ery clearly the difference in
the respective attitudes of the High Commissioner and the
Commander-in-Chief. Lord Kitchener was the humane and successful
general, anxious to bring the miseries of the war to an end, and
anxious, too, to close a campaign which, in spite of its difficult and
arduous character, had afforded little or no opportunity of reaping
military honours commensurate to the skill and endurance of the army
or the sacrifices of the nation. Lord Milner was the far-sighted
statesman, responsible for the future well-being of British South
Africa, and, above all, the jealous trustee of the rights and
interests of the empire. At this meeting, when the draft terms are
being discussed before they are telegraphed to London, Lord Milner is
exceedingly careful to point out to the Boer commissioners that the
actual text of the document, as expressed in English, when once
accepted, must be regarded as the sole record of the terms of
surrender. After reading the proposed draft, he says: "If we come to
an agreement, it will be the _English_ document which will be wired to
England, on which His Majesty's Government will decide, and which
will be signed." To Mr. Smuts' suggestion that it is not necessary to
place a "formal clause" in the draft agreement, if the British
Government is prepared to meet the Boer commissioners in a particular
matter, he replies:

"As I look at the matter, the Government is making certain
promises in this document, and I consider that all promises to
which a reference may be made later should appear in it.
Everything to which the Government is asked to bind itself should
appear in this document, and nothing else. I do not object to
clauses being added, but I wish to prevent any possible
misunderstanding."

[Sidenote: Lord Milner's vigilance.]

And again, in the course of the same meeting, we find him saying: "You
must put in writing every point that strikes you, and let them be laid
before His Majesty's Government." And, to prevent any possible
misconstruction of Lord Kitchener's statement, "there is a pledge that
the matter [the question of the payment of receipts] will be properly
considered," he says:

"Yes, naturally, if we put anything down in writing. I am
convinced that it is necessary to make it quite clear that this
document must contain everything about which there is anything in
the form of a pledge."

And before telegra