The age-herald., 1900-02-20
CRONJE SAID ID
 BE SURROUNDED War Office Has a Telegram Which Is Entirely Satisfactory RiEFy.O GIVE PARTICULARS Bus s Has Captured Range of I-s Hills South of TugeIa. QUL%N THANKS LORD ROBERTS General Kitchener is Attempting to Gut Of the Boers' Retreat, and De-
 cisive Result is Ex-
 pected Soon
Qu1zN THANKS LORD ROBERTS

London, February 19-3:45 a. m.-A meTn- Der of the cabinet told H. W. Lucy to. night that tine war office had received a telegram announcing that General Cronje was hopelessly surrounded.
 MT. Wyndham was beset by anxious members of the house, but would only re. ply that the governments news was ex- tremely satisfactory. The sole explana- tion of the government withholding good news is that confirmation and more de- tails awaited The situation as dis closed by correspondence over the Free State border is tantalizing to the public expectation. The elementary facts are that the Boers are treking eastward to- ward Bloemfontein with sqow-moving bag gage trains, and that they are pursued by Lord Kitchener with General Kelly kenny's division. General Macdonald with the High!anders made a forced march to Koodoo Rand ford and on Sunday pushed twenty miles eastward. General French left Kimberley Saturday, going east along the Modder river. Lord Kitchener is try ing to out-march and to outfiank the Boers, thus checking their retreat If pos sible and driving them back into the hands of Macdonald and French
 The war office message communicated to MT. Lucy seems to indicate that Lord Kitchener has either got ahead of the Boers or is about to realize his plan, and the - war office waits to announce decisive re- suit.
 Boers Hanging on Right Flank
 Meanwhile, Commandant Dedacy. with the Boers from Colesberg, is hanging to the right flank of the British pursuing columns, seeking to delay their movement, and so to assist the Boer wagon train to escape.
 Students of topography think the Boers will hardly risk a fight until they get into the rough country north of Bloemfonte,n.
 A Daily Mail correspondent who was with the British convoy attacked by the Boers a,. Ret River ford, wires:
 ultimately the British abandoned the convoy in order not to check the advance. Thus 200 wagons and coo tons of stores fe1 into the hands of the Boers, though st Is doubtful if they will be able to carry them away
 General Butler has achieved a real suc- cess seemingly in capturing the range or hills south of the Tugela. It makes more feasible another attempt to relieve Lady, smith.
 The queen has sent a direct message 10 Lord Roberts congratulating him and his troops General French and Colonel Kere- wich has been made acquainted with their promotions.
 pr. Leyds, at Brussels, says the Free State troops who were besieging Lady smith have withdrawn in order to defend their homes. In this way he accounts for General Buffers success against the weak ened forces. He will forego his projected trip to Rome, he says, because of decisive events now taking place in the theater of war;
 Lord Roberts gene-alshp was conducted with such secrecy, says a telegram from Modder river, that even the senior officers who took thn Sixth division through the preliminaries of the operation did not know what they would finally have to do.