The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-13
is PEACE IN SIGHT !?
THE ALL Absorbing TOPIC IN
GREAT BRITAIN.
Beers NAME THEIR TERMS.
MAKE BOLD DEMANDS FOR A CON-
QUERED PEOPLE.

They Seek Restoration to Former
status, CanceIment of Banishment
Proclamation, Restoration of Con-
fiscnted Property, Payment of
State Debts, Amnesty for Cape
Rebels, Return of All Prisoners OF
War to South Africa and super
vision of One or More Friendly
Powers in Carrying out Peace
Terms.
London, April 12.-"Peace is within
measurable distance" That probably
sums up the present crop of rumors.
conjectures and deductions which has
Great Britain by the ears us it
peace?" meets the eye in faring post
ers of afternoon newspapers and the
question is echoed throughout the
United Kingdom. 1t is announced that
the ministers at to-day's cabinet meet
ing, which lasted an hour, discussed a
communication from Lord Kitchener.
While Lord Kitchener's message may
have been of vital Importance the AS
ISOLATED Press has good reasons to be-
lieve that the sudden summoning of
the cabinet members was due to a de-
sire to decide whether the presenting
of the budget could be postponed until
the Klerksdorp negotiations are settled
one way or the other. Whatever the
proposals of the chancellor of the ex-
chequer, Sir Michael Hicks Beach, may
be, they are bound to be greeted by
storms of criticism from various quar-
ters. Peace will not modify the crying
need of additional revenue,
but it would take off the sting
from the additional taxation, which is
bound to raise protest from every
class or industry affected. In the ma
tional jubilation over the end of the
war these individual protests would
be lost to sight. 1t will be no surprise
If it is announced on Monday that the
budget presentation has once more
been postponed, and if this takes place
parliamentary circles will regard it
as one of the best omens that the gov
eminent is practically assured of a
successful termination of the Klerks-
dorp conference.
The cabinet council to-day, while it
RAORobAJ hAQ ilOl the StnSdLlOHdl
attributed function of deciding be-
tween peace or war, undoubtedly re-
viewed the entire situation, both as
regards home finance and the situation
in South Africa. How complicated and
impossible of offhand solution is the
latter question can be judged by an
apparently authentic statement pub
lished in the Edinburgh Evening News
this afternoon. The News, whose ed
itOr iG I'm rlnGa fO1lnh xNyffh Mr.
declares on the highest authority that
the Beers are prepared to accept the
following conditions:
Conditions Named by Beers.
They will not make absolute indie
pendence a cardinal feature if they can
come TO satisfactory agreement as 70
future internal government. The ban
ishment and confiscation of property
proclamation must be cancelled and
confiscated property must be restored
to its owners with remuneration for
private stock and property destroyed or
taken by the British.
Full recognition of state debts con-
tracted before and after hostilities and
up to the date of the annexation proc
lamation Issued by Lord Roberts.
The language question to be mutu-
ally agreed upon.
Amnesty for the Cape rebels.
The release of all political prisoners.
A date to be fixed when all prisoners
of war will be returned to South At
RIGA.
The offices of one or two friendly
Powers to be accepted to superintend
the carrying out of the terms of peace.
Amnesty Comes Hard.
OF these, the cardinal point and the
hardest for Great Britain to concede
is the granting of amnesty to the Cape
rebels, not so much because of British
opposition, but owing to colonial oppo-
sition in South Africa itself. While
there is no reason to believe that this
is not a semi-official summary of the
Beers demands, there is also reason
to think they may be modified. How
strongly the government shares that
hope may be judged from the fact that
the London police officials to-day were
ordered to keep especially large forces
on duty until further notice, in order
to avoid any repetition of "Mafeking
night" which, it is feared, might en-
sue should the conclusion of peace be
announced.
One of the curious features of the
present negotiations is that five of the
Boer representatives secured a legal
fraipif1ey af he ICo0IicIa no