to their fate'? No!
We must save what we can."

General Liebenberg then spoke. "I am able to give my support," he said,
"to all that has fallen from the lips of Messrs. Viljoen and De Clercq.
It cannot be doubted that the future is very dark. Yes, we can only
trust in God, and use our reason to the best of our ability. I have been
commissioned by those whom I represent to retain our independence if
possible, and if it be not possible to make peace on the best terms that
we can get."

Commandant Uijs was the next speaker. He explained that if the war were
to be continued he would have to leave his district and abandon the
women and children to the mercy of the Kaffirs. He could see a chance of
saving the mounted men if only he could feel certain that they would all
follow him, but the case of the women and children would be hopeless. A
serious difficulty confronted the delegates, and it was with them, and
no longer with the Government, that its solution rested. Never before
had he been called upon to face so gigantic a task. It was not the time
now to criticize one another, but to practise mutual forbearance. The
Bible had been quoted by one of the speakers, but let them not forget
the text in which the king is spoken of who calculated whether he was
strong enough with ten thousand to encounter him who marched against
him with twenty thousand. Then there was the question as to the disposal
of the widows and orphans. What was to become of them if the burghers,
by refusing to come to terms with the enemy, should no longer be able to
act as their mutual protectors? Let them make no more widows and
orphans, but let them open their eyes and recognize that the hand of God
was against them.

The next business was the reading of two letters--one from General Malan
and the other from General Kritzinger. Malan reported on his doings in
the Cape Colony, while Kritzinger advised that the war should be
discontinued.

General Du Toit then spoke, emphasizing the responsibility of the
delegates and the importance of the occasion. He went on to say that he
represented a part of the nation which had suffered very severely, but
which nevertheless had commissioned him to stand up for independence, if
by any means it could be retained; if he failed in this, he was to take
whatever course seemed best to him. In his district the burghers were
not reduced to such a pass as to oblige them to surrender, but the
condition of other districts