The Worthington advance., 1900-05-18
KRO NSTAD FALLS.
City y EASILY Occupied by the Brit
ish - =. Free State Capital Re-
moved to Lindley.

London, May "A - The British army
has occupied Kroonstad. completinR
what is believed to be the last impor.
tant step in the campaign in the Or.
ange Free State. No opposition was
offered the imperial forces, the Beers
retiring before Lord Roberts arrived
No battle Of any magnit tude is expected
south of the Vaal river, which forms
the boundary between the two repub.
lies, although President Steyn has Is;
sued proclamation debating the sea1
of government Of the Free State re.
moved to Lindley, As miles east o1
Kroonstad. s.
Lord Roberts dispatch announcing
the capture of the burgher city de.
clares that he expects no more resist.
ance in the Free State; that the Trans.
vaal troops refuse to make another
stand outside of their own territory
and that the Free State Beers, in con.
sequence, holding themselves aban.
doned by their allies, will Ido no more
fighting. !
l. This, by men in military circles !.
deemed great gain, although in real.
lty it leaves the situation practically
as 1t would have been at the outbreak
OF hostilities had the Free State de.
clded to remain, neutral, as MANY be.
lleved that it would In, addition, the
British have to the south of their pres
ent position strong bodies Of hostile
burghers. made up in large part o1
Iransvaalers. who still threaten the
lines of communication.
The official report of Gen. Roberts
! telling of the entry into the Beers
former capital. is dated Kroonstad
May ~. two p. m. and is as follows.
! - entered Kroonstad at 1 80 O'Clock. with.
| out opposition, to-day, when the ,,nfo,
| JACK was hoisted, amidst cheers from The
| few British residents. >''>
PRESIDENT Steyn fled last evening afte,
valniy endeavoring to persuade the burgh
ers 70 commune opposing us. The Trans
on Orange Free State soil and made off fo,
I 1ne Vaal river. Free Staters accuse tn,
1ransvaalers of having made use Of then
ana then deserting. Many of the Fre1
ss aIers nave gone to their homes.
procession entering the town wa.
..aueu ,nara ny my bodyguard. AN of whom
! 0Aau dAlcI my StaH and for
| elgn ofhcers came the North Somerset i'm
p;a',a per,ai yeomanry. followed by Pole -Carew'.
! uayision. consisting of the guards. and tn.
| Efenteenth brigade navals, the Eiphtv
th1to' Eishty7fourth and Eighty-fifth bat
! ,erles; TWO hve-inch guns. manned by tn,
ieoyal artlliery company, and the Twelfth
engineers. The first of the force enca mne,
| around the town.
| before leaving Kroonstad Presiden,
n.eyn ISSUED a proclamation making Lind
State " '''o rie'
Gems. Botha and De Wet accompanied
the Transvaalers.''
! London May 4.-"The war is prac
tlcally over,' says the Daily Chron
icle's kroonstad correspondent, and
IN less definite terms, this is the view
to be gathered from all the CORE
spondents. They picture the Boer
as utterly demoralized and disheart
ened by Lord Roberts unexpected,
rapid advance and by his facile turn
ing or the carefully prepared position
of the Beers.
There was practically no fighting
and there are no further details t,
give respecting the occupation O
! AC correspondent OF TN
Daily Telegraph says: 'The unio,
jack was hoisted in the market plac,
by Mrs. Lockhead, the American wifi,
of a Scotchman. Most of the horse,
of the Beers are in wretched condi
tion, but President Kruger declares
he will continue the war;" It an
! pears that the Beers at Kroonstad 1a,
been REINFORCED by 5000 m en- from
Natal last Friday, and that altogethe
| 10000, with 20 guns, trekked from
kroonstad on the approach of Lore
! Roberts.
Lindley, the new Free State capita!
is IS miles southeast of Kroonstad
half way to Be thlehem, and was prob
ably selected as a convenient rendez
vous for the commanders now retiring
| before Gen. Bra bant and Gen. Rundle
in the Thaba N'Chu district. Braban1
has occupied Hoepellok. half way or
the road from Thaba N'Chu to Lady
brand.
There is not word of news regard
ing Gen. Buffers movements or from
the far western side. Nothing is known
therefore. of the progress of the Mafe
king relief column.
NOTED WOMAN DEAD.