THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR.

CONDUCT OF THE CAMPAIGN.

REPORT OF THE ROYAL COM*

MISSION.

A DAMAGING DOCUMENT.

United Press Association—By Eleotria Telegraph — Copyright. (Received August 27, 7.20 a.m.)

LONDON, August 26i

The Royal Commission, appointed by tb§ Legislature to inquire into the conduct of the war in South Africa, with Lord Elgin for< chairman, has submitted its report, which has now been published.

The Commissioners disclaim having^been instructed to deal with the whole military system in detail^ or to submit an elaborate scheme of army reorganisation. Xheir duty was confined to a recommendation regarding inefficiency or defects in the Army administration as disclosed by the. war, audj to indicate the causes. Hence the recommendations are incidentally scattered through the report ; but, <by sustaining definite proposals, the Commissioners had succeeded, m giving absolute unanimity to their findings, and expressing their unanimity in, the strongest terms, leaving the Government to find a remedy. Similarly, the strategical and tactical lessons of the war were left to the military authorities.

The report deals -with th« appalling state of unpreparedness in which the /war found the country, and indicates that the Intelligence Department obtained fairly accurate information as t-a-ih? B<n#r\«tTMijrr.h, armament and disposition, of forces. N lt quotes memoranda hitherto regarded as confideu- • tial, by Lieutenant-Colonel Altham, in 1896 and 1898, and by Sir John Ardagh, of the Intelligence Department, in 1897, giving warning of the, imminence of danger from the growing Boer hostility and the Boers* preparations, but th« Government a?d ita military advisers formed an inadequate conception of. the reinforcements required in the event of war.

Colonel Althamj in 1896, reported tha« the Boer States had designs on Natal, and that -we should; decide on -strategic points.; He reported in 1898 that warlike movements were being made, that the situation 1 demanded that troops should be retiy to; mobilise quickly, as at the time he re« ported 1 there 'would b& muoh delay in mobilising, that colonial defence schemes should! be prepared, and that instructions «hould be given to the General commanding in South Africa in the event of an outbreak of -war. ■ Mr Chamberlain, in 1897 and 1898, repeatedly urged the War Office to prepare. He directed attention to the humiiiltiba that; would follow, and the increased expense that would be entailed if we failed.^

Lord Wolseley, in 1896, urged the retention of a considerable field force in SoutU Africa on the broad grounds of Imperial strategy and adequate training and w{*V vigorous, measures.

, In the summer of 1899, the Marquis .at Lansdowne, then Secretary oi State ftii War, informed the Coinmissionerß that Colonel Altham's memoranda 'were never officially communicated to him. The basis of any proposals came through the regular channel, namely, the Commander-^ Chief. •

! The report describes as extraordinary th« fact that Lord Lanedowne's attention was first directed to the War. Office papers by Mr Chamberlain such circumßtahcea that it was not remarkable that no plan «of campaign had been arranged and nothing thought out. Reinforcements and stores were limited for*political reasons, although , the strength of the garrisons at the outbreak was as large as the military advised^ | but the Commission is unable to sayr that the Cabinet, in estimating the aidimtted wsks of its policy, gave due- consideration to the knowledge that the Boers were ox-, ganiaing for war. ' ' . ■ . . The Commissioners were not satisfied 'that enough was being now done to improve matters fa the event of another emergency. The lesson of the war was that no military system is satisfactory unless it) obtains powers of expansion outside the. limit of of the regular forces.

The report eulogises the auxiliaries and the colonials. The tendency of the report is towards reconstructing the War Office on the lines of the Board of Admiralty, ami the abolition of the Commander-in-Chief* post. / \ Lord Esber, in a note, suggests as a basis bf recommendation the Hartington and Clinton Dawkins Commissions, and is supported) by Sir George Taubman-Goldde and Sir John Jackson.

The " Times " says that the report of the Commission is the most important since the report of the inquiry into the conduct and 1 operation of the Crimes Act.

The Commission suggests the appoint* ment of highly-trained . and experienced officers to train colonial troops. . ■

(As a result vl strong representations in Parliament, cne Government appointed' aY Special Uommission to investigate the con* duct of the war — " the military- prepaid tions, the suppiy of men, ammunition* equipment anu transport by sea and laop in connection with tne campaign, and witil the military operations, up to the occupy tion of The chairman appointed was Lord Elgin, and the original members were Field-Marshal Sir Henry Norman j Admiral Sir John Hopkins, Sir John Jackson and Hit John Edge. Lord Strachcona, High Commissioner for the Dominion of Canada, Sir Frederick Darley, LieutenantGovernor of the State of New South Wales, and Sir George Taubinan-Goldae were subsequently added to the Commission. It was decided that the proceedings of the Com-, mission should be conducted in camera, but / -*" an official summary of proceedings has been issued after the meetings. Lord Kitchener, Sir William Nicholson, Lieutenant-Colooel E. A. Altham, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert* son, Lieutenant-Colonel Grant, R.E., Sir F. Stopford, A. A.6., Colonel Lake, and other officers who had taken part in the operations or in the war administration ac xiome, have given evidence.)