The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-06-06
A HOLLOW RING
Discovered in the Details of the
Capture of Pretoria.

New York, June 6.-A dispatch to the
Tribune from London says:
The promenade from Cape Town to
Pretoria was ended yesterday after a
battle Of manoeuvers, rather than ser
ious fighting. Lord Roberts gives a de-
tailed description of this engagement,
and helps thereby to dignity the entry
of the British troops into the capital.
The details have hollow ring and it is
not clear that the resistance offered by
the Beers was serious. The Beers, when
attacked by the mounted infantry and
the yeOmanry, fell back upon a. position
in the rear, where they had concealed
several guns. The naval guns and the
batteries of artillery moved up with the
infantry brigade behind them, and the
Dutch retired. The Beers then made a
feeble attempt to turn the left flank of
the British army but were thwarted
when General Hamilton's column of
mounted infantry filled the gap. The
Beers retreated and Lord Roberts army
after bivOuacking over night, entered
Pretoria yesterday afternoon, the guards
leading the way. The casualties were
not heavy and the engagement was
series of manOeuvreS on each side, with
out desperate or persistent fighting in
the dense Dutch stronghold.
Lord Roberts was embarrassed by the
Earl of ROsslyn's enterprise last week
in revealing the helplessness of panic
stricken Pretoria and the facility with
~hich it could be entered by the British
troops and he was deprived of the cred
1t of forcing his way into the BOer cap
ltal, since the eagerneSs of the officials
to surrender the town was proclaimed
when he was not prepared to advance
BY waiting six days he gave to the
Beers time to recover from their panic
and to make some show of defending
the capital The account of MONDAYS
engagement and Tuesdays entry is bet
/ ter reading for each side in consequence
] n i,oT - = -
( for making q final stand at Six Mile
/ Spruit snd of seeking to ambuscade the
/ British and then to outhank them, and
| Lord Roberts, instead of marching in
! several days after the enemy had scut-
/ tied nut, has the satisfaction Of entering
/ the capital IN gallant style after a sue
Cessful engagement.
Lord Roberts does not appear to have
used more than two brigades of in
fantry, with a strong body of cavalry
/ and while the heavy guns were kent
/ we'll in front, there was little work for
| them. He had stationed two brigades
/ of cavalry north of Pretoria and Cen
| eral HamiltOns column to the west
and had not attempted to concentrate
| his forces, since the BOer commanders
/ were not strong.
After a few hours of rnanoeuvering,
the capital was left defenseless The
/ forts, constructed at the expense of the
mine owners and strengthened during
! the war. were abandoned, the creusots
ana hruDpS ana the famous Long
Toms, which We're to render Pretoria
| imDresnable, were taken east to the
mountains and the capital, of which
President Kruger's burghers had
/ boasted would be defended for month
/ after month, was surrendered after a
single feeble engagement.
The facility with which Johannesburg
and Pretoria have been taken leads
many military men to suspect that
there has been a secret understanding
between President Kruger and the
British government by which the war
viii be brought to an end without un-
4 necessary loss of life and wasteful de-
struction of property. This theory.
while plausible, cannot be proved, since
neither President Kruger nor Lord
Roberts will admit that there has been
any secret intrigue or that the closing
scenes of the war have been prear-
ranged in any sense.
The safer generalization is that the
Beers have fought CALAMITY against the
resources of a mighty empire and have
been finally overwhelmed by superior
numbers and energy and that Lord Rob
erts has worked out intricate prob
lem in the dynamics Of war He hal
shown how much force was needed on tn
advance line and what kind of force an(