Show OVERTURES FOR PEAG Kitchener Agrees to tit < draw a Proclamation f i t THE ONE BANISHING BOERS r This Conditional However Upon Surrender of Dewct and Other DOC Leaders London Docs Not Regard From Pretoria Any Too the NeWS prcrn Ay Doubt Ability of Civilian Hppe uIyDoubt AbUt I lian Lenders of Boers to Induce I Dnrct nnd Delnry t Lay Down Anns One Hopeful Sign I Seen London March 2gTIle Associated 3rrtCn has irood reason to j believe that Lord Kitchener in his interview witn Schalkburger agreed to withdraw the banishment proclamation Issued In September 1C I Gen Dowet and the other Boer leaders surrendered COMMONS HEARS NEWS In the House of Commons the War Secretary Mr Brodrlclc announced that n fanlight ago Mr Schalkburjjer Intimated to Lord Kitchener his desire to be granted a safe conduct through tho British lines and back In order to see Mr Steyn with reference to the possibility I of peace proposals Lord Kitchener with the consent of the Government Gov-ernment has acceded to the request The announcement of the War Secretary Secre-tary was received with cheers HOW LONDON VIEWS IT There is little disposition In London to regard tho news of the Boer Governments Govern-ments visit to Pretoria any too hopefully hope-fully Official circles express doubts held throughout of the ability of acting President Schalkburgcr and the other civilian leaders of the Boers to induce such men a Gen Dewet and Dclarcy to surrender Possibly they think the representatives of the Transvaal Government Gov-ernment are desirous of suing for peace but there Is nothing to show that they have anj authority to impose submission submis-sion on the commanders In the field ONE HOPEFUL SIGN Tho moat hopeCul sign they see in the announcement that Lord Kitchener permitted Mr Schalkburger and his companions to proceed to the Orange river colony the contention being that unless the BrIt CoinmanderJnChlof in South Africa who is on the spot and therefore most thoroughly conversant conver-sant with the situation recognized the possibility of fruitful results and believed be-lieved in the good faith of the Trans vaalers he would not have permitted the visitors to continue their pilgrimage pilgrim-age to the headquarters their Orange river colony allies The same cautious reserve permeates the newspaper utterances ut-terances and comment in wellInformed circles DIRECT TALK WITH LEADERS Some significance is attached to tho fact that In approaching Lord KEtch ener Mr Schalkburger and those associated as-sociated wlta him have carried out to the letter the advice given by the British Bri-tish Government for the quickest and most satisfactorily arranged for settlement set-tlement would be direct communication communica-tion between the leaders of the Boers and the British CommanderinChlef in South Africa There Is no sign however how-ever that the Transvaal mission received re-ceived any mandate from the fighting Generals or that the latter are prepared pre-pared to recognize the authority of their acting President to negotiate terms of peace DEFINITE PROPOSALS Presumably the latter satisfied Lord Kitchener that he had certain clearly clearl defined proposals to submit to his ally lls President Steyn but the best informa tion from South Africa deprecates any belief in the likelihood of a simultaneous simulta-neous surrender of the burghers still lrshels 3li In the field on the order or the Boer Government Almost the best to be hoped for Is that the present over tures will so modify the situation as to bring peace FORMER OVERTURES The Westminster Gazette this afternoon after-noon urges that any peace proposal should be regarded on its merits point pInt Ing out that the assumption that the previous Boer overtures were signs of weakness contributed largely to the failures of the ncgatlatlons TRUE PATRIOTISM The Pal Mall Gazette would like to think that the brave skillful Com mandpr Dewet and Delarey have arrived ar-rived at the height of moral courage attained by Gen Lee and have real zed that the truest patriotism docs not consist In the prolongation of a hopeless struggle The paper con fesses however that the military sit mitryslt nation Is not auspicious for such a change of mind a BELIEVES SURRENDER lAS OC CURRED The St James Gazette extracts from extract tho unlllumlnatlve dispatches thus far received from Pretoria the theory that Mr Schalkburger and the other members of his party have possibly already surrendered and have been put on parole for the purpose of seeing President Steyn and purposcOraeeIJ1 Dcwet news from South Africa had a gener ally good effect on the stock exchange |