* 27331 4539 Hie London Gazette. TUESDAY, JULY 9, 1901. COURT OF CLAIMS* with the remainder of his foice, having retired Council Chamber, Whitehall, July 1, 1901. northwards towards Fauresmith. General Plumer marched at dawn on the 4th LL persons desirous of presenting Petitions on the track of .De Wet's commando, and, after a A or Claims concerning Services to be done slight engagement with the enemy's rear guard, or performed by them at the time of the er-sning lit Zuurfontein, entered Fauresmith on the 5th. Coronation, pursuant to His Majesty's Roval Information was there obtained that De Wet was Proclamation of the 26th June last, may send the about 24 hours ahead, and had passed through the same under cover to the Clerks of the Court of town, taking the Petrusburg road. Plumcr's Claims, Privy Council Office, Whitehall. columns pressed on, passed Petrusburg, and The Commissioners are required by the Procla- reached the Modder River at Abralam's Kraal mation to exclude from their consideration such Drift on the 7ih. It was then apparent that the claims as may be submitted to them in respect of Boer force had broken up and scatteied, and the rights or services connected with the parts of the direction which De Wet himself had taken became Ceremonial heretofore performed in Westminster a matter of some uncertainty. General Plumer Hall and with the Procession, the Ceremony being therefore halted on the 8th to replenish his supplies confined to Westminster Abbey. and gjiin information. On the 9th he resumed his northerly march, and on the 10th captured a despatch rider, from whom it was ascertained that De Wet had crossed the railway on the night of Uar Office, July 9, 1901. the 8th on his way to Senekal. General Plumer rilHE following Despatch has been received therefore marched into Brandfort, and received JL from Lord Kitchener, G.C.B., &c., Com- instructions to proceed t j Winburg. Colonel Haig's columns from Norval's Pont mander-in-Chief, South Africa :— reached Philippolis on the 4th March. Hearing From Lord Kitchener to the Secretary of State that General Plumer had followed De Wet, for War. Colonel Haig took up the pursuit of Hertzog's Army Head-Quarter?, South Africa, commando and engaged him on the 5th at Groot- SIB, Pretoria, 8th May, 1901. fontein, 10 miles north-west of Philippolis, driving IN continuation of my despatch dated 8th him westward. The columns then returned to March, 1901, which closed with the failure of the railway line at Springfontein, to be ready in De Wet's attempt on Cape Colony, I have the case it might be necessary to move them north by honour to submit an account of the subsequent rail. operations carried out by the troops under my Colonel Bethune's Brigade left Orange River command. Biidge on the 1st March, and two days later 1. Lieutenant - General Ljttelton, who was attacked and dispersed a body of about 1,000 directing the operations against De Wet, received Boers near Open Baar. The brigade passed early information of the retirement of the com- Petrusburg on the Gth, and on the 8th reached mandos from Cape Colony, and at once ordered the Modder River, halting on the line Abraham's the pursuing columns to cioss the Orange River Kraal—Roodewal. On this date the Boers and converge on Philippolis. Brigadier-General attacked an empty convoy returning from Colonel Plumer, Colonel Haig, and Lieutenant-Colonel Bethune's column to Bloemfontein. The escort Thorneycroft entered the Orange River Colony held its own and on being reinforced by a at Norval's Pont and operated from the railway detachment of the Prince of Wales's Light Horse between Springfontein and the river; Major- drove off the enemy. General C. Knoz and Colonel Bethune, moving Major-General C. Knox's columns left Orange by Orange River Bridge, threatened the retiring River Bridge on the 4th March, Lieutenant- enemy from the west. Colonel Pilcher on the right moving by way of Brigadier-General Flumer, whose troops had Kalabaa Bridge, Lieutenant - Colonel Crewe been sent by rail to Springfontein, marched rapidly through Kofiyfontein, their lines of advance on Philippolis. He arrived at that town on the being generally parallel. The right column evening of the 3rd of March, and learned that on crossed the Reit River at Kalabas Bridge on the the previous day Hertzog, with 500 men, had left 6th, captured a Boer laager at Dassieport on the in the direction of Luckhoff, De Wet himself, 8th, and reached Bloemfontein on the 10th. The.