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Show BOERS SAVED THEIR HEAVY ARTILLERY London, Feb. 28. The war expert of the Morning Leader writes: "Four thousand Boers and five thirteen-pound thirteen-pound guns, on one side, three and a half divisions and an enormous increasing increas-ing force, with a mass of heavy artillery artil-lery on the other. Yet the Boers have kept up their contest for more than a week after General Kelly-Kenny fought them, and after General French headed them off their line of retreat. "Many of Cronje's men have got away and they have saved all their ar- ; tillery. Whither they have gone does not yet appear. Those heavy guns which used to make Methuen grind his teeth in impotence have disappeared. Where are they now? "Why, of course, on the way to Bloemfontein. The fact that one-third of the prisoners are Free Staters does not induce confidence that General . French will be able to spare many of his mounted troops for the relief of Mafeking. j "It would not. be surprising if word had already gone ordering Command-I Command-I ant Sniman to concentrate back of Pretoria, or rather in Klarksdorf and Protchefstroon districts. For Colonels Baden-Powell and Plumer, when they join forces, can threaten the Rand and the capital from the rear. "I take it for granted that General French and the greater part of his cavalry cav-alry are on their way to Bloemfontein. I cannot imagine anything so suicidal as that the Boers would mass at the capital of the Free State. "Ladysmith has not yet been relieved, re-lieved, and the very latest news last night is far from meeting what we would wish. "Are the Boers presumably retiring being reinforced? "Are they actually to outflank us? "The very brevity of the news compels com-pels us to believe its truth and makes us very uneasy. "It is likely enough that, if the enemy en-emy has got away his big guns, he has also sent back to the next front the men who were engaged in removing the guns. "If General Joubert, too, can deliver what an American general might call 'a mule kick,' Joubert will not only get away easily, but will give us some trouble before he clears the passes." The military expert of the Morning Post says: "The surrender of Cronje is the first complete victory the British Brit-ish have won in this campaign. We do not yet know the size of the force that has been destroyed. "Lord Roberts announces he has 4,000 prisoners and has taken six guns. After Af-ter the battle of Magersfontein Cronje's force was estimated at not less than 12,000 men. So at least half his force and most of his guns1 including the larger ones disappeared before his retreat." |