THE SITUATION—APRIL AND MAY
It was officially computed that by May 1902 the British forces had been reduced through the South African war by 1055 officers and 20,520 men who died in South Africa, 1 officer and 131 men returned as missing and prisoners, 7 officers and 487 men who died after having been sent home as invalids, and 5531 invalided men who left the Service as unfit. These figures represent a total of 27,732. The following figures, taken from a table published by Colonel Henderson, Professor of Military Art and History at the Staff College, in his “Life of Stonewall Jackson,” may be found interesting for purposes of comparison with the British losses:—
| Strength. | Killed and wounded. | Percentage. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talavera, 1809 | 20,500 | 6,250 | 30 |
| Albuera, 1811 | 8,200 | 3,990 | 48 |
| Barossa, 1811 | 4,400 | 1,210 | 27 |
| Salamanca, 1812 | 26,000 | 3,386 | 13 |
| Quatre Bras, 1815 | 12,000 | 2,504 | 20 |
| Waterloo, 1815 | 23,991 | 6,932 | 29 |
| Firozshah, 1845 | 16,000 | 2,415 | 15 |
| Sobraon, 1846 | 15,500 | 2,063 | 13 |
| Chillianwallah, 1849 | 15,000 | 2,388 | 15 |
| Alma, 1854 | 21,500 | 2,002 | 9 |
| Inkerman, 1854 | 7,464 | 2,357 | 31 |
Of the Boer losses no exact total could be arrived at.
In April, a careful computation of the strength of the enemy in the field put it at about 10,000 men. The commando of Delarey and Kemp was the largest, their following being about 900 men; but concentration was marvellously quickly accomplished, and near at hand on the west were odd bands of perhaps a hundred, commanded by Potgieter, Klassen, and Cronje. Beyers, with less than four hundred, hung about Zoutpansberg, and other leaders near Lydenburg were practically dependent on fragments from their master’s table, otherwise the escaped ones and twos from Botha’s and De Wet’s hunted forces. In the Eastern Transvaal, east of Springs, were Alberto, Opperman, and Van Niekirk, with small yet enterprising gangs. Klassen and Badenhorst were fairly well supported at Ermelo, and 200 Boers hung occupationless about Piet Retief. Minor leaders were sprinkled about the Orange Colony, clinging mostly to the sheltering region of the Brandwater Basin.
In the Cape Colony they were equally scattered. Malan and Fouché north of Murraysburg, Maritz and Bowers near Garees, Theron north of Calvinia, Van Reenan north-east, near Fraserburg, had each a small trail of troublesome rebels at his heels. Raking and combing was taking place everywhere. Since the 22nd of March, when the question of peace came to be discussed, the Boer forces had been reduced by about 860 in killed, wounded, and prisoners. A conference between Lord Kitchener and Lord Milner was held in Pretoria, the result of which was digested on the 20th by the Boer leaders, who then took themselves off to rejoin their commandos. Meanwhile Lord Kitchener maintained his vigilant tactics, knowing that the wily ones if given an inch would take an ell, and General Ian Hamilton in the west, General Bruce-Hamilton in the east, and Colonel Colenbrander in the north, continued their sweeping operations.
It was now decided that the Boer leaders, who had again met together at Klerksdorp on the 11th of April, were to reassemble on the 15th of May to deliberate among themselves and arrive at a decision as to the terms of surrender they would be prepared to accept. The conference, which opened at Vereeniging in due course, included the representatives of all the bodies of Boers throughout the two colonies. The delegates chosen by the conference at Vereeniging arrived at Pretoria on the 20th May. They were six in number, consisting of members of the two “Governments,” with Generals Delarey and De Wet, accompanied by their secretaries. They were lodged in the house next to that occupied by Lord Kitchener. Lord Milner also arrived.
There was an interval of great suspense, which was shared by the whole civilised world. All parties watched the telegraph wires with bated breath, then on Saturday, May 31st, the great Boer War came to an end. The conference at Vereeniging had brought forth good results! The Peace Agreement, long anxiously looked forward to by both belligerents, was signed!
APPENDIX
THE PEACE NEGOTIATIONS—COMMENCED MARCH 12, 1902—CONCLUDED MAY 31, 1902
The following is the text of the draft agreement signed by the Boer representatives in Pretoria on the 31st of May after it had been approved by his Majesty’s Government:—
His Excellency General Lord Kitchener and his Excellency Lord Milner, on behalf of the British Government, and Messrs. M. T. Steyn, J. Brebner, General C. R. De Wet, General C. Olivier, and Judge J. B. M. Hertzog, acting as the Government of the Orange Free State, and Messrs. S. W. Burger, F. W. Reitz, Generals Louis Botha, J. H. Delarey, Lucas Meyer, Krogh, acting as the Government of the South African Republic, on behalf of their respective burghers, desirous to terminate the present hostilities, agree on the following articles:—
1. The Burgher forces in the field will forthwith lay down their arms, handing over all guns, rifles, and munitions of war in their possession or under their control, and desist from any further resistance to the authority of his Majesty King Edward VII., whom they recognise as their lawful Sovereign. The manner and details of this surrender will be arranged between Lord Kitchener and Commandant-General Botha, Assistant Commandant-General Delarey, and Chief Commandant De Wet.
2. All Burghers in the field outside the limits of the Transvaal or Orange River Colony, and all prisoners of war at present outside South Africa who are Burghers, will, on duly declaring their acceptance of the position of subjects of his Majesty King Edward VII., be gradually brought back to their homes as soon as transports can be provided and their means of subsistence ensured.
3. The Burghers so surrendering or so returning will not be deprived of their personal liberty or their property.
4. No proceedings, civil or criminal, will be taken against any of the Burghers surrendering or so returning for any acts in connection with the prosecution of the war. The benefit of this clause will not extend to certain acts contrary to usages of war which have been notified by Commander-in-Chief to the Boer generals, and which shall be tried by court-martial immediately after the close of hostilities.
5. The Dutch language will be taught in public schools in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony where the parents of the children desire it, and will be allowed in courts of law when necessary for the better and more effectual administration of justice.
6. The possession of rifles will be allowed in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony to persons requiring them for their protection on taking out a licence according to law.
7. Military administration in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony will at the earliest possible date be succeeded by civil government, and, as soon as circumstances permit, representative institutions, leading up to self-government, will be introduced.
8. The question of granting the franchise to natives will not be decided until after the introduction of self-government.
9. No special tax will be imposed on landed property in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony to defray the expenses of the war.
10. As soon as conditions permit, a commission, on which the local inhabitants will be represented, will be appointed in each district of the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, under the presidency of a magistrate or other official, for the purpose of assisting the restoration of the people to their homes and supplying those who, owing to war losses, are unable to provide themselves with food, shelter, and the necessary amount of seed, stock, implements, &c., indispensable to the resumption of their normal occupations.
His Majesty’s Government will place at the disposal of these commissions a sum of £3,000,000 for the above purposes, and will allow all notes issued under Law 1 of 1900 of the South African Republic and all receipts given by officers in the field of the late Republics, or under their orders, to be presented to a judicial commission, which will be appointed by the Government, and if such notes and receipts are found by this commission to have been duly issued in return for valuable considerations, they will be received by the first-named commissions as evidence of war losses suffered by the persons to whom they were originally given. In addition to the above-named free grant of £3,000,000, his Majesty’s Government will be prepared to make advances on loan for the same purposes free of interest for two years, and afterwards repayable over a period of years with 3 per cent. interest.
No foreigner or rebel will be entitled to the benefit of this clause.
The correspondence relating to the last stage of the South African War was published as a Parliamentary Paper. As the future policy of South Africa will be directed by the considerations which influenced the wording of the final agreement, the important part of the correspondence is quoted in its entirety. A series of brief despatches passed between Lord Kitchener and the Secretary of State for War between March 12 and April 11. The first despatch announced the desire of Mr. Schalk Burger, after receiving from Lord Kitchener a copy of the correspondence connected with the Dutch Government’s negotiations, to obtain safe conduct in order to meet Mr. Steyn with a view to making peace proposals. The meeting of the Boer commanders, as is known, was arranged, and it took place at Klerksdorp. On April 11 Lord Kitchener received permission from the Secretary of State for War to accede to a request from the Boer representatives for permission to lay certain proposals before him. This Boer request was addressed to Lord Kitchener in the following terms:—
“After quoting at length the correspondence between his Majesty’s Government and the Netherlands, they are of opinion that it is a suitable moment to do everything possible to put a stop to the war, and therefore decide to make certain propositions to Lord Kitchener which can serve as a base for further negotiations in order to bring about the desired end. They further decide that, in their opinion, in order to accelerate the desired aim and prevent misunderstanding, Lord Kitchener be requested to meet them personally, time and place to be appointed by him, in order to lay before him direct peace proposals, which they are prepared to submit, and in order to settle at once, by direct communication with him, all questions that may present themselves, and thereby to make sure that this meeting will have the desired result.”