e those of others, were
exhausted, and yet his burghers remained in the veldt. He had been
present at the surrender of the four thousand; he had seen General
Cronje give up his sword. Those had been dark days, but the struggle
still went on; they could still keep on their legs. It had been God's
will that this war should take place. Prayers had been offered that it
might be averted, but God had ruled it otherwise. Therefore they must
carry the war through, and never think of surrender. They were
Republicans. What would it be to have to give up that name for ever? He
had consulted his burghers and their women-folk; he had asked them,
"What conditions of peace will you accept?" They had answered, "No peace
at all, if it means any loss of independence." And so, before he could
vote for peace, he would have again to take the opinion of his burghers.

Veldtcornet B.H. Breijtenbach (Utrecht) urged that a definite yes or no
must be given to the question, Is the war to continue? The general
condition of the country had been laid before the meeting, and it had
been clearly shown that its condition made the carrying on of the war
impossible. One could not escape from that fact. Why then should they
argue any longer? What reason had they for wishing to prolong this
struggle? They surely would not do so blindfold. Unless good reasons
could be alleged for continuing it, the war would have to be stopped. As
those good reasons were not forthcoming, he would vote with those who
were for peace. To continue the war would be a crime. Some of the last
few speakers had stated that there had been no sufficient reasons for
commencing the war. That might be true. They might have been
over-confident then. Be that as it might, they certainly had lost so
much ground since then that they must now give up the struggle. This was
his irrevocable opinion. It had been clearly shown that fourteen
commandos were unable to continue in the veldt. This made peace a
necessity, for what was to be gained by continuing a struggle without a
proper army. The war might last a few months longer, but it must end
then--and end in disaster.

Commandant W.J. Viljoen (Witwatersrand) said that some speakers were for
and others against the continuation of hostilities. The first were
guided by faith alone; the second had brought forward definite grounds
for their opinion. A year ago both parties had been inspired by faith,
but what had been the result? He would be glad en