. Another was the consideration of
what their descendants in time to come would say. "How is it," they
would ask, "that we are not now free men? There were a large number of
burghers in the veldt to continue the war--what has become of our
independence?" And what answer shall we be able to make?--we whose
courage failed us before such tremendous odds, and who laid down our
arms when victory was still possible? The speaker would only be
satisfied if the meeting were unanimous for stopping the war, not
otherwise. He thought of the families. How would the delegates face
their families on their return, after the sacrifice of independence? He
considered that the commandos should leave those districts where
resistance was no longer possible and go to others. If to discontinue
the war meant to surrender independence, then the war must not be
discontinued.

Vice-President Burger said that he had not heard from the last speaker
any reasons whatsoever for continuing the war.

Commandant Rheeder then remarked that if they wanted to surrender their
country they should have done so earlier, when the burghers were not
entirely destitute. But now nothing was left to them. As to the
narrowness of the field of operations, there was still room enough to
fight.

Commandant P.L. Uijs (Pretoria) referred to the frequent allusion which
had been made to their European deputation. That deputation was now in
Holland, and must know if anything was going on there to the advantage
of the Republics. If there were any hopeful signs there, their comrades
would certainly have informed them. They had not done so, and therefore
the meeting should dismiss this subject from its thoughts.

The meeting then adjourned until 7.15 p.m.

Upon reassembling, Commandant Cronje (Winburg) said that he would not
detain the meeting for long; he only wished to say a very few words. It
had been rightly said that they were passing through a momentous period
of their history. To his mind the present was _the_ critical epoch in
the existence of the African nation, whose destinies they had now to
decide. Delegates were asking what hopes they could now entertain. But
what grounds for hope were there when the war began? In his opinion
there were none. It was only that men believed then that Right was
Might, and put their trust in God. And God had helped them. When the
enemy had entered their country everything was dark. There had been a
day on which more than four thous