This was a bold move, intended, as everyone could see, to obtain a vote for the continuance of the struggle. And this would have happened if a vote had now been taken, for the meeting was just then in a mood to reject the English proposals, which had made a very unfavourable impression. This was well understood, and several members remarked that in such an important matter the meeting should be careful, and not act without due caution; if it did it might prove fatal. The discussions then continued, until a resolution was come to on the afternoon of the third day, Saturday, the 31st of May.
As things had gone in the beginning, so they went now. There were two parties, and the views were distinctly and clearly marked; the one side maintaining that it was the duty of the people to continue the struggle, whilst the other party held that, whatever one might wish, it was no longer possible to do so. I shall not note here all that was said, for much that had been said on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of May was repeated. I shall now again, as I did in a former chapter, summarise and arrange.
There were some who pointed out that, however one might regard the matter, it was impossible to continue the war. As before, it was remarked that we stood on the threshold of a famine, and that it was want of food that was forcing us to discontinue the struggle. It was also stated that horses had become so scarce that almost three out of every ten burghers had to go about on foot, and that the horses which we still possessed were so weak that they were unable to do the work that was required of them, especially now that no forage was any longer obtainable and they had to subsist on grass only. It had also become undeniably evident that the commandos had grown gradually weaker. Where we lost men we could not fill up their places. Thus General de la Rey--the man who had never shown any signs of discouragement--declared that since his last great fights he had lost 300 men, dead, wounded, and prisoners, and that his cattle had been captured by 40,000 mounted troops. Commandant-General Botha also referred to the fact that the English had 31,400 of our men prisoners-of-war, that of these 600 had died, and that 3800 of our burghers had fallen in battle. He said that if the war continued in the same manner we should eventually be exhausted, and should not again have a chance to negotiate. General Smuts made it clear to the meeting that it was possible to continue the war from a military point of view for three or six months longer; but the war was not a mere _military_ matter, it was a _national_ matter; and he added, "Why did we fight? Merely for the sake of fighting; merely to shoot and be shot? No, it was for our Independence. Well, then, was there any chance left, humanly speaking, of retaining it?"