§ MR. DILLONI beg to ask the Secretary for War whether he can state what steps have been taken to ascertain the reason why the 10th Battalion of Imperial Yeomanry and other mounted troops, in all a force of 1,500 men with guns, which was informed on the 23rd May that Colonel Spragge's force was hard pressed at Lindley but could not hold out until Sunday, the 27th, never reached Lindley although it moved out of Kroonstadt on the 23rd, and the distance between Lindley and Kroonstadt is only forty miles; and whether any inquiry has been held; if so, what was the finding of the court.
§ MR. BRODRICKThe hon. Member has been misinformed as to the dates. On the 23rd May the 10th Battalion Imperial Yeomanry was at Zandfontein, fourteen miles west of Bothaville, and over fifty miles from Kroonstadt as the crow flies. No inquiry has been held, nor is any deemed necessary.
§ MR. DILLONBut did not the force actually start and lose its way on the road?
§ MR. BRODRICKI am not so informed. But the distance shows that it could not have reached Lindley in time in any case.