ut the desired end.

Eleven of the prisoners--apart from the four whose punishment in
substitution for death had not been decided upon, and who were
therefore not concerned in the petitions--declined to reconsider
their decision, and elected rather to serve their term of two years;
and they expressed the conviction at the same time that these
promises of the President would not be kept any more than others
had been. The result justified their judgment. After a postponement
of two days on some flimsy pretext the official intimation of the
commutations was given to the prisoners on Wednesday, May 20. Instead
of the release positively and definitely promised the term of
imprisonment was reduced in the following degree: Ten men were
released, twenty-four men were condemned to three months', eighteen
to five months', and four to one year's imprisonment; and the
clemency of the Government towards the four leaders was indicated by
a sentence of fifteen years each.

Even a short period of imprisonment under the existing conditions
meant certain death to a proportion of the men sentenced, and it is
not to be wondered at that the 'magnanimity' displayed by the
Government after the disappointments and delays seriously affected
the health of a number of the men, following as it did closely upon
the tragic affair already alluded to.

With regard to Messrs. Sampson and Davies no decision was announced,
it being intimated by Dr. Leyds that, as they had made no petition,
their case had not been brought before the Government, and the
Executive had therefore no official knowledge of their existence. But
the extent of the Government's magnanimity was even then not fully
known. On the following day it was announced to the prisoners that
they had been misinformed with regard to the five and twelve months'
commutations--that the intention and resolution of the Executive was
merely to grant these men permission to appeal at the end of the
periods named to the aforesaid magnanimity.

Some prominence has been given to the cases of those prisoners who
were unable for physical or other special reasons to withstand the
strain; and it should therefore be made equally clear that in many
cases the men regarded with contemptuous amusement the cat and mouse
policy and the stage-managed magnanimity displayed towards them. They
were perfectly well able and willing to endure the sentence passed
upon them, and they were not misled by Boer promises in