Connecticut western news., 1900-06-07
ROBERTS IN PRETORIA.
City'S Unconditional Surrender
 Asked and Obtained.
THE YE0MANRY MEET REVERSE.
Irish Battalion Cut on by Boers Nenr Lindley-Methuen Makes n Gallant but Intellectual Attempt at Rescue. OmciaI Account of Fighting.

 London, June 6.-The occupation of Pretoria was announced by Lord Roberts
 in the following dispatch, dated Pretoria,
 June 5, 11:40 a. m.:
 We are now in possession of Pretoria. The official entry will be made this after noon at 2 o'clock"
 Details of the negotiations for surren-
 der were given in this later message: Just before dark yesterday the enemy
 were beaten back from nearly all the po-
 sitions they had been holding, and Ian
 Hamilton's mounted infantry followed
 them within 2,0O0 yards of Pretoria,
 through which they retreated hastily. "De Lisle then sent an officer with flag of truce into the town, demanding its surrender in my name. Shortly before
 midnight was awakened by two officials
 of the South African Republic, Sandberg,
 military secretary to Commandant Gen.
 eral Botha, and a general officer of the Boer army, who brought me letter from
 Botha, proposing an armistice for the
 purpose of settling the terms of surren-
 der.
 "I replied that I would gladly meet the
 commandant general the next morning,
 but that I was not prepared to discuss
 any terms, as the surrender of the town
 must be unconditional. I asked for re-
 ply by daylight, as 1 had ordered the
 troops to march on the town as soon as it
 was light.
 "In his reply Botha told me that he had
 decided not to defend Pretoria and that
 he trusted the women, children and prop
 erty would be protected. At l a. m. to-
 day, while on the line of march, I was
 met by three of the principal officials | Ha Of ct hai Sh h
 surrender the town.
 Ut was arranged that Pretoria should
 be taken possession of by her majesty's
 troops at o'clock this afternoon.
 Mrs. Botha and Mrs. Kruger are both in Pretoria. Some few of the British
 prisoners have been taken away, but the
 majority are still at Waterval. Over 100
 of the officers are in Pretoria. The few have seen are looking we'll" Yeomanry Meet Reverse. Late last night the news was received from Lord Roberts of the capture of the Thirteenth battalion of imperial yeoman- ry under Colonel Spragge by a superior Boer force near Lindley. On Thursday, three days ago. it was stated that Gener- al Bundles attack on the Boers near Senekal had relieved the pressure on Colonel Spragge's detachment and ena- bled it to reach Lindley, but this must have been an overoptimistic view of the situation, for the little force was compel led to surrender.
 The battalion included the Duke of Cambridge's Own, two Belfast compa- nies and a Dublin company of imperial yeomanry and numbered probably be- tween 400 and 800 men. Lord Methuen, of whom little has been heard of late, was at the time on march on the Heil- bron side of Kroonstadt, and Lord Rob erts ordered him to go to Colonel Spragges assistance. Lord Methuen ac- complished splendid march, but al- though he succeeded in covering the in tervening H miles in p hours he was too late to effect a rescue.
 He states, however, that he had run ming fight with the Boers and routed them.