In the absence of Mr. Charles Leonard, who had been recognized as the leader of the movement, Mr. Lionel Phillips was elected Chairman of the Reform Committee, and he and Messrs. J.G. Auret, A. Bailey, and M. Langermann were chosen as the Committee's deputation to proceed to Pretoria and meet the Commission appointed by the Government. They left at an early hour on Wednesday morning, and were given practically a free hand to act on behalf of the Reform Committee. The position having been so thoroughly discussed there was no possibility of misunderstanding; there was no division in the Committee as to the attitude to be taken up. The deputation were to negotiate with the Government for a peaceful settlement on the basis of the Manifesto, accepting what they might consider to be a reasonable instalment of the reforms demanded. They were to deal with the Government in a conciliatory spirit and to avoid all provocation to civil strife, but at the same time to insist upon the recognition of rights and the redress of the grievances, to avow the association with Dr. Jameson's forces so far as it had existed, and to include him in any settlement that might be made. It was impossible to lay down any definite lines on which to negotiate on behalf of Dr. Jameson, as the Reform Committee were still in complete ignorance of his reasons for starting; but it was considered fairer and more reasonable to assume that he had started in good faith and that the two messengers who had been sent to stop him had not reached him, and to act accordingly. However awkward a predicament he had placed the Johannesburg people in, they accepted a certain moral responsibility for him and his actions and decided to make his safety the first consideration.