Meanwhile the negotiations were proceeding. At first the Boer delegates proposed that the two Republics should merely concede what had been demanded before the outbreak of the war. When this was refused, even as a matter for consideration, and they were referred to previous statements as to terms, the request was made that some of the leaders be allowed to consult their friends in Europe, or at least to have one of the European refugee leaders come over and assist them in their decision. To this Lord Kitchener gave an instant veto, and intimated that unless their proposals were to be serious the negotiations had better drop. Then they asked for an armistice in order to consult the burghers in the field, but Lord Kitchener would not stop military operations a moment further than to allow the delegates to hold meetings of their Commandos. But in that event they were to return to Pretoria armed with full powers to conclude peace—if they returned at all. As a result of this decision the leading officers of the Boer forces met their respective Commandos, and delegates were duly appointed to a total number of one hundred and fifty. These met on May 16th at Vereeniging and spent a couple of weeks in discussion, in obtaining absolutely final terms for acceptance or rejection from the British authorities, and in presenting these again to the Commandos. The opponents of peace during these preliminaries were generally believed to include Mr. Steyn and Commandants Wessels, Muller, Celliers and Herzog, while Generals Delarey and De Wet were in favour of accepting the British terms. Finally, on May 31st, the conditions of surrender were signed. Mr. Steyn was the only important absentee from the final conferences at Pretoria.
Thus ended a war in which Great Britain had spent £200,000,000, raised and equipped some three hundred thousand men, of whom one-sixth were Colonial troops, and performed the unparalleled feat of supplying quick and satisfactory transport and subsistence for this great body of troops to a distance of seven thousand miles from the seat of Government. The people had never wavered, the Government had, apparently, never hesitated, the credit of the country had not been affected, even the prosperity of Great Britain had not been touched. Speaking of the conduct of the people in this connection the Times of July 2d paid the following personal tribute: "A splendid example of patriotism and devotion was set them by our late Sovereign Lady, and they nobly followed it. It is worth recalling now that, while she deplored the necessity of war, she never wavered to the end in her conviction that it must be fought through. It is to her, perhaps, above all others, that we owe the calm dignity of temper with which the peoples of her Empire have passed through the greatest ordeal they have been called upon to undergo since the days of Napoleon. Her son, King Edward, has inherited her spirit and kept before his subjects the ideals she held up to them."
The terms of peace included the promise by Great Britain of self-government in gradual stages and "as soon as circumstances will permit"; the exemption of burghers from civil or criminal proceedings in connection with the war (with certain specified exceptions); the recognition of English as the official language, and the promise that Dutch should be taught in the schools when desired; the granting of arms, under license, to the burghers and the postponement of native franchise questions until the period of free government had arrived; the grant of £3,000,000 to be expended by Commissioners in the work of repatriation and the supply of shelter, seed, stock, etc., to the returning burghers; and the reference of rebels to their own Colonial Courts for trial, with the proviso that the death penalty should not in any case be inflicted.
The settlement was well received by the burghers, of whom fully twenty thousand came in and gave up their arms in the course of a week or two. Many of the Commandos fraternized with the British troops and joined them in singing "God Save the King." As soon as the decision for peace had been ratified Lord Kitchener paid a visit to Vereeniging and addressed the assembled Boer leaders. He congratulated them upon the splendid fight they had made. "If he had been one of them himself he would have been proud to have done as they had done. He welcomed them as citizens of a great Empire and hoped they would do their duty to the Sovereign as loyally as they had to the old State." Messrs. Schalk-Burger and Louis Botha had, meanwhile, written farewell letters to the burghers which concluded by asking them to be obedient and respectful to their new Government.
Immediately on receipt of the information that peace had been signed King Edward issued the following message: "The King has received the welcome news of the cessation of hostilities in South Africa with infinite satisfaction, and trusts that peace may be speedily followed by the restoration of prosperity in his new dominions, and that the feelings necessarily engendered by war will give place to the earnest co-operation of all His Majesty's South African subjects in promoting the welfare of their common country." At the same time His Majesty cabled Lord Milner: "I am overjoyed at the news of the surrender of the Boer forces and I warmly congratulate you on the able manner in which you have conducted the negotiations." A similar despatch went to Lord Kitchener, with hearty congratulations on the termination of hostilities: "I also most heartily congratulate my brave troops under your command for having brought this long and difficult campaign to so glorious and successful a conclusion." The King also announced that he had created Lord Kitchener a Viscount and promoted him to be full General. Following the public announcement of peace on Sunday, June 1st, came a flood of congratulatory telegrams to the King from public bodies and private individuals, and celebrations were held all over the United Kingdom and the British Empire.
On June 8th, by order of the King, a special thanksgiving service was held in St. Paul's Cathedral and His Majesty attended in person accompanied by Queen Alexandra, Princess Victoria, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince and Princess Charles of Denmark, the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the veteran Duke of Cambridge, and other members of the Royal family. A great gathering of representative Britons was present in the crowded Cathedral, including most of the members of the Houses of Lords and Commons and the Corporation of London. Amongst many other notabilities were the Duke and Duchess of Argyll, Mr. Balfour, the Earl of Rosebery, the Marquess of Lansdowne, Earl and Countess Roberts, Earl and Countess Carrington, Lady Macdonald of Earnscliffe, Sir Redvers and Lady Audrey Buller. A short and eloquent sermon was preached by Bishop Winnington-Ingram, of London, in which he referred to the blessings of peace for the people and the completion of the causes for rejoicing at the approaching Coronation. Meanwhile, on June 4th, the King had followed up the honours already conferred on Lord Kitchener by sending a special message to the House of Commons at the hands of Mr. A. J. Balfour, the Government Leader, to the following effect: "His Majesty taking into consideration the eminent services rendered by Lord Kitchener and being desirous, in recognition of such services, to confer on him some signal mark of his favour, recommends that he, the King, should be enabled to grant Lord Kitchener £50,000." The vote was carried by a majority of three hundred and eighty-two to forty-two and marked the final stage in the war—its prolonged struggles, its negotiations, its honours and its rewards. To the King this result was the one thing needful and seemed to leave a fair field, a peaceful Empire, a loyal people, waiting without a shadow on the sun to share in the splendid celebration of his approaching Coronation. To the Lord Mayor and Corporation of London and the London County Council His Majesty addressed, on June 13th, some words in reply to their expressions of loyalty and congratulation at the conclusion of peace, which may appropriately be quoted here:
"I heartily join in your expression of thankfulness to Almighty God at the termination of a struggle which, while it has entailed on my people at home and beyond the seas so many sacrifices, borne with admirable fortitude, has secured a result which will give increased unity and strength to my Empire. The cordial and spontaneous exertions of all parts of my dominions, as well as of your ancient and loyal city, have done much to bring about this happy result."
"You give fitting expression to the admiration universally felt for the valour and endurance of the officers and men who have been engaged in fighting their country's battles. They have been opposed by a brave and determined people, and have had to encounter unexampled difficulties. These difficulties have been cheerfully overcome by steady and persistent effort, and those who were our opponents will now, I rejoice to think, become our friends. It is my earnest hope that, by mutual co-operation and good-will, the bitter feelings of the past may speedily be replaced by ties of loyalty and friendship and that an era of peace and prosperity may be in store for South Africa."