New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-28
CRONJE CAPTURED AT LAST.


The surrender of General Cronje and his
army is the most important incident thus far Of
the South African war. It inflicts upon the
Beers at single blow a far greater loss pro-
portonately, than the aggregate Of all the
losses inflicted upon the British since the war
began Indeed, it may be actually greater
without regard TO proportion. For nearly four
thousand Boer prisoners have been taken, or
more than all the British prisoners in the whole
war. Just how many men General Cronje had
when he fed from Jacobsdal is not known. But
he had before Kimberley more than twelve
thousand and that entire force has now been
either killed captured scattered to the
north in fugitive bands. And that is larger
number than that of all British losses of all
kinds.
That however is not the full measure Of the
Boer loss The practical humiliation of Gen
eral Cronje's army leaves the road to Bloem-
fontein open to the triumphant British. General
Cronje, as we said yesterday, held out stub
bornly to give all possible time for the defence
of that city. Doubtless the Beers have i'm
proved the time to the best of their ability, but
there is no indication that they have done so
with any degree of effectiveness. They have
| not been able to mass army for Cronje's
lief or for the defence of the Orange capital
On the contrary, their utmost effort seems to
eminent offices from Bloemfontein to Winburg
That place is some sixty miles northeast of
Bloemfontein, on the road from the latter to
Pretoria. 1t is not known that it is any more
defensible than Bloemfontein. There is, finally
the danger, now imminent, that the considerable
proBritish party in the Orange State under the
lead of Mr.. Frazer, will openly renounce the
Afrikander cause and go over to the British
| side There certainly seems more likelihood of
that than Of any rising Of the Dutch in Cape
Colony.
Lord Roberts has now completed in
terly fashion the first grand division of his cam
paign. He has raised the siege of Kimberley
and annihilated the beseging army He has
| done So too on the schedule time" for which
he and his chief of staff, Lord Kitchener, are
noted. 1t will be recalled that Lord Kitchener's
advance up the Nile to Omdurman and Khar-
toum was conducted with the precision of
railroad time table, place after place being
reached not only on the day, but at the very
] hour of day, that had been set down against 1t
months before So Lord Roberts sent General
| French into Kimberley at the very hour he had
| prearranged If the world had not been so
| authoritatively assured that "'e does not adj
| ver-tise," might suspect "Bobs" of having
| so timed and gagged his pressure upon General
| Cronje as to bring about his surrender on the
| teenth anniversary of Majuba Hill. In truth, 1t
! would have been quite paFdonable for him to
| have done so, for though the coincidence merely
| caters to sentiment, yet sentiment goes a good
| way, in war as well as in other things. The
| hypercritical and fnicky may object to Lord
| Roberts's reference to the anniversary in his
| dispatch, but that too, seems to entirely par
/ dOnable, just as was Rear Admiral SIMPSONS
| reference to the Fourth of July in his of
the fight at Santiago.
There is no doubt that the generous spirit on
| the part Of the British public which was
marked upon a few days ago will continue
dominant in this time Of triumph and Of exulta-
| ton. Joy over Lord ROberts's victory will be
| commingled with admiration for General
Cronje's resourceful tactics and valiant defence.
| Lord Roberts has himself set the fine example
of treating his vanquished opponent with all
| courtesy, and is. indeed, showing the same wise
spirit in all his dealings with the Beers. II that
spirit shall generally prevail. at Westminster as
well as the yeldt, this anniversary Of Ma
! juba Hill may lead TO q mutual understanding
| and esteem between the two races as marked as
We're the misunderstanding, the contempt and
the hatred that proceeded from Majuba nineteen
| years ago.