While General White's army was fighting for its life with
sad gallantry and success on Saturday, all that General Puller was able to do was to make a reconnaissance in front of Colenso,—a reconnaissance which proved absolutely barren of results. It has been said that General Buller, while the trenches at Colenso were denuded of the men who had gone to fight at Ladysmith, ought to have seized the opportunity to press home a great attack. On the face of it that may sound reasonable, but we must refuse to judge till we know a great deal more as to the position around Frere. If General Buller was putting into operation some well-devised scheme of advance, he may have been perfectly right not to throw it suddenly over, but to trust to Ladysmith being able to hold its own, as it did. If he has been vigilant, active, and resourceful, and working hard at his great object—as the telegram from Springfield published at noon on Friday would seem to indicate—the nation will never blame him, even if ill-fortune in the end spoils his plans. If, however, he has been merely sitting spellbound at Frere, observing daily that the Boer position is impregnable—which personally we cannot believe without far better proof than any we have seen yet—then he must not expect that he will be treated as one who, though unsuccessful, has deserved well of the nation.
