n accepted. He could not bring
himself to surrender. Nevertheless, having in view what the
Commandant-General and others had said, he felt that he must do so, for
it was impossible for him to prosecute the war single-handed. But could
not the delegates continue to stand by one another, and make a covenant
with the Lord? The district which he represented was one of the poorest
in the whole country, and the L3,000,000 offered by the enemy did not
include any provision for those who, like his burghers, could do nothing
to help themselves. He would again suggest that the delegates should
make a vow unto the Lord. For himself, he could not vote for the
acceptance of the British proposal.

General J.H. Smuts then spoke as follows:--

"Up till now I have taken no part in this discussion, but my opinions
are not unknown to my Government; we have arrived at a dark period both
in the history of our war, and in the course of our national
development. To me it is all the darker because I am one of those who,
as members of the Government of the South African Republic, provoked the
war with England. A man, however, may not draw back from the
consequences of his deeds. We must therefore keep back all private
feeling, and decide solely with a view to the lasting interests of our
nation. This is an important occasion for us--it is perhaps the last
time that we shall meet as a free people with a free government. Let us
then rise to the height of this occasion; let us arrive at a decision
for which our posterity shall bless, and not curse us.

"The great danger for this meeting is that of deciding the questions
before it on purely military grounds. Nearly all the delegates here are
officers who in the past have never quailed before the overwhelming
forces of the enemy, and who therefore are never likely to do so in the
future. They do not know what fear is, and they are ready to shed the
last drop of their blood in the defence of their country.

"Now if we look at the matter from _their_ point of view, that is to
say, if we look at it merely as a military question, I am bound to admit
that we shall come to the conclusion that the war _can_ be continued. We
are still an unconquered power; we have still about eighteen thousand
men in the field--veterans, with whom one can accomplish almost
anything. From a purely military standpoint, our cause is not yet lost.
But it is as a _nation_, and not as an _army_, that we are met here, and
it i