It was about the beginning of April, that Acting President Burger received from Lord Kitchener a copy of the correspondence that had passed between the British and Netherlands Governments. As this related to peace in South Africa, Schalk Burger, so he said, took this act of Lord Kitchener as an invitation to discuss terms and the termination of the war. All knew that Schalk Burger, Lucas Meyer and J.B. Krogh were always anxious to surrender or make peace at any price, and for this reason every one of them should have been removed, and patriotic men put in their places. It was just a year ago that Schalk Burger sent that letter to President Steyn begging him to surrender, as the people were starving and it was impossible to fight any longer. Yet the burghers had fought another year, had been more successful than at any other time during the war, and all were still fat, saucy and in high spirits. However, he managed again to get a meeting of the two governments, which was authorized, by Lord Kitchener. As Lord Kitchener, Lord Roberts, Joe Chamberlain and Milner were continually telling the English public that it was the officers, and not the burghers, who were carrying on the war, it was decided to have a conference of delegates, duly elected and instructed by the burghers themselves. For this purpose, all military operations were suspended and the different commandos in their respective districts came together to make known their feelings and elect a delegate. I was then with the Johannesburg Commando, on the Sabi River, near Lydenburg. Lucas Meyer and J.B. Krogh arrived with the necessary instructions, and explained everything to the burghers. They tried in every way to deceive the burghers into voting for surrender and peace, but utterly failed. Every man in the commando declared for independence or war, and the men of the Lydenburg Commando did the same. [Illustration: BOER PRISONERS WITH THEIR NURSE AT BERMUDA] Commandant W.J. Viljoen was elected as delegate by his men, the Johannesburg Commando, and Commandant David Schoeman was elected as delegate by his men, the Lydenburg Commando. I heard both of these commandants pledge their words to do as their burghers wished, and stand for independence or war. Both of these commandants at the Conference stood for discontinuing the war and accepting the British proposals. With the exception of two or three small districts, all the burghers of the land were unanimous in declaring for war or independence. I must here state, however, that the burghers did not know at the time that 22,000 of their women and children had been murdered in the English prison camps, and that probably in another year all the rest would meet the same fate. The delegates all being elected, they met, sixty in number, on May 15th, at Vereeninging, on the Vaal River. On the 31st of May, they agreed to accept the English proposals, as follows: PEACE TERMS.