The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-03-14
BRITISH AT BLOEMFONTEIN
FRENCH OCCUPIES TWO HILLS COM
MANDING THE TOWN.
Its Occupation Expected To-day -Boers
Retiring from Orange River in u Trap
Their Gums Almost Sure to be Lost
The Kruger-Stcyn Terms of Peace Re-
jected-Salisbury Not Prepared to As
sent 10 the Republics Independence
The Official Commun tions.
The Official Com ommunications.

London, March A. 4.30 q. m.-Nothing
can be said at this hour Of the advance
on Bloemfontein beyond Lord Roberts
own dispatches Nothing more has
been permitted to come through. Doubt
less Lord Roberts himself is fully oc-
cupied with important military opera
tions. The despatch from Cape Town
saying that General French has ar
rived at Bloemfontein' probably does
not mean that he has entered the city.
Lord Roberts messages may mean
either that the Beers have cut the rail-
way to the north or that the British
cavalry have done so. Il the former,
then it may be assumed that no roll
ing stock has been seized but by gen.
eral assumption the latter interpreta-
tion is regarded aa correct.
This woud greatly facilitate obtain
ing supplies from Orange river, an i'm
portant matter, as Lord Roberts line
of communication with Modder bridge
is now one hundred miles long. The
Beers may make another fight, but
there is little doubt that Lord Roberts
will occupy Bloemfontein to-day (Wed-
nesday). The Beers retiring from Or
two British armies and their guns are
almost bound to fall into the hands of
the British, while the occupation of the
Free tSate capital will strain the alli-
ance of the two republics to the utmost.
The government will not allow the
Steyn appeal to influence in any
way their determination not to spare
any effort to prosecute the war. There
will be no dimnution of measures cal
culated to maintain the full efficiency
of the field force; and whatever REIN
forcements were previously considered
advisable will still be sent out. Lord
Salisbury's reply meets with unani-
nous approval among conservatives
and it is the universal opinion that the
Beers, by their eXtravagant claims and
canting tone meant to influence foreign
powers have again overreached them
selves, as they did by the ultimatum
Spenser Wilkinson, the military ex-
pert of the Morning Post, says: Lord
Roberts is probably now waiting in
front of Bloemfontein for the infantry
divisions. None of them could well be
expected to arrive before dark The !
three divisions would probably be SO
that while the leading one
would follow the cavalry and turn the |
Boer defenses the other two would come
up in echelon on the original Boer front,
SO that in case of resistance the Beers
would be enveloped and compelled to
retreat under difficulties and with heavy
loss.
Lord Roberts is not the man to for
get, in his determination to reach a
point, any measures likely
to contribute toward crushing part
of the enemy's force. There are abun-.
dant signs of the decentralization of the
Beers. The first is the bad strategy of
their resistance to the advance of Lord |
Then comes the message of |
the presidents to Lord Salisbury kru-
ger and Steyn, it can be seen, have not |
yet quite realized their position but |
Lord Salisbury's reply, being precisely |
what the British nation expected him to |
send, may open their eyes,"