New-York tribune., 1900-12-30
COLVILE STRIKES BACK.
THE ACCUSED GENERAL DENIES RE-
SPoNSIBILITY FOR THE LINDLEY
DISASTER.

London, Dec. 2o-Major- General Sir Henry
Colvile, whose resignation has been demanded
oy the war Office, but who refused to resign,
and came to England from Gibraltar arriving
at Plymouth to-day, to demand a trial by court
martial to establish the responsibility for the
Yeomanry disaster at Lindley last May, has
made counter strike at the War Office in a
three thousand word statement which he has
given to the press. He says he has come home
TO demand free inquiry, and does not intend
to be made scapegoat for the sake Of the staff
He AYERS that the Lindley disaster could never
have happened had he been informed of Lord
Roberts's intentions. The primary cause of the
surrender, he says. the insufficient infor-
nation given by the Headquarters Staff to Colo
mel Spragge and himself, and he declines to
accept the blame. He lays out the facts and
blames others.
General Colvile and his influential friends in
and out of the army thus beginning a cam
paign against the new Secretary of State for
War. William st. John Brodrick; Lord Roberts
and General Kitchener. 1t is expected to be
fought out with some ferocity in Parliament.
When he returned from South Africa, General
Colvile says, he fully acquainted the War Office
with the facts. After some time he was in
formed by General Sir Evelyn Wood. the Adju-
tant-General, that Lord Lansdowne, then Sec
retary of State for War had directed him to
say that General Lord Wolseley, the Com
mander-in-Chief approved of General Colvile's
resuming his Gibraltar command. He learned
unofficial1y that an Army Board of five of the
highest officials of the War Office had con-
sidered his statements and Lord Roberts's dis
patches the subject. His reappointment was
the result of the inquiry. To his intense
prise. Adjutant-General Wood December 81
gave him notice that Mr.. Brodrick, the newly
appointed Secretary of State for War held him
responsible for the loss of the yeomanry and
ordered him to quit his command Immediately
and hand over his resignation.
General Colve. going into official details,
says he was ordered to concentrate his division
at Heilbron on May %, and names the various
dispositions of the other divisions, which
tended across the Orange Free State. He
sumed that Lord Roberts intended to advance,
sweeping all before him. His orders abso-
lutte, and he had to carry them out. Hence he
could not go to the relief of the five hundred
yeomanry without risking the success of the
grand operation. Under any circumstances, he
says he considered 1t his duty to push on.
If he were sure it would entail the loss of the
yeomanry Besides, he had only food enough
for two days. He pushed on, and the yeomanry
surrendered. Lord Roberts broke up General
CoIviles division and expressed his dissatisfac-
ton.
"On my pointing out that I had obeyed his
orders to the letter" declares General CoIvile
'he said his orders were only intended
guide"
General ColviIe aIludes to some of the yeo-
manry being millionaires. and quotes Lord Rob
erts saying it his duty to sacrifice his
force for the yeomanry. ut will be remem-
bered," General COlvile says, that the corps
delite numbered five hundred, and my force
nearly eight times that number"
General Colvile cites two examples of what he
considers LORD Kitchener's defective staff
work.