THE BULLER DEBATE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12445, 30 August 1902, Page 2

THE BULLER DEBATE.

A WRECKED REPUTATION.

(Fkou Our OWN ConnKsroxDENi.)

LONDON, July 18. It would appear that we are never to hear (lie last of that unhappy Bullor 'affair. I did hope that it would not fail to my task to enter *gain into tho most unhappy and disastrous incidents with which that brave, but singularly foolish, general has be«i so lamentably associated. But he and his indiscreet friends, with an obslinato fatuity which is quite incomprehensible in tho case of men so able and ordinarily judicious as, for instance, Sir Kdward Grey,: persistently continue to force the discreditable business upcci the notice of the British public ana or the whole world, with the sole result that the reputation of Sir liedvers 13u11 or is sunk deeper and deeper still at every fresh stop. One might suppose, however, that- the culminating poult has now been reached. Last night the. long-threatened debate upon tho whole subject was raised upon u formal motion bv Sir hklward Grey to reduce the War Office vote. Sir Edward tlrt-v accused the Government of treating 15u!Ier unfairly, of publishing documents so selected as io give an erroneous view of that general's conduct, and of supplying partial and onesided information to the press, at the same time studiously keeping bad; everything that- might tell in his favour. • Sir Edward's speech, while clever, was entirely on the lines of a special pleader for a prisoner at the Par. He brought forward no new facts, and the impression left by his eloquent, but unconvincing, defence of Sir Kcdvers iSuller was that, while he had made tho best ho could—or that anyone could make-of a very bad ease, that best was bad indeed. It elicited an absolutely crushing rtply from ifr Brodrick on behalf of the Government. Mr Brodvick regretted that Sir Edward Grey should have thought it necessary to revive this question, for a debate in which the conduct of the Commander-in-Chief was challenged was undesirable m tho interests of discipline. The Govermhenf, far from having been actuated bv any feeling of prejudice against General Bullcr, had probably shown too much consideration in their dealings with that officer. Meeting the charge that the Government had done wrong in suppressing portions of the Spion Kop despatches, he maintained that Sir I'odveH Bullor had benefited by the suppression. He denied that tho press had been given access to confidential documents at the War Office. The famous holiogram to Sir George White was not disclosed by the War Office, where there was wily one copy of it. The leakage might be accounted for by tliefact that the contents were known to a considerable number of persons in Ladysmith, where it was believed that the holiogram hod Ikoii sent by Boers who had obtained possession of tho cipher. He could not consent to publish documents at Sir Redvers Buller's request, when their publication might embarrass the Government in their future operations. If lie were io publish all the confidential documents at the War GHice bearing on the war I lie effect would be to destroy pie coniidcneo which must be reposed in tho. Government, by commanders in the field. But no rmblica-

tion of documents oould ullor .the fact that the attack upon Colnnao was admitted universally by military men to -have been illconceived and ill-exc«nted, and no publication of papors could lessen Sir Redvers lluller's responsibility for the abandonment of tho Km" at Colonso, or remove the puitiful fooling excited by tho proposal for the surrender of Ladv;rnith. This proposal for tho surrender of 12,000 British troops, after a Dingle attempt at relieving the town, might have produced a disaster, lo which there wis no parallel iu the history of tho country, and which would have brought upon us tho reproach of our children's children to tho third and (mirth generation. Again, 110 further publicatir/i of papers could explain awny 'the' flikldlo at Spion Kop. ' '

Mr Broderick here roniarkod: "One of the most extraordinary facts, in the whole of this tanglod statement if this, that Sir Redvers Sutler when telegraphing to Sir George White on December 16, niul asking how long ho could hold out, : and suggcAling to him the operations to bo . taken if he could not hold out, had. aotuall}- in his possession at the moment Sir George White's own statement, sont to him on November 30, that ho could hold Tjadysmith with full provisions for 70 days. I have Sir George White's hcliogranv dated November 30, to General Buller, to be repeated to General Weary: ' f have provisions for 70 days, and I believe T can defend Ladyiiinith while they last.' Yet after 15' days a'note of despair is soundfld by tho .superior officer! We can not help attaching more weight than the right lion, gentleman docs to the loss of nerve of. the General who, having that fact before him, hastened to anticipate so disastrous a calamity." As to the demand for an inquiry, Mr Brc'xlrick could not admit that Sir Redvers Buller should be treated' exceptionally. Sir R. Duller was not tho only officer who had lost reputation during the war, and, if there was a special inquiry into his case, there must bo inquiries into all the other cases also. It was known, however, that there was to bo a commission of inquiry into tho conduct of the war, when these important and delicate questions/could be gone into in private. Explaining wliy Sir.Redvers Buller was not recalled after Colenao, he said tliat at that time the services of no other officer who had over commanded a largo ; body of troops were availablo in South Africa. It was also important to remember that the General had retained Iho confidence of his troop». When Sir .Redvers Buller returned to this country he was sent back, as other officers were, to the comtnnnd which he held before tho war. It was true that a pledge had been given that the command of an army corps would only be given to an officer who would; command in the' field, but in tins particular case be could only have redeemed that pledge by-substituting for General Buller an olfioer of leas .experience, whom Lord Roberts would hardly have been able to recommend for active command in war. • •

Passing to the speocli delivered by General Buller on October 10 last year, he affirmed j that it was impossible for the War Office i to overlook it. In the first place, it was a gravo breach of the regulations; ami, I secondly, it was full of indiscretion?, and displayed a want of judgment which throw .grave doubts upon Sir Redver's capacity for command. It aho set a bad example to tlio junior officers of the ai'my, Then, speeches of this kind were calculated in the highest degree to prejudice the army in the campaign. If recriminations in public betweoh our officers had been' allowed, our army would have become the laughing stock of the world. There could not be one set of regulations for the army generally and another set for Sir Redvere Duller. Ho had never discharged a more painful task than when it became his cruel duty to close the career of a man who for more than 40 years liad enjoyed eo large a measure of public confulcp.cc. He had known Sir Redvers Buller .personally for many years, and he appreciated fully the services he had rendered to tho country in the past. In conclusion, he expressed the hope that the ccmmittce would recognise the inadvisabloness of engaging in discussions of this kind, which wore unlikely to have other than misohievoiiii results. Then Sit* Edward Grey took up a most extraordinary and explicable tune. He said; "I wish to deny that Sir Redvers Buller hold the knowledge about the length of time that supplies would last in Ladysmith at. the timer he wixito the despatches after Colenso." This, in the face of the c.ear proof that Buller 1 had received tlio information from Sir Georgo White himself that he hod provisions to last days! Naturally Sir Edward was loudly called on for tho authority on which' ho bused this astounding denial. Will it be believed that all he had to go upon was Bullet's own weak and hesitating words: "I did not know whflt supplies there wore! I THOUGHT (sic) at (hat tinio I had officially in writing that the garrison could not be fed beyond the end of tho year." Yes;, actually tho sole ground mi which Sir Edward Grey mado that assertion was that Buller eoultl not have known the fact, or else he surely would not.have said that ho "thought" the enso was otherwise! Was ever a more utterly fatuous dofoneo put .forward? .Moved by the open derision of the House, Sir Edward went on to contend that his was "a fair surmise." "Surmise!" Naturally the House roared "Why?" And all Sir Edward could say was "'because he [Buller] said himself that ho thought he had it official y in writing."- Is- it strange that a loud and derisive echo .of the word ■'I bought!!!." burst from tho Hones? Surely no such feeble ease ever was set un' even at the Old Bailey! Infatuated to the last,_ air Edward persisted in pressing his motion to a division, when only 93 members —mostly Irish Nationalists—were found to follow him into,the lobby, It was a- liu r *o and crushing fiasco for the Bulleritos. •. ° Commenting upon the debate, The Times says:—"Thero is a case.against the Government which was .very pithily, though too strong.imt by Lord Hugh Cecil, and admitted in' a more qualified form by .Mr lircdi'ick. It, in that; knowing- all they did know about Sir Redvers Buller, they allowed hun to retain the - Altlorshot command after announcing that that command would be entrusted only to men fitted to lead an army corps in war. . . , As regards tho reputation of Sir S, Buller as' a general, that has been decided by facts, some of which ho has himself insisted upon putting in the clearest light. No possible documents etui alter the judgment, passed by the intelligent public here and everywhere unon tho battle of Colenso, the loss of the' ? ras, the sudden drop from/confidence to despair, the message to Sir George White, and the permitted esoano of the Boers with enormous convoys in face of a, British force greatly outnumbering thorn. ' Sir EtUvard Grey has indeed persuaded himself that it was Sir 11. Buller who was responsible for the success of Lord Roberts's advance on Pretoria, but that only increases the amazement which his whole argument inspires. No addition:] telegrams or documents ot amy kind can attenuate tho painful impression mado liy Sir H. Buller's heliographio message to Sir George White, sent at a. time when lie li.nl in his possession tlio official assurance that Ladysmith was provisioned'for 70 days froin November 00, or for eight weeks from the date of his inquiry, and was prepared to defend itself to tho omt oflliat period. Judgment mini and irrevocable liy.s gone forth on' thoso thinffs. Thoy are facta which speak for themselves, onid the significance of which could not be affected we're every document in the War Oihce published 10-morrow."