Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1902-05-29
Tie LONG WAg
THAT SEEMS TO BE THE prs,pp
OF Roth BoER AND BRITISH
LEADERS.
rtACt PRACTICALLY ASSURED
THE FORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT M
PENDs ON CONVENIENCE OF
BoER LEADERS.
PEACE PRACTICALLY ASSURED
THE DELAY IS ONLY TECHNICAL
MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COM.
MONS SAYS EVERYTHING IS
SETTLED.

London, May rs. The Associated
Press has every reason to believe that
peace In South Africa is practically as
sured. How soon 1t will be announced
depends, apparently more upon the
convenience OF the Boer leaders than
upon the inclination of the British gov
ernment. The private and official ad-
vices received in London from South
Africa all point to the same conclusion.
The delay Is technical, andN to end the
long war seems TO be the desire of both
British and Boer leaders. The latter,
however. are unable to convince all
their followers of the wisdom of &C.
qulescing to the terms Of peace. In
formation as to what t%ranspired at
yesterdays meeting OF the cabinet is
closely guarded, but 1t Is not likely that
the cabinet transactions were
or Vital Importance.
The surmise OF one well-informed per-
son places the SUM total of the DELHI
erations OF the cabinet ministers at a
decision regarding points OF the peace
agreement Of entirely minor impor-
tancs. Another surmise is that the
cabinet has merely sent a rather mock
ultimatum TO South Africa which can
be used by the Boer leaders in explana-
ton TO their forces. Both these sur
misses probably contain an element Of
truth. but neither can in any way af-
feet the widespread belief in the best
Informed quarters that the end of the
war has come. In fact. these persons
who are best acquainted with the actu-
al details Of the present negotiations
only qualify the optimistic expression
Of opinion by guarded reservations
concerning the extent of the personal
control Of the Boer leaders over their
comrades.
Take Extreme Precautions.
Were the Beers a thoroughly disci-
plined force, dependent upon the action
Of their general officers, peace would
proHAbly be proclaimed now; but
Botha, De Wet and the other generals
seem themselves unable to positively
guarantee the degree to which their
example will be followed. The dele
gates at V~eeringen, according to in
formation in possession Of the war Of
ice, are fairly evenly divided. Conse-
q~uently extreme precautions are eXer-
cised both in London and Pretoria to
prevent any premature action or re-
port which might adversely influence
the burghers. The most pessimistic
forecast heard only admits h a a few
isolated bands Of irreconcilables may
be left in the field.
Says Ii Is All Settled.
A member of the house of commons
who is in close touch with the govern
ment, said to a representative Of the
Associated Press that he believed ev-
erything was settled and that the Brit
lsh terms would be found Unexpectedly
liberal. The British public is still quite
ignorant Of the course Of events in
South Africa and there are no demon
STATIONS on the London streets, al
though on all sides the question is
asked: us 1t peace?" On the other
hand. the stock exchange throughout
the day was a seethirg mass of k
who eagerly bought South African
shares, while long after the closing or
the exchange nearly a thousand brok-
ers crowded Throckmorton street n
did a frantic curb business on the
strength of the peace outlook.