permission to remain in charge of the combined stock. The locality where Nr. 12280. 22.Sept.1900. the stock will be herded must be designated, and those left in charge are to be bound over to appear themselves and produce the stock whenever called upon to do so. || Failure to comply with these conditions will render liable to deportation those of the party who are retained as prisoners. || 3. The stock of Burghers who surrender voluntarily is to be paid for, or a receipt given, stating the value, if taken for the use of the troops. || 4. Camps for Burghers who voluntarily surrender are being formed in Pretoria and at Bloemfontein. Pretoria, 22nd September 1900. J. G. Maxwell, Major-General, Military Governor. Nr. 12281. Weitere Bestimmungen über die Behandlung der As it seems to me advisable to insure uniformity in the treatment of the Nr. 12281. inhabitants of the various districts of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, 28.Sept. 1900. the following instructions are hereby published to assist General Officers Commanding in carrying out the conditions of recent Proclamations issued by me: 1. By Military Secretary's telegram, No. C, 4825, dated 20th September, General Officers Commanding have been empowered to promise that Burghers who surrender voluntarily will not be sent out of South Africa, provided they have been guilty of no acts, other than fighting against us, which should debar them from this privilege. This concession does not apply to those who have taken the prominent military or political part in the war, nor to those who have broken their oath of neutrality, nor to foreigners. In the event of a military or political leader enquiring as to terms of surrender, the question is to be referred direct to Army Head-quarters. || 2. All stock, supplies, &c., of those on commando, or of those who have broken their oath, are to be taken and no receipt given. || 3. In cases where some members of a family, who all live on once farm, have broken their oath and gone on commando, those remaining are to be warned that, unless the former surrender within a reasonable period, all stock, supplies, &c., will be taken and no receipt given. || 4. In cases of sniping, leaders of bands are to be informed that, unless in ceases, their (the leaders') houses will be burned. A few days should be allowed for this to become known, notices being sent to the resorts of the leaders and to their wives. In the event of its being necessary to burn the farms, further notice should be issued stating why this has been done, and giving a list of other houses that will next be burned. || 5. All stock, supplies, &c., of snipers are to be taken and no receipt given. || 6. Protection is to be given to all inhabitants who have kept the oath of neutrality, remaining quietly at home and taking no further part in the war. Any stock or supplies taken from them are to be paid for or receipts given in full for them. || 28.Sept.1900. Nr. 12281. 7. Wives and families of men who are prisoners of war are to be protected, and receipts in full given for anything taken. || When a man surrenders a protection pass is to be given to his wife. || 8. Widows of men killed in the war and all lone women are to receive protection passes, and to be paid or given receipts for everything taken. || 9. Burghers are to be informed that as soon as their leaders submit, and when every cannon has been surrendered, peace will be declared, and all prisoners of war will then be sent back of their homes. Exceptions only will be made in the cases of members of the late Government of the South African Republic and Orange Free State, who are responsible for the war and its present disastrous prolongation, and of those who may be proved to have been guilty of acts contrary to the customs of war. Nr. 12282.J Roberts, Field-Marshal, Commanding in Chief in South Africa. Army Head-quarters, South Africa, Nr. 12282. Beschränkung der Ausfuhr aus Transvaal und Orange-River Colony. 16. Oktober 1900. Whereas it is expedient to remove certain of the restrictions at present 16. Okt.1900. existing against the exportation of goods, wares, and merchandise from the Transvaal and Orange River Colony. || New therefore, I, Frederick Sleigh, Baron Roberts of Kandahar and Waterford, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.S.I., G.C.I.E., V.G., Field-Marshal, Commanding-in-Chief Her Majesty's troops in South Africa. || Do hereby declare, proclaim, and make known that, from and after the date hereof, the exportation of all goods, wares, and merchandise, with the exception of raw and bar gold and munitions of war, is permitted from the said territories under the laws and regulations of the Customs. Nr. 12283. God Save the Queen. Given under my hand and seal at Pretoria this 16th day of October 1900 Commanding in Chief, South Africa. Nr. 12283. Anordnung über die Zerstörung vou Farmen. 18. November 1900. As there appears to be some misunderstanding with reference to burning 18. Nov. 1900. of farms and breaking of dams, Commander-in-Chief wishes following to be lines on which General Officers Commanding are to act: - No farm is to be burnt except for act of treachery, or when troops have been fired on from premises, or as punishment for breaking of telegraph or railway line, or when 18. Νον. 1900. they have been used as bases of operations for raids, and then only with direct Nr. 12283. consent of General Officer Commanding, which is to be given in writing, the mere fact of a burgher being absent on commando is on no account to be used as reason for burning the house. All cattle, wagons, and foodstuffs are to be removed from all farms; if that is found to be impossible, they are to be destroyed, whether owner be present or not. III. Berichte von Lord Roberts an das Kriegsministerium über die Operationen. Der Oberbefehlshaber Lord Roberts an das Kriegsministerium. Bericht über die strategische Lage im Januar. Army Head-Quarters, South Africa, Cape Town, 6th February, 1900. Gross My Lord, || Now that I have been nearly a month in South Africa, and Nr. 12284. will shortly be leaving Cape Town for the operations which I propose to britannien. carry out for the relief of Kimberley and in the Orange Free State, it seems 6. Feb. 1900. desirable that I should submit for the information of Her Majesty's Government a concise account of the state of affairs in this country as I found them on my arrival on the 10th January. || The force which was despatched from England between the 20th October and the early part of December had been greatly scattered. The Army-Corps organization had been broken up, and even the formation of the Divisions and Brigades materially differed from what had been originally contemplated. On assuming the chief command, the first step which Sir Redvers Buller undertook was to despatch Lord Methuen with the Brigade of Guards, the 3rd, or Highland Brigade, and a third Brigade, improvised from 31/ battalions on the Lines of Communication which were immediately available, for the relief of Kimberley. As your Lordship is aware, this force succeeded in crossing the Modder River; but the subsequent attack on the Boer position at Magersfontein having been repulsed, Lord Methuen fell back on the river, where he has formed an entrenchment facing that thrown up by the enemy. || The original intention was that, simultaneously with Lord Methuen's advance, Lieut.-General Clery, with the Second Division, should operate from Port Elizabeth by the Midland line of railway through Naauwpoort on Colesberg, and that Lieut.-General Gatacre should similarly move from East London by the Eastern line of railway on Stromberg and Burghersdorp. This plan for occupying the Northern frontier of the Colony had to be abandoned owing to the urgent demands for assistance from Natal. In the middle of November, Lieut.-General Clery was sent to Durban with the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Brigades, being followed shortly afterwards by Sir Redvers Buller himself. On the 1st December, the 5th Brigade was ordered from Cape Town to Natal. With these reinforcements, and the force previously available, an attempt was made on the 15th December to effect the passage Nr. 12284. of the Tugela River in the vicinity of Colenso, but this having failed, Sir Grofs- Redvers Buller was obliged to withdraw his troops to Chieveley. Meanwhile, 6. Feb. 1900. the 5th Division had arrived at Cape Town, and after the action of the britannien. Tugela, Sir Redvers Buller directed its commander, Sir Charles Warren, with half of the 10th Brigade and the whole of the 11th Brigade, to proceed to Natal. Towards the end of November, the 1st Royal Dragoons and the 13th Hussars were also transferred to Natal, followed shortly afterwards by two squadrons of the 14th Hussars. || On arrival here on the 10th January, I found the state of affairs to be as follows:-On the west of the Cape Colony, Lieut.General Lord Methuen was occupying the position already described. Lieut.General French, with three Cavalry regiments and one and a half battalions of Infantry, was holding the line from Naauwpoort to Rensburg. Lieut.General Sir W. F. Gatacre, who had two batteries of Artillery and four and a half battalions under his orders, having been defeated in his attack on Stormberg, was occupying Sterkstroom and the country in its vicinity. In Natal, Sir Redvers Buller, having found himself unable to advance by the direct route to the relief of Ladysmith, had fallen back on Chieveley to await reinforcement by the 5th Division under Lieut.-General Sir Charles Warren. In view of the distance of my head-quarters from Natal, and of the fact that on the date of my arrival Sir Redvers Buller had made his dispositions for the second attempt to relieve Ladysmith, I thought it best to leave him a perfectly free hand, and not to interfere with his operations. || In the Cape Colony a serious feeling of unrest prevailed. The withdrawal of so large a portion of the Army-Corps had encouraged the disloyal among the inhabitants, and I found that His Excellency the High Commissioner was extremely anxious as to whether it would be possible to preserve peace and order throughout the province. After consulting Sir Alfred Milner, I decided that it would be best to remain on the defensive until a sufficient force was available to enable an advance to be made into the Orange Free State. I hoped that the effect of such an advance, if adequately supported, would be to relieve the hostile pressure at Ladysmith, and between Ladysmith and the Tugela, and also between the Modder river and Kimberley. In pursuance of this policy, and with a view to facilitating offensive action as soon as the strength and organization of the troops at my disposal would admit of it, I directed Lieut.-Generals Lord Methuen and Gatacre to remain strictly on the defensive. Lieut.-Generals French, with his head-quarters at Rensburg, was instructed to patrol the country round Colesberg, and to keep the enemy, into whose hands that place had fallen, from moving further to the south. Shortly after my arrival, the troops of the 6th Division, under Lieut.-General Kelly-Kenny, reached Cape Town, and were despatched to Naauwpoort, one of the brigades being temporarily detached for employment under Lieut.-General French. The duty assigned to Lieut.-General Kelly-Kenny was to allay unrest Gross and check disaffection among the Colonial population, and to open up the Nr. 12284. railway line as far as possible from Middelburg in the direction of Stromberg. || britannien. A subject which from the first, attracted my special attention was the 6. Feb. 1900. development and organization of the Colonial forces, of which I was inclined to think that sufficient use had not been made. I therefore arranged for one mounted corps to be raised by Colonel Brabant, to whom, with the approval of the High Commissioner, the rank of Brigadier-General has been given. Iclusive of this corps, it is intended to place a body of Colonial mounted troops, about 3000 strong, under Brigadier-General Brabant's command, on Lieut.-General Gatacre's right flank, for the purpose of guarding the eastern portion of the Colony and pushing back the enemy from the neighbourhood of Stormberg. The head-quarters of this Colonial force will be at Dordrecht, where it will be in readiness to operate northward towards Jamestown. Two other regiments, designated at the particular request of the members „Roberts's" and „Kitchener's Horse", have also been formed, chiefly from men who have found their way to South Africa from various parts of the world. Additional corps are being raised by influential gentlemen in the Colony, and every encouragement and assistance are being given to the men who desire to enlist. || Shortly after my arrival the question of reinforcements had to be dealt with. I was reluctant to indent on the home Army for an 8th Infantry Division and an additional Cavalry Brigade, and I expressed the opinion that it would suffice to order out two more Line battalions (one from Malta and the other from Egypt), two companies of Mounted Infantry from Burma, and 13 Militia battalions from England for duty on the Lines of Communication. The failure of the second attempt to relieve Ladysmith may possibly necessitate the despatch of the larger reinforcement, which I was at first prepared to dispense with. || Since I have been here I have taken no steps to render active assistance to General Sir Redvers Buller, as he had a force at his disposal which seemed sufficient for the relief of Ladysmith, and, after being reinforced by the 5th Division, he had informed me that his task would not be rendered easier by a further addition to the number of his troops. Moreover, I had no troops to spare. The frontier of the Cape Colony was weakly held, and the attitude of a portion of the Colonists bordering the Orange Free State was in some cases doubtful, and in others disloyal. The conclusion I arrived at wat that no sensible improvement in the military situation could be hoped for until we were prepared to carry the war into the enemy's country, and all my efforts have accordingly been exerted in that direction. This plan was, however, attended with considerable difficulties. The two main roads leading from Cape Colony to the Orange Free State were held in force by the Boers at the points where those roads crossed the Orange River, and it seemed certain that the bridges over that river would be destroyed, if the enemy could be forced to retire to the northern bank. Moreover, I could |