The Monticellonian., 1902-03-28
ARE NONE TOO HOPEFUL.
Not Much Expected of the Beer Civil Leaders Visit to Kitchener
 at Pretoria.
FIELD LEADERS TO BE RECEOHED WITH.
renee From Various Standpoints, But None of Them Extract Very Much Comfort as Far as at Pres cnt Advised.

Much Comfort as Far as at Pres
 ent Advised.
 London. March 25-There is little disposition in London 10 regard the news of the BGer governments visit To Pretoria any too hopefully. 0fii- eial circles express the doubts. held throughout, of the ability of Acting President Schalkburger and other ci- william leaders of the Boers to induce such men as Gen. De Net and De- lary to surrender. Possibly, they think, the representatives of the gransvaal government are desirous of suing for peace, but there is noth- ing to show that they have any au- thority to impose submission on the commanders in the field. The most hopeful sign they see is the an nouncement that Lord Kitchener per mitted Mir. Sehalkburger and his com panions to proceed to the Orange River colony. the contention being that unless the British commander in-chief i'll South Africa, who is on the spot, and therefore most thor oughly eonversant with the situation, recognized the possibility of fruitful results, and believed in the good faith of the Transvaa1ers, he would not have permitted the visitors to continue their pilgramages to the headquarters of their Orange River colony allies. The same cautious re- serve permeate3 the newspaper ut- terances and the comment in well-in~ formed circles.
 Some significance is attached to the fact that, in approaching Lord Kitchener. Mir. Schall<burger and those associated with him, has car rned out to the letter the advice giv- en by the British foreign secretary, Lord Lansdowne, in his reply to the 1 peace note of The Netherlands gov ernment. that the quickest and most satisfactory means for arranging a settlement would be by direct com munication between the leaders of the Boers and the British comman- 1 der-in-chief in South Africa.
 There is no sign. however, that the l Transvaal mission received any man. l date from the fighting generals, or l that the latter are prepared to reeog- nize the authority of their acting president to negotiate terms of peace. Presumably, the latter satis- fled Lord Kitchener that he had eer- 1 tain clearly-defned proposals to sub init to his ally, President Steyn, but 1 the best information from South Af- rica deprecates any belief in the like lihood of a simultaneous surrender of the burghers still in the field on the order of the Boer government. Almost the best to be hoped for is that the present overtures will so modify the situation as to bring peace | nearer.
 The Westminster Gazette urges | that any peace proposal should be re- | garded on it's merits, pointing out that the ungenerous assumption that i the previous Boer overtures were | signs of weakness contributed large ly to the failures of the negotiations. The Pail Mall Gazette would like to think that "the brave. skilful com manders, De Wet and Delarey, have arrived at the height of moral cour- age, once attained by Gen. Lee, and have realized that the truest patriot ism does not consist in the prolonga- ton of hopeless struggle" The paper confesses, however, that the
 military situation is not suspicious for such a change of mind. The St. James Gazette extracts from the un-illuminative dispatches thus far received from Pretoria the theory that Mir. Schalkburger and the other members of his party have pos sibly already surrendered, and have been realized on parole for the pur- pose of seeing President Steyn and Gen. De Wet.
 The news from South Africa had q generally good effect on the stock exchange.
 In the house of commons, the war secretary. Mr Brodriek, announced that, a fortnight ago. Mir. Schalk- burger intimated to Lord Kitchener his desire to be granted safe con duct through the British lines and back, in order to see Mir. Steyn with reference to the possibility of peace proposals Lord Kitchener, with the consent of the government. has ac- eeded to the request. The announce ment of the war secretary was re i eeiVed with cheers