Tknow that the Government are very uneasy about the hopes which have been raised in this country by the conference of Boor leader Kajesty's Ministers, though by no means without hope, are not at nil confident that any proposals of an acceptable kind will be made by the Hours and they are afraid that our people are, by their excessive hopefulness, paving the way to a disappointment which may lead to unfortunate results, We had hardly realised how sick we were of thy war until we saw.a hope of quickly ending it and there is a fear that if these negotiations fail the Government will be blamed for not making concessions which in more sober moments the nation feels that ie would be dangerous to grant. At the same time there is no reason for despondency. Delarey and De Wet and Botha have, from the military point of view, incurred very heavy risks in leaving their' commandos in charge of subordinates at this critical time, and they would hardly have taken these risks unless their desire for peace were On this fact rests the hope that they eventually make proposals on which it will be possible to negotiate. But we may be sure that they will first make a good many impracticable proposals; and wwe must therefore possess our souls in patience and not expect a sudden pro-clan: ation of peace.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.