sked
for a safe-conduct through the British lines and back to effect this
purpose. On March 13th, 1902, the Home Government authorised Lord
Kitchener to grant this request, if "he and Lord Milner agreed in
thinking it desirable." As the result of the consultation between
Schalk Burger and Steyn, a conference of the Free State and Transvaal
leaders was held at Klerksdorp, at which it was decided, on April
10th, to request the British Commander-in-Chief to receive
representatives of the Boers personally, "time and place to be
appointed by him, in order to lay before him direct peace proposals."
The approval of the Home Government having been obtained, President
Steyn, Mr. Schalk Burger, and Generals Botha, De Wet, and De la Rey
met Lord Kitchener and Lord Milner on April 12th, at Pretoria. The
proposals which the Boer representatives then put forward were wholly
inadmissible. Nevertheless, Lord Kitchener telegraphed them to London
with the remark:

"I have assured [the Boer representatives] that His Majesty's
Government will not accept any proposals which would maintain the
independence of the Republics, as this would do, and that they
must expect a refusal."

[Sidenote: Independence refused.]

On the day following the British Government replied that they could
not

"entertain any proposals which were based upon the former
independence of the Republics, which had been formally annexed to
the British Crown."

Upon learning this reply President Steyn and his colleagues took up
the position that they were not competent to surrender the
independence of their country, since only the "people," meaning
thereby the burghers still in the field, could do this. They asked,
therefore, for an armistice to enable them to consult the burghers.
This request was refused on the ground that no basis of agreement had,
as yet, been reached. The Boer representatives then asked that the
British Government should state the "terms which they were prepared to
grant, subsequent to a relinquishment of independence"; while they on
their side undertook to refer these terms to the people, "without any
expression of approval or disapproval." In answer to this proposal
Lord Kitchener was authorised to refer the Boer representatives to the
offer made by him to General Botha at Middelburg twelve months
before.

"We have received," telegraphed the Secretary for War on April
16th, "with considerable surp