on.
The war party would have none of them. Forsooth, they too were traitors,
working against British interests!

The women-folk at the Cape were as anxious as the men, first to prevent,
and then to stop, the unfortunate war, the burdens of which they shared
with their husbands. Three times large numbers of them met in
conference, at Paarl, Worcester and Cape Town, and there they fearlessly
and strongly protested against the conduct of the war and the annexation
of the two Republics. Through the medium of these conferences they
expostulated and pleaded with the Home Government to abstain from what
they rightly regarded as a stupendous crime, the annihilation of two
small states by overwhelming forces. Their petitions, if they ever
reached the British Government, were treated with silent contempt. Did
they merit such treatment?

All this and much more was done in the interests of peace by the Dutch
colonists. Both before and during the war they did all they possibly
could to rescue or redeem South Africa from the horrors and calamities
of a disastrous war. They failed. Was it their fault? Was it right to
brand as rebels and traitors every Cape Colonial that protested against
the war, and refused to assist the mighty British Empire against the
Republics?

The Africander Bond--a political organization at the Cape--was the
scape-goat during the war. Those who were in search of a pretext for the
cause of the war and its continuation found it in this organization.
Everything that was low and mean was laid to the charge of the
Africander Bond. Its unwearied efforts to induce the English to
terminate a war, declared and carried on in direct opposition to the
wishes of tens of thousands of England's devoted subjects, were
construed into being so many encouragements for the Republicans to
continue the struggle. The Worcester conference was said to have
encouraged and invited General De Wet to invade the Colony--an invasion
which was planned long _before_ the conference was held, and which
failed in the first instance, and only succeeded three months after the
conference had met!

When all the efforts of the Cape Dutch failed, and the voice of the
people was not regarded but systematically suppressed, it is not strange
that there were men who found it impossible to remain silent and
inactive in such circumstances. Gradually their loyalty was being
undermined. The strain placed upon it was too great; it was stretched to
the br