THE BOER WAR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2504, 19 March 1902, Page 32

THE BOER WAR.

A BRITISH DISASTER. GENERAL METHUEN A PRISONER. , . DE LA REV'S SCOOP. MEN AND GUNS CAPTURED. ffROOPS DESPATCHED IN PURSUIT.

LONDON, March 10. De la Rey has captured General Lord ' Several officers were also taken. . The British lost four gunsGeneral Methuen was wounded in the

thigh. j Thirty British were either killed or grounded, and many were captured. i (The above message was delayed in trtnsjnission.] i [De la Rey, after his successful defeat of Colonel Yon Donop'e column, divided his )nen into three bodies and moved north. Colonels Kekowich and Grenfell started l m Wsuit from one quarter and General Mehuen left Vryburg for Lichtenburg, hoping to intercept the Boer general m that director..]

Lord Kitchener reported on Saturday Jthat he greatly regretted to report the papture of Lord Methuen, with guns and (baggage, and many officers and men. .The news was brought to Marigo by PSO mounted troops, pursued by the teoers for four miles from the scene of action. He had suggested the delay in publication until he received definite information. He had arranged to send troops to the district. He considered De la Rey's sudden activity was an attempt to relieve the pressure on De .Wet. Further particulars state that Lieutenants G. Yenning and T. Nesham were killed after displaying great gallantry in >erving the gun-,. Thirty-nine others /were killed, four officers severely yivounded (one dangerously), and 72 men wounded. Captain W. Tilney and 200 men were missing, but many were probably included in the arrivals at Marigo. In the House of Lords reference was made to General Methuen's capture. •Lord Roberts expressed his warm appreciation of General Methuen, and depreciated adverse criticism. Lord Salisbury

concurred with Lord Roberts. Lord Roberts, referring to Lord 3fethuen's action at Magersfontein, says p rthat after a careful survey of the Boer at that place he was convinced rthat Lord Methuen bad been given an '/almost impossible task. He was not /blameable for his failure to relieve Kim(berley. Since then he had distinguished liimself by zeal and intelligence, and had shown great perseverance and had not hiutained a check. He was beloved by jjythe men, and no work was too hard given to them by him. Lord IM?i|buen had more than once assisted )to lotHt after De la Rey's family, and he Roberts) was convinced, from tlie 3llimane and civilised manner in -which De la Rey had acted throughout, that Lord Methuen would be well cared for \yy him. ' Lords Spencer and Salisbury .paid a generous tribute to Lord Methuen. Mr Brodrick read the despatches amidst profound silence, until he announced the capture of Lord ■Methuen, guns, and baggage. Then some of the Nationalists burst

into cheers and laughter, mingled ,vrith cries of "Shame" fr»m the {Ministerial and other benches. Mr iDillon, in the absence of Mr Redmond, ,vainly tried to check Mr M'Neill and tther noisy members. Messrs Dillon and 'Healy joined the majority of the House in cheering Mr Brodrick's tribute to Lord Methuen. Mr Brodrick at midnight read a further despatch from Lord Kitchener, dated Monday, which showed that the ox convoy escorted by half Methuen's force preceded the mules by an hour. De la Rev, with 1300 men nearly all wearing khaki, and assisted by a •10-pounder and pompom, suddenly made an enveloped attack on the rear. The first coiihisiou was caused by the native bo}'.' galloping the led horses through the mule convoy while the latter, under Lord Methuen's directions, was endeavouring to gain the ox convoy. The disorder communicated itself to

the mounted men.

The Boers close

behind the waggons frustrated the attempts to rally, and thot section of the mounted troop-, and the mule waggons galloped throe miles beyond the ox wag«oii«, :md then intercepted them.

The Tran-vaal Legation assert that Steyn and Schalkburger had informed

Lord Kitchener that they would only negotiate for poace on the basis of complete independence. Steyn's "official newspaper devotes much space to a reproduction of Sir H. C. Baußerman's speech on British methods of barbarism ami the utterances of other pro-Boer members in the House of Commons. Mr Gilbert Parker, M.P., in a letter ;o The Times, doubts the financial success r>f colonial remount depots during peace. He advocates the experiment of the colonies and the Motherland co-operating lor both naval and military defence, with

common financial responsibilities. He further suggests the establishment of recruiting stations in the colonies for the Imperial forces, the men to serve in the colonies and on active foreign service.

LONDON', March 11. Lord Kitchener's despatch explained that Lord Methuen and Major Paris, with 900 mounted men, 300 infantry, four guns, and a pom-pom, were moving from Wyndberg to Lichtenberg to meet Grenfell, with 1300 mounted men, at Rooirayesfontein, on Saturday.

Early on Friday, when between Twebosch and Palmietal, De la Rey's force charged Methuen on three sides. Lord Kitchener on Sunday reports that Paris, with the remainder of the men, arrived at Kraapan. He reports that the column moved in two parties. Some, with the ox waggons, left Twebcfdi at 3 o'clock, the mule waggons leaving at 4 o'clock in the morning. The attack was made after dawn, and before reinforcements were available the rear screen was broken.

Many Boers galloped on both flanks. They were at first checked by the flank parties, but a panic and a stampede amongst the mules had already begun. All the mule waggons, with a terrible mixture of mounted men, rushed past the ox waggons. All efforts to check them proved unavailing.

Paris collected 40 men and occupied a position a mile ahead of the ox waggons, which he brought to a standstill.

After a gallant but vseless defence the enemy rushed into the waggons. Paris was surrounded, and surrendered at 10 o'clock.