Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-02-18

Bloemfontein, Feb 10.-The text OF
portion of the letter from Pet DE
Wet. chairman of the peace commits
sion, to his brother Christian De Wet,
appealing to the latter to surrender as
published in the Post today, follows:
s'Dear Brother:-I hear you are SO
/! angry that you have decided to Kill
me, accusing me of high treason. May
God not allow you the opportunity to
shed more innocent blood. When |
saw that we we're beaten by the Brl-
fish I wrote to the president request
ing him to consider terms of peace
and rather surrender than ruin the
country and starve the people. was
with you afterwards for month,
which convinced me that it was better
to lay down our arms I did my duty
in the battles at Schietma and Prins-
loo. I charged guns, when | was
shamefully left in the lurch by Frone-
man, who fed. Convinced that the
struggle was hopeless, left with my
staff and surrendered and was sent
to Durham.
''You and Steyn, in carrying on guer-
rilla warfare caused me to write to
Kitchener Nov. IL, requesting an op-
portunity to come to the Free State
and persuade the men to lay down
their arms There was no Free State
government then existing against
whom l could commit treason. Is 1t
better for the republics to continue
the struggle at the risk of total ru1na-
ton as a nation, or to submit? Could
we think of taking back the country ii
it were offered to us, with thousands
of people to be supported by govern
ment that has not farthing, but a
debt of five or six millions, even II
helped by you? Do you think any ma
ion is so mad as to have thousands
killed, spend millions, and then give
/ us the republics and the necessary
capital to govern them?
"Put passionate feeling aside for a
moment, use common sense and you
will then agree that the best thing for
| the people and the country is to give
in, be loyal to the new government,
try to get a responsible government
and as soon as circumstances will al
low doing so, govern the country vir-
tualIy ourselves, and have our children
properly educated, thus saving the
people as nation. so.
Should the war continue a few
months longer, the nation will become
so poor it will beggar the working
class and disappear as a nation.
have heard you and others accuse me
of being paid by the English govern
ment for what I am doing. / can only
answer there is a God and He pays a
righteous sentence. have also
| heard of Kitchener's offers to me and
.other attempts which are considered
by you as signs of weakness on the
part of the British. When you cor
nered so soldiers at Blaawn, did the
same to 400 at Moesterhok, and sur
rounded a small body at iRhenoster
river under flag of truce, and asked
them, to surrender, was it weakness
! or agnanimity on your part? ~
i f'Thes British are convinced that
they have conquered the1land and the
people. They consider the matter
ended and are only trying to treat
those continuing the struggle magnal-
/ imously in order to prevent so much
bloodshed. Believe me when I tell
you nc. troops are, being. sent to Eng;
land but thousands still coming to
south Africa.
"Burghers of the Free State, are
you blind? Can you not see you are
being deceived by the Transvaal gen
erals? What are they doing? They
do not fight one-tenth part as much as
we do The Transvaal is not
SO much ruined as is the Free State,
They are inclined to submit and are
only waiting to see what you are 60
ing to do The moment you surren-
der, fall or are captured they will
surrender. pray you again to con-
slider before you proceed further" @
/ 4f H. r.