun day. The British outposts were then at Erst GuIuk, nine miles north of vredefort and twenty-six miles south of the Vaai river. The railway is much damaged. While the British in overwhelming force are approaching the Transvaal, the move ments of the Boers are enveloped in mys- tery. The last Pretoria news to reach Lourenzo Marques was week old.
  border from the Transvaal is searched for newspapers and letters Dispatches and mail letters containing even harmless references to the war suppressed; the only news that has emerged from the Transvaal during the last ten days has come by word of mouth.
 Boers Are Ouarreling
 According to these oral reports the Boers
 
 vaal paper money was circulating at 50 per cent discount. Beckets firm was giving fl in gold for f5 in paper. Krouz and Klinke, the engineers who opposed the blowing up of the mines, have been dis missed. Commandant Schutte had been ap- pointed to defend Johannesburg, and all the British subjects had been turned out. The Transvaalers fear that the British will blow up the bridge at Komati Poort, thus cut ting off their suplies from Delagoa, and a commando of 300 is guarding the bridge. . It is re-asserted that President Kruger w... retire to Lydenburg when fighting is imminent at Johannesburg and Pretoria. Concern is expressed at Pretoria with ref erence to the possibility that General Car rington may come down from Rhodesia with 5000 men to cooperate with as many  Mafeking Horse sickness is said to have broken out among General Carrington's brigade.
 Cecil Rhodes is at Bier, Portuguese, East Africa lar Fuller, member of the Cape parliament, who is supposed to be con- hdent of MT. Rhodes, said in the course of a speech at Capetown yesterday, when pro- posing the health of MT. Rhodes, that the latter was working to consolidate South Africa from the zambesi to Table Bay
 Baden-Poweli Declines Rest
 Major Baden-Powell declines to act on the suggestions of his friends that he should return to England for rest. He is determined to retain his active command at the front. Advices from Mafeking dated May 20, say:
 ''The Boers are entrenching at Polfontein, ten miles east of Mafeking. The Northern railway is now repaired to a point within four miles of the town.
 Ample supplies of plain food are com ing in.
 Colonel Baden-Powel voluntarily gave up 53 Boers and Il wounded to the Boer commandant, ho thanked him for his kind ness"
 The Baratongs, stimulated by the Brit ish success, attacked the rebel natives at Reitfontein May 19 and took much loot They released Sani, the ol dchef who had rendered good service to the British in keeping Mafeking supplied with news of the Boer operations
 The railway south of Mafeking is being rapidly repaired, and the bridge at Taungs can now be used. Refugees from Mafeking are passing through Taungs bound for the Cape. Two thousand Boers are near Picks burg, besides small rowing parties that come into contact with the British while accommodating. President Steyn was with the Boers last Monday, organizing and in- spring them and drafting recalcitrants in- to the service. The British are sweeping the country far and wide, seizng horses cattle and grain. Yesterday President Steyn was reported to be at Bethlehem with a small field force. appealing to the Free Staters to defend their freedom and independence. Apparently he and all the Free Staters he assemble will not join the Transvaalers, but will remain in the northeastern section of the Free State. On Tuesday there was heavy cannonading at Mochenze, near Bethlehem The firing be- gan at dusk Why and with what result is not known at Mazer. Basutoland, from where the news arriving yesterday
 isoer Envoys Going to Knoxville