'Sunburned, With A
Pleasant, Fattish Face Of A German Type, And Wearing An Imperial,'
Says One Who Rode Beside Him.
Judging from the sounds of mirth
heard by those without, the two leaders seem to have soon got upon
amiable terms, and there was hope that a definite settlement might
spring from their interview.
From the beginning Lord Kitchener
explained that the continued independence of the two republics was
an impossibility. But on every other point the British Government
was prepared to go great lengths in order to satisfy and conciliate
the burghers.
On March 7th Lord Kitchener wrote to Botha from Pretoria,
recapitulating the points which he had advanced. The terms offered
were certainly as far as, and indeed rather further than, the
general sentiment of the Empire would have gone. If the Boers laid
down their arms there was to be a complete amnesty, which was
apparently to extend to rebels also so long as they did not return
to Cape Colony or Natal. Self-government was promised after a
necessary interval, during which the two States should be
administered as Crown colonies. Law courts should be independent of
the Executive from the beginning, and both languages be official. A
million pounds of compensation would be paid to the burghers - a
most remarkable example of a war indemnity being paid by the
victors. Loans were promised to the farmers to restart them in
business, and a pledge was made that farms should not be taxed. The
Kaffirs were not to have the franchise, but were to have the
protection of law.
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