NEWS OF THE WEEK.
NOTHING of military importance has occurred this week in South Africa. The Boer leaders have ap- parently decided to make their stand at Kroonstad, about one hundred and twenty miles north of Bloemfontein, on the railway which leads to Pretoria, and Boer commandos from all directions are hurrying thither, and fortifying in their manner every defensible point. Lord Roberts, on his side, sits motionless, waiting till his agents clear the country behind him, or till his supplies, especially of hca.ses, are complete, or till Sir Redvers Buller is ready. There is even a report that he will not move for another month,—a report, we may notice, which is apt to get about when the Field-Marshal is very nearly ready. There is even a rumour, moreover, that the Boers are slipping away from the Drakensberg to join in the fight at Kroonstad, and that Sir Redvers Buller may therefore be able to assist his superior without fighting any battles. It is just possible—not probable, but possible—that Lord Roberts likes the situation, and would not be disgusted if every Boer soldier in South Africa were to " concentrate " at Kroonstad. He has confidence in his own powers, he has a magnificent army, and if only he can get his cavalry into condition he may see his way to one of those heavy blows which every general loves, and the impact of which alters the course of history. Englishmen will do well for the present to wait quietly, and trust their agents.
