"With this object, and in view of the assertions of various British statesmen to the effect that this war was begun and is being carried on with the set purpose of undermining Her Majesty's authority in South Africa, and of setting up an administration over all of South Africa independent of Her Majesty's Government, we consider it our duty to solemnly declare that this war was undertaken solely as a defensive measure to maintain the threatened independence of the South African Republics, and is only continued in order to secure and maintain the incontestable independence of both Republics as sovereign international States, and to obtain the assurance that those of Her Majesty's subjects who have taken part with us in this war shall suffer no harm whatever in person or property. On these conditions, but on these conditions alone, are we now, as in the past, desirous of seeing peace re-established in South Africa, while if Her Majesty's Government is determined to destroy the independence of the Republics there is nothing left to us and to our people but to persevere to the end in the course already begun.
"In spite of the overwhelming pre-eminence of the British Empire, we are confident that that God, who lighted the unextinguishable fire of love of freedom in the hearts of ourselves and of our fathers, will not forsake us, and will accomplish His work in us and in our descendants.
"We hesitated to make this declaration earlier to Your Excellency, as we feared that as long as the advantage was always on our side, and as long as our forces held defensive positions far within Her Majesty's colonies, such a declaration might hurt the feelings and honor of the British people.
"But now that the prestige of the British Empire may be considered to be assured by the capture of one of our forces by Her Majesty's troops, and that we have thereby been forced to evacuate other positions which our forces had occupied, that difficulty is over, and we can no longer hesitate to clearly inform your Goverment and people, in the sight of the whole civilized world, why we are fighting, and on what conditions we are ready to restore peace."
The Turning Point
The design of this communication was to influence the great powers to intervene and bring a pressure upon England to consent to make a fruitless sacrifice of blood and treasure, and put aside as irrelevant the British victories. The reply of Lord Salisbury was:
"FOREIGN OFFICE, LONDON, March 11TH.
"I have the honor to acknowledge Your Honors' telegram, dated March 5th, from Bloemfontein, of which the purport is principally to demand that Her Majesty's Government shall recognize the 'incontestable independence' of the South African Republic and Free State 'as sovereign international States,' and to offer on those terms to bring the war to a conclusion.
Who Broke the Peace?
"In the beginning of October last peace existed between Her Majesty and the two Republics under conventions which were then in existence. A discussion had been proceeding for some months between Her Majesty's Government and the South African Republic, of which the object was to obtain redress for certain very serious grievances under which the British residents in South Africa were suffering. In the course of these negotiations the South African Republic had, to the knowledge of Her Majesty's Government, made considerable armaments, and the latter had consequently taken steps to provide corresponding reinforcements of the British garrisons at Cape Town and in Natal. No infringement of the rights guaranteed by the conventions had up to that point taken place on the British side.