our
former position and are willing to recognize that the rights we claimed
are no longer valid. There is no ground for such an assertion. We cannot
afford after such terrible sacrifice, not only of treasure but of men,
after the exertions, unexampled in our history, that we have made--we
cannot afford to submit to the idea that we are to allow things to slide
back into a position where it will be in the power of our enemy again,
when the opportunity suits him and the chance is favourable to him, to
renew again the issue that we have fought this last three years."

TERMINATION OF THE WAR

Meanwhile the negotiations were proceeding. At first the Boer delegates
proposed that the two Republics should merely concede what had been
demanded before the outbreak of the war. When this was refused, even as
a matter for consideration, and they were referred to previous
statements as to terms, the request was made that some of the leaders be
allowed to consult their friends in Europe, or at least to have one of
the European refugee leaders come over and assist them in their
decision. To this Lord Kitchener gave an instant veto, and intimated
that unless their proposals were to be serious the negotiations had
better drop. Then they asked for an armistice in order to consult the
burghers in the field, but Lord Kitchener would not stop military
operations a moment further than to allow the delegates to hold meetings
of their Commandos. But in that event they were to return to Pretoria
armed with full powers to conclude peace--if they returned at all. As a
result of this decision the leading officers of the Boer forces met
their respective Commandos, and delegates were duly appointed to a total
number of one hundred and fifty. These met on May 16th at Vereeniging
and spent a couple of weeks in discussion, in obtaining absolutely final
terms for acceptance or rejection from the British authorities, and in
presenting these again to the Commandos. The opponents of peace during
these preliminaries were generally believed to include Mr. Steyn and
Commandants Wessels, Muller, Celliers and Herzog, while Generals Delarey
and De Wet were in favour of accepting the British terms. Finally, on
May 31st, the conditions of surrender were signed. Mr. Steyn was the
only important absentee from the final conferences at Pretoria.

Thus ended a war in which Great Britain had spent L200,000,000, raised
and equipped some three hundred thousand men, of