Your Honour,
By direction of His Majesty's Government, I have the honour to forward enclosed copy of an Aide-Mémoire communicated by the Netherlands Minister to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, together with his reply thereto.
I have the honour to be,
Your Honour's obedient servant,
Kitchener, General,
Commanding-in-Chief, South Africa.
To His Honour, Mr. Schalk Burger.
Aide-Mémoire communicated by the Netherlands Minister, January 25, 1902:—
1. It is the opinion of the Government of Her Majesty the Queen that the exceptional circumstances in which one of the belligerent parties in South Africa is situated, which prevents it from placing itself in communication with the other party by direct means, constitutes one of the causes for the continuance of this war, which continuously without interruption or termination harasses that country, and which is the cause of so much misery.
2. The circumstances are indeed exceptional, where one of the belligerent parties is entirely enclosed and isolated from the rest of the world; and where the representatives of the Boers in Europe are precluded from all communication with their Generals. This state of affairs has called into existence the difficulty that those in authority, who ought to negotiate in the interests of the Boers, are divided in two, and deprived of all means of deliberating with each other. It is plain that the Boer Delegates in Europe can do nothing because they are not acquainted with the condition of affairs in Africa, and that the Boers, who are under arms, must refrain from taking the initiative because they are not informed on the condition of affairs in Europe.
3. Further, the Delegates in Europe are tied by their credentials, which were issued in March, 1900, and which bind them so closely to the independence of the Republics, that they would not be warranted even to accept the restoration of the status quo ante bellum, if the method (of settling) the differences, which might arise, was not at the same time arranged.
4. These circumstances cause the question to arise whether an offer of good services could not be made by a neutral Power with the object of at least making it possible to open the way to negotiation, which could otherwise not be begun.
5. For these reasons it would be of importance to know whether it would be agreeable to the Government of His Britannic Majesty to make use of the good services of a neutral Power, if these good services would confine themselves to the task of bringing the negotiators appointed by both parties into communication with each other.