ency's reply we shall remain at
Roodepoort, near Rhenosterkop.

I have the honour to be,
Your Excellency's obedient servant,
S. W. BURGER,
_Acting State President_.

TELEGRAM.

FROM S. W. BURGER,
_Acting State President,
Rhenosterkop, distr. Pretoria_.

TO HIS HONOUR PRESIDENT STEYN,
IN THE VELD.

With reference to confidential Memoranda exchanged between the
Netherlands Minister and Lord Lansdowne, which correspondence was
kindly sent to me by His Excellency Lord Kitchener, I with the members
of my Government, wish to proceed to meet you. For that purpose a safe
conduct has been granted to us by Lord Kitchener. Be so good as to
inform me as soon as possible where and when such meeting can take
place.

To this the following reply was received by Acting-President Burger:--

ARMY HEADQUARTERS, SOUTH AFRICA.
PRETORIA,
_March_ 18, 1902.

YOUR HONOUR,

I am placed in some difficulty by the receipt of Your Honour's
dispatch enclosing a telegram which you request me to forward to His
Honour Mr. Steyn.

Owing to recent military operations in the country South of the Vaal
and East of the Railway, His Honour Mr. Steyn, with a following
estimated at about Thirty Burghers, has left that district, and was
last reported travelling in the vicinity of Bothaville. It is
therefore not easy for me to communicate with him, especially as he
does not at present make a prolonged stay in any one part of the
country. For this reason I venture to suggest, for Your Honour's
consideration, that it might save time, if you came now to Balmoral,
where a special train would be placed at Your Honour's disposal. You
might then travel to the neighbourhood of Kroonstad, where my Officers
would give you every assistance to go out and meet His Honour Mr.
Steyn, according to the latest information.

It will be understood that the safe conduct I had the pleasure of
forwarding to Your Honour was for a definite purpose of passing my
lines to meet Mr. Steyn, and will have to be renewed if any delay
takes place in taking advantage of it.

I have the honour to be,
Your Honour's obedient servant,