THE LINDLEY SURRENDER

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4301, 9 March 1901, Page 4

THE LINDLEY SURRENDER

How the Boers managed, in their ‘‘slimness/' to cut off aud overwhelm Colonel Spragge and Ills yeomanry at Bindley is told this morning in the pages] of our Supplement. It is an interesting! side of the story, and it is well worth] reading. But there is - another, and per-j haps more interesting side; the side; which deals with the general who hasi been principally—and, if he speaks cor-j roctly, through no. fault of his own—j 'made the ' scapegoat for somebody’s blundering on. the part of the British. Major-General Oolvile’s story, as ho gave it early last January to Router’s ropro-j jsentativo at Plymouth, divides itselfi naturally into two parts; that which deals' with the tactics in Africa which; made the Bindley situation possible—j tactics of which, the Boers appear toj have availed themseyes remarkably] cleverly—and that which is concerned; with the general’s treatment at Home.] The former of these it is difficult to dis-j cuss. It is only necessary to mention! that the general’s story is that Colonel Spragge and his >yeomanry formed part of the column which was to join him on the march in a.-great combined movement in which ho was acting; that they failed for some reason, for which he. was not responsible, to do so; that when they occupied Bindley, after it had been taken and rc-taken many times by other British divisions engaged in the big combine, they were overwhelmed by J>oer attack. In this extremity Colonel Spragge retreated, informed General Col vile that he had got away eighteen mjles, and asked help, as he was nard pressed and short of food. Colvile had not food enough to permit him to diverge ; hif orders to occupy certain named points —hie. story, by The way, is instructive in the side-light it throws on the mechanical precision with which troops arc guaranteed against catching anything mov-able-—were imperative; am. he knew, moreover, that diversion to save five hundred yeomen would have endangered four thousand Highlanders. liven though the yeomen were nobility and gentry, insinuates Colvile, with a touch of sarcasm, he could not consider their five hundred as of more value than the four thousand. But, as a matter of fact, he could not, anjdiow, have diverged, and he was not uneasy about Spragge, as he thought that officer, having kept his head up for miles, might have managed for a little further. Another side-light on these operations is that while the general was counting bis rations, a •weens supply that was getting near him was whisked off by a Boer commando which seemed , to spring up from nowhere, and, in- i eluding the full supply waggons, van- 1 ished into nothing before a man could 1 breathe. - i ] But this part of the general’s story j must naturally go without comment. < The other part is differently placed. It ' is that on arrival in England from South i Africa he reported himself to the War Office, and explained tho circumstances, from his point of view; and that his p case was thereupon inquired into by the s Army Board, consisting of the Com-! ® mandex-ia-Chief (Bord Wolsclcy), Adjutant-General (Sir E. Wood), the! e Quartermaster - General (Sir C. M.l I Clarke), the Inspector-General of Forti-j o fications (Sir R. Harrison), and the’ ector-General of Ordnance (Sir H., Brackenbury); and that he was, this inquiry, told to resume his com-; o: mand at Gibraltar. Three months later a' there came a change. Mr Brodrick hav-, ? ing succeeded • Lord Lansdowne fit the g, War Office, General Colvile got a letter^

from the interim Cmnmandor-m-Clnor (Sir Evelyn Wood), intimating that tho Secretary of State regarded-him as tna-.r.-ly responsible for the Bindley affair, and had decided to order him to quit Ins command at once, handing in his resignation to his superior officer. Sir Georgo White. This GenColviie did, fine, on arrival in England took the firec opportunity of telling the whole diserc-ali-able story to .the public.- It is discrcci---nblo that r,u officer should be re-tried behind his back, after be has won wqr.itted, and without any notice w.i.i,cver of any kind of wliat- was going icrward. Tho proceeding is so unprincipled that until- it is explained satisfactorily, or its recurrence made impossible, l.ic public confidence in tho military au’;.critics will be seriously shaken.