General Buller's Defence.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10497, 19 November 1901, Page 2

General Buller's Defence.

In the .course of his speech on the rolicf of Ladysmith, Genoral Buller said:—lt had been stated that he wrote a telegram in which he ordered Sir George White to give up Ladysmith and destroy his books. The fact was, his attack upon Colenso had failed and he had to -, consider thp garrison at Ladysmith. Bearing in mind- aU the oircumstances of the case, the failure of the attack, the approach of horse sickness and "nterio fever, and tho poisoning of the water by the> Boers, he did write a telegram saying he could not make another attempt for a month. In the telgram ho Also put some questions and in "the middle of them,

after thinking the matter over, he suggested that it might be necessary to surrender and also suggested what Sir George might do when he surrendered and how he should do it. He thought it would be some Bort of cover to a man whom he believed to bo in greater difficulties than himself. He wanted to bring the man who said that he had counselled Sir George to surrender down into the ring, and" for that purpose he challenged him to bring forward the telegram. He knew where the telegram was. It was in the hands of the editor of a magazine who had made himself notorious some years ago by raking over the garbage of a fifty-year-old story and dishing it up hot. The telegram must have been stolen, beqause it was in cipher, addressed to Sir George White, and perfectly private. Ho challenged the production of it, and how it was got, and he would then publish the telegram in full and be judged. Napolaon was once quoted by a certain newspaper to oppose its friends; he would quote Kruger to defend himself.