KITCHENER, General,
_Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa_.

HIS HONOUR MR. SCHALK BURGER.

The Transvaal Government then wrote to Lord Kitchener as follows:--

_To His Excellency_ LORD KITCHENER, _Commander-in-Chief of the
British Troops, Pretoria_.

ROODEPOORT, NEAR RHENOSTERKOP,
DIST. PRETORIA, S.A.R.,
_March 20, 1902_.

YOUR EXCELLENCY,

I acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's communication dated the
18th inst., and have the honour to inform you in reply that we shall
arrive at Balmoral on Saturday morning the 22nd inst., at 10 o'clock,
to avail ourselves of Your Excellency's kind offer to allow us to
travel to Kroonstad by rail, and to assist us from there to meet His
Honour President Steyn.

I shall be accompanied to Kroonstad by five gentlemen, four white
attendants, and one native servant. Furthermore we shall be escorted
to Balmoral by some men who will take our vehicles and horses back
from there.

I also wish to inform Your Excellency that my guard is still here,
where it will remain until our return.

I have the honour to be,
Your Excellency's obedient servant,
S. W. BURGER,
_Acting State President_.

At this stage of the negotiations an express messenger was despatched
to Commandant General Louis Botha, who was then in the South-Eastern
districts of the South African Republic, to acquaint him with the
decision of the Government, and with the correspondence with Lord
Kitchener (of which copies were sent to him). Unfortunately, as it
appeared later, the despatch rider did not reach General Botha.

On the morning of March 22nd, 1902, at ten o'clock the Members of the
Executive Council, consisting of Acting State President S. W. Burger,
State Secretary F. W. Reitz, and Messrs. L. J. Meyer and J. C. Krogh,
arrived at Balmoral Station. The Executive Council was also
accompanied by Mr. L. J. Jacobsz, Assistant State Attorney, and Mr. D.
van Velden, Secretary of the Executive Council (the latter had arrived
at Balmoral the previous day with the despatch of March 20th, 1902.)

When they approached the Station, Captain Marker, A.D.C. to Lord
Kitchener, Major Leggett, who was connected with the Imperial Military
Railways, and Captain