WAS SIR ALPRED MILNER WARNED ?

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXVIII, Issue 14, 5 April 1900, Page 4

WAS SIR ALPRED MILNER WARNED ?

A well-informed correspondent has sent to the Manchester Guard tan the following (statement as to what took place between General butler and Sir Alfred Milner. The accuracy of the state-

ment oan be verified by the production of memoranda :—ln: — In June, after the Bloemfontein Conference, Sir A. Milner, as High Commissioner, sent for General Butler, in command of the forces in South Africa, and asked him to reinforce the garrisons on the frontier of the Transvaal. General Butler expressed some surprise at the proposal. The step recommended by the High Commissioner was so serious that he did not feel justified in carrying it out unless he reoeived orders in writing. Sir A. Milner, as High Commissioner, had the supreme right of disposing of her Majesty's forces in South Africa, and, of course, if he received written instructions it would be his duty to obey them. To this Sir Alfred 3lilner objected. He Baid he thought that the strengthening of the frontier garrisons might be undertaken by General Butler on his own responsibility. To this remark General Butler replied, pointing out that everything depended upon the policy which was to be pursued. He had understood from the declarations of the Government that they were bent upon a policy of peace. In that case it did not seem to him that there was any need for strengthening the garrisons, and to place garrisons on the frontier would be to provoke the Boers to cross it. If, however, the High Commissioner had decided upon a policy of war, he must point out to him that the measures taken were ridiculous from a military point of view. If war broke out the first thing that would be necessary would be either to withdraw the garrisons in a hurry or to see them locked up by the forces of the Boers. Strategically the positions to which Sir Alfred Milner wished him to send troops were impossible to hold, and the garrisons must inevitably be cut off and isolated. Sir Alfred Milner having expressed Btrong opinions in opposition to this view, General Butler informed his Excellency that a war with the Boer.s was a much more serious matter than he appeared to realise. If the war was confined to the South African Republic it would be necessary to have from forty to fifty thousand men in hand when hostilities broke out ; but it was impossible to hope that we Bhould only have to deal with the South African Republic. It was a matter of certainty that the Orange Free State would join forces with their brethren in the Transvaal, and in that case the force which he had named would have to be still further augmented. At least two army corps would be needed besides the troops which were already in South Africa. Sir Alfred Milner scornfully replied : ' It is very natural for you to take such a line, from your sympathies with your friends the Dutch.' Thereupon the conversation was closed. General Butler placed his resignation in the hands of the authorities, and forwarded a memorandum setting forth the substance of the foregoing conversation.