It would
be giving the enemy opportunities for doing things from which they might
otherwise desist. Moreover, by voting for such a policy the leaders
would incur the displeasure of the nation. In choosing what course they
would pursue the delegates should let nothing else sway them save the
good of the nation. They must not be carried away by their feelings;
they must listen only to the voice of reason.

Commandant H.S. Grobler (Bethal) felt that, under the circumstances, the
war could not be continued. It had already reduced them to such straits
that they would soon have to fly to the utmost borders of their
territories, leaving the enemy unopposed in the very heart of the
country. At the beginning of the war they had not relied on faith alone;
there had also been guns, war material and provisions. But now none of
these things were left to them. It was terrible to him to think that
they must sacrifice the independence of their country. He was a true son
of his country, and could not consent to the surrender of her
independence unless that were the only way of saving the women and
children from starvation. But it was not only the women and children who
were on the verge of starvation; the burghers still left in the laagers
were in the same predicament. What, moreover, was to happen to the
prisoners of war, if the struggle were to be continued? And to the
families in the camps? The delegates must not forget those families. If
the people generally were dying a _national_, the families were dying a
_moral_, death. It was a sad thought that there were among their women
in the camps, many who were thus losing their moral vitality. It was a
thought which should make them determined to conclude the war.

Commandant Van Niekerk (Ficksburg) said that his commandos had
commissioned him to hold out for independence. The proposal of the
British Government could not be accepted. They must take no hasty step.
If they persevered in the war, the enemy would grant them better terms.
All they had to do was to act like brave men.

General J.G. Celliers (Lichtenburg) had already told the meeting what
mandate he had received from his burghers. But he was there to do the
best he could for the nation as a whole. The condition of the country
was very critical. The fact that his own commandos were faring well was
not a sufficient reason for continuing the war. He must take all
circumstances into consideration. He had said that he was in favou