r deliverance--saying, 'I
give you ten minutes' time to acquaint me and point out to me
where the weapons and ammunition are hidden, and if you do not
comply I shall make the house and all fly into the air.' The poor
wife fell upon her knees before the cruel man; prayed the cruel
man to spare her and her children, where God was her witness
there was nothing of the kind on the farm, neither was there
anything stowed away in the house.

"Standing before him, as if deprived of her senses, [was] the
poor wife with her four innocent children, and when the ten
minutes had expired house and all were blown to atoms with
dynamite, and [there were] laid in ruins, the bodies of the
deplorable five. May the good God receive their souls with
Him!...

"A wife of a Transvaal Boer (who is still in the field, fighting
for his freedom and right) was lodging with one of her relations,
when, two days later, after she had given birth to a baby boy,
she was visited by seven warriors, or so-called Tommy Atkins; the
young urchin was taken away from its mother by its two legs, by
the so-called noble British, and his head battered in against the
bed-post until it had breathed its last, and thereupon thrown out
by the door as if it was the carcase of a cat or dog. Then these
damn wretches began their play with this poor and weak woman, who
only 48 hours before was delivered of a child. The poor wife was
treated so low and debauched by this seven that she, after a few
hours, gave up the spirit, and like her child [was] murdered in
the most dissolute manner.... Can we longer allow that our
fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, relatives, yes, our
children, are murdered by these coward and common murderers? or
has not the time yet arrived to prevent this civilised nation, or
to punish them for their atrocities?"[228]

[Footnote 228: As translated in Blue-book, Cd. 547. Mr. de
Jong, the editor of the paper, was prosecuted (and convicted)
for the publication of this and another similar article
(December 28th).]

On November 26th _The South African News_ published the translation of
a letter to the Press, written by a member of the Legislative
Assembly, in view of the same meeting:

"I am yet glad that another People's Congress will be held.

"It is our