The Irish standard., 1900-07-28
RETURNED HOME IN ROBUST HEALTH
Why the Patriots Evacuated the
Two Capital Cities.
THE FIGHTING QUALITIES OF BLAKE
How the Irish Brigade Fought at
Battle of Blandford.

Mr. Michael Davitt arrived at his
home in Da1key, from Marseilles, July
| I, and was waited upon by Freeman S
| Journal representative in the course of
| the day in search of an interview with
the ex-member for South Mayo on his
experiences in South Africa. Mr.. Da-
| witt had evidently benefited very much
by his journey, as he looked to be in
robust health, and was quite bronzed
after contact with the tropical suns.
II cannot promise to give you an ac-
count of my experiences in the Trans
| vaal and Orange Free State" said Mr..
Davitt, cas- the story would be too long
for your purpose, but there are a few
points which can be touched upon in
/ our conversation that may have some
interest for Freeman readers. How
long is the Boer resistance to Lord
Roberts army going to continue?' is
one of these questions. I cannot pre-
tend to speak with any special knowl-
edge on this point. I can only offer an
opinion, founded on what was to be
heard and seen before Ileft Pretoria,
in the middle of May. 1t hadn't been
decided, some weeks previous to this
date, not to defend Pretoria, or make
any determined stand at Johannesburg
This decision must have been a well
come surprise to Roberts 1t was an
astounding piece Of news to many of
the Boer officers, who were confident
that the Transvaal capital would have
been defended at all costs. This, too,
was the general expectation among
friends and foes of the Federals outside
the two Republics. 1t was, as usual,
the unexpected which happened. I was
told that President Kruger had, after
long and anxious deliberation, resolved
not to sanction conflict which would
have involved the probable loss of TO-
600 lives. 1t was also said that he
shrunk from contemplating the enor-
nous loss of property which would
necessarily follow the bombardment OF
Johannesburg and Pretoria, property
owned by Beers, as we'll as by British;
though to far larger extent by the
latter than the former.
"This resolution not to carry out the
original plan of campaign with refer
ence to British attack on these cities
brought the war within measurable dis
tance of its termination. The British
are to blame for its prolongation.
President Kruger's decision was evil
IDENTIFY arrived at, not alone on humani-
tartan grounds, but also in the hope
that this Boer forbearance would beget
a similar or corresponding resolution
to end the fighting on the British side.
The old man may have judged Roberts
rightly in the indulgence of such a
hope, but he did not know his Miner
and Chamberlain. It was expected by
many in Pretoria that as Lord Sails
bury had declared, in the hearing of the
whole world, that England did not want
any extension of territory in this war,
and was not in pursuit. Of gold fields in
seeking to protect British subjects
from alleged injustice, that the British,
on being allowed to enter johannesburg
and Pretoria with little or no resistance,
| would have declared themselves salts
fled with this manifestation of conquest
and stopped the war, insisting only on
such terms and conditions as were de-
manded from the Transvaal previous to
the outbreak of hostilities last October.
This was very delusive expectation.
Joubert died in the firm belief that
England would go no further than this
in the war. Many OF President Kruger's
friends held the same view. They did
not know England rightly, and on find
ing that nothing but abject submission
would satisfy their enemy, continued
resistance was forced upon the Beers
as the only honorable alternative to
cowardly surrender"
R.-But, Mr.. Davitt, had not the
Beers in large bodies, already refused
to defend the north of the Orange Free
State against the advance of Roberts
from Bloemfontein to the Vaal river?
Mr.. Davitt-"Yes; that was another
unexpected development of Boer tac-
tics, and it may have had, as you sug-
gest, something to do with the abandon