Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1902-08-07

The events of that war are recent
history. Many of its incidents are
Homeric in their character. AS in the
war of 1880 and 1881, whenever the
English got fairly within the zone of
the Boer rifle fire Il ey melted help
lessly away. At Ladysmith General
Joubert, with seven Thousand men,
cooped up Sir George White with
fifteen thousand piclsod men, and re-
peatedly defeated Geaeral Butler with
forty thousand men, the flower of the
English army. Metheune with twenty
five thousand repeatedly came to grief
on the Nader River at the hands of
Cronje and less than five thousand
Beers.
At last an overwhelming force was
sent to South Africa under Lord Rob-
erts and General Kitchener. New
tactics were tried. Great enveloping
movements were commenced against
small Boer armies, in which more
soldiers were emplo ed than the two
Republics had men in the field. The
plan was to draw Gordon of i'm
mense numbers around the isolated
Boer forces and then approach under
cover of intrenchments. 1t was this
plan that enmeshed Cronje at Paardes-
burg. Kitchener here made the last
attempt of the British army to rush a
considerable force of Beers behind en-
trenchments, and the failure proved
as disastrous as in other cases. When
Cronje was captured the English were
humiliated to learn that one of their
strongest armies had been held at bay
for ten days by an insignificant force
of undisciplined farmers. The word
Boer means farmer. The remainder
of the war is history of fruitless en-
veloping movements on the part of the
English and desultory fighting spread
ing all over the two Republics, Cape
Colony and a part of Natal, The
wonderful achievements of DeWet,
who must have studied the tactics of
our own Francis Marion, for they
seem to have been very similar. AS
many as fifty thousand men at a time
assisted in movements looking to his
capture. In each instance they were
foiled, although he never had over
two thousand men with him.
In the winter of 1902 it became
evident to all British statesmen that
the policy of unconditional surrender
would have to be abandoned by the
English government, and that peace
would have to be secured along other
lines than those dictated by Cecil
Rhodes and DR.. Jamison. Accord
ingly certain influential English states
men of the Liberal party, the oppo-
sition, which in such cases is the
governments left hand, quietly visited
the Hague-the headquarters of the
Boer leaders in Europe-on the pre-.
tense of private business, which sub.
terfuge deceived no one, for too many
prominent men of the various sections
OF the Liberal party had private busi-
ness at the Hague at the same time to
cause their statements to be received
with confidence.
Hollands prime minister proffered
to the English government Hollands
good offices to help her settle the dis
pute in which she was engaged with
the people of South African. These
we're rejected, but the English govern.
ment used the incident to state that il
: would deal only with the Beers in the
field and their defacto governments,
but was not prepared to insist upor
: their unconditional surrender. This
the Beers regarded as practically ar
invitation to conference.
A Boer delegation presented itsel
at the headquarters OF General Kitch
ener, whore their appearance seems tc
have surprised no one. The arrival
however, was preceded by the crush
ing defeat and capture of Genera
Metheune's column. About this time
the health of Sir Garnet Wolseley be
came affected, and he took a day OF
: two off to go to South Africa and re
! cuperate. Lord Roberts found tha
his health required the climate o
> South Africa, so both of these gentle
7 men were conveniently at hand to b.
> surprised by the unexpected (sic) re
7 quest of the Boer delegates for peac,
} conference.
1t is amusing to read the articles il
the city dailies upon the results of thi
war. They affect to regard the Boer
as completely vanquished and hum
bled, whereas they gained every poin
: for which they contended, except com
, plete independence, and DeWet ant
Kemp desired to contine the fight unit
that was obtained.
The English government at the out
, set demanded that the Beers, II de-
feated, must bear the cost of the war