The position of affairs North of Pretoria is somewhat obscure,
but apparently Botha and the Boer forces are not able to take the initiative, and Lord Roberts is not anxious to deal with them till the Orange Colony Boers have been reduced to canuiesion. Mr. Kruger remains at Waterval Crider. Friday's Daily Telegraph contains an interesting telegram describing
bow their correspondent at Lourenco Marques penetrated to his ambulatory capital and tried to interview Mr. Kruger. Though the President refused this, the correspondent saw Mr. Reitz, and obtained from him a message to this effect :— " Tell your journal, the Daily Telegraph, and through it the world, that the South African Republic will fight for indepen- dence until five hundred burghers remain alive, and even then we will continue to fight. Such is our determined decision." That is plucky, but we are not in the least afraid of a body of Boers dying like the Spartans at Thermopyke. As soon as they find that guerilla warfare is hopeless they will give in. As long, however, as they can still score incidental successes they will hold out.
Previous page
