TOPICS OF THE DAY.
LORD ROBERTS.
WHETHER Lord Roberts has failed or succeeded in his attempt to destroy General Cronje's army— the result remains uncertain as we write—there can be no doubt as to the masterly way in which he has handled the campaign ever since he reached the seat of war. He arrived at Capetown to find that the British Army had, owing to a series of unfortunate events, been squandered all over the map of South Africa. Many generals might have been so daunted by the prospect before them that they would not have tried to get the pieces into proper order while still on the board, but would have swept them together and then begun again to put them up properly. Lord Roberts more wisely did not withdraw a single man, but began at once to organise success out of failure. While he kept his troops at the Modder, at Colesberg, and at Sterkstroom, he quietly and noiselessly prepared a force to strike not merely a blow for the relief of Kimberley, but a blow which would endanger the army of Cronje and force that very astute general to fight for his life. Thus Lord Roberts showed the two great military qualities,—organisation and strategy. He got a really efficient and appropriate force ready, and when it was ready he used it to the best advantage. He did not think merely of one object, the relief of Kimberley, but studied to relieve Kimberley in such a way that it would also further his essential aims, the crushing of Cronje's force and the invasion of the Free State. Conceivably the news of the next twenty-four hours may prove that he has not succeeded as he would have wished, but, at any rate, his plan showed a wise and comprehensive mind. .
But it is not only in the field that Lord Roberts has shown great qualities. We are equally struck by the states- manship, moderation, and good sense with which he has dealt with the semi-civil and semi-political problems that have confronted him. There were two very difficult points connected with his work. One was the treatment of the Colonial troops, and the other the attitude to be observed towards the Free State Boers. In both cases he has shown tact and wisdom. No sooner had Lord Roberts reached the Cape than he began to infuse the best possible spirit into the raising of the Colonial troops. Jealousy, mis- understanding, and red-tape had, incredible as it will sound to people in London prevented us availing our- selves fully of the splendid material offered by the British at the Cape. Lord Roberts changed all that. He formed his own body-guard out of Colonials, he made a Colonial division, he gave the rank of general to a dis- tinguished Colonial officer, and generally by wise and sympathetic treatment, he made the Colonial Volunteers realise that they were understood and appreciated at their true value by the Commander-in-Chief. We do not say for a moment that the Colonial troops had been intentionally slighted before or really misunder- stood. But there is a world of difference between merely understanding and trusting people and making them realise that you understand and trust them. It is the latter that Lord Roberts has accomplished. Equally tactful has been Lord Roberts's handling of the Dutch. While encouraging British loyalty, he has done nothing to increase the difficulties of the men who for racial reasons sympathise with the Boers. He has made it impossible, that is, for the Cape Dutch to represent his attitude towards the Free Staters as that of the tyrant and the conqueror. Lord Roberts's proclamation to the inhabitants of the Orange Free State is, indeed, a model document. He enforces the fact that the Free Staters have invaded our territory, but he makes that no ground for reprisals, but instead assures the inhabitants that we distinguish between the responsibility of the Government acting "under mis- chievous outside influence," and of the people themselves. The Imperial Government "bears the people no and is anxious to preserve them from the evils which the action of their Government has caused." Lord Roberts goes on to warn the burghers to desist from further hostilities, and he undertakes that burghers so desisting shall not suffer in their persons or property. " Requisi- tious of food, fordge, fuel, and shelter must b complied with. Everything will be paid for on the spot, and if - supplies are refused they will be taken, a receipt being given. Should the inhabitants consider that they have been unjustly treated and should their complaint on inquiry be substantiated, redress will be given." In conclusion, Lord Roberts states that British soldiers are prohibited from entering houses or molesting the civil population. No doubt the commanders of invading armies always issue proclamations of this kind, but what strikes one about Lord Roberts's proclamation is a certain note of reasonableness and kind- liness. A distinctive spirit shines through the common form, and shows that Lord Roberts is a man of insight,— a man who takes the trouble to understand things, and does not merely put down his head and charge like a bull. Whether the progress of the war, from the military point of view, is destined to be slow or rapid it is clear from Lord Roberts's attitude that he is just the man to deal with the problems that are sure to arise. That is, though he will be swift and terrible in the field, he will never forget that after the war is over we have got to live with the Boers as fellow-citizens, and that therefore it is im- possible to take too much pains and trouble to conciliate them, and to prevent their feeling against the British becoming unnecessarily bitter. We want the Free Staters to be able to say when the war is over : "Well, at any rate, they treated us like gentlemen." That seems to us to be exactly what Lord Roberts is doing, and with full consciousness of the results that will be achieved.
Lord Roberts's admirable handling of both the Colonials and the Dutch naturally suggests that when the war is over it is he to whom should be entrusted the work of reconstructing and pacifying South Africa, and restoring to all those benefits of freedom and self-government which have hitherto been regarded in one large section of the land not as the right of all white men, but as the monopoly of one race. Sir Alfred Milner has already been nearly five years at the Cape, and his health has, we regret to see reported, suffered from the terrible strain of recent events. Naturally he will see the war out, but when it is over he will no doubt come home. In that ca,se no better man could be found for High Commissioner than Lord Roberts, —our only doubt being whether he will not be wanted to help make that New Model Army which is destined to rise from the ruins of our present military system. He would be respected by the Boers for his military qualities, and he would respect them as brave and strong men. It is a great mistake to suppose that a soldier is necessarily a bad man to employ in the work of pacification and the rebuilding of civil society. If he is the right kind of soldier no one can be better. It was Roche, not a civilian, who pacified La Vendee and restored it to the Republic, not, as the Con- vention madly desired, as a desert, but as a province full of good citizens. The means Roche used were those which Lord Roberts could use equally well,—a clear head and a kind heart, and the desire under all circumstances not to further a personal ambition, to pay off old scores, or to humble this or that enemy or rival, but merely to do his best in the public interest. We may say, in conclusion, that the desire to see Lord Roberts become High Commissioner in South Africa is not new with us. We ventured some years ago to make the suggestion, and recent events have strongly confirmed our choice. If we were to be asked for the secret of Lord Roberts's success we should say that it was to be found in two things. He is essentially a single-minded man—one who is content to do his duty without being dazzled or misled by ulterior aims—and also is a man patient and careful about details. He never thinks it "not worth while" to go into small matters. For example, he considered it worth while not only to visit the enemy's German hospital, but to telegraph home and so let all the world know the excellence of their organisation and the skill and devotion of the German doctors. That he thought at such a moment of paying that splendid but well-deserved compliment marks Lord Roberts off as one of the men who are not afraid of taking trouble.
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