their services and indicated means by which the thing could be arranged.  All wanted money—­personal bribes.  The prisoners themselves were similarly approached, and they who a month previously had been condemned to death witnessed with disgust a keen competition among their enemies for the privilege of effecting—­at a price—­their release.  Day after day they were subjected to the disgusting importunities of these men—­men who a little while before had been vaunting their patriotism and loudly expressing a desire to prove it by hanging these same Reformers.

The gaoler Du Plessis, representing himself as having been sent by the President, suggested to the four men that they should ’make a petition.’  They declined to do so.  Du Plessis was then reinforced by the Chief Commissioner of Police, and the two officials again urged this course but stated that they did not wish it to be known that they had been sent by the Executive and therefore could not consent to their names being used.  Upon these terms the prisoners again declined.  They said that if they were to hold any communication with the Government they required to have it on record that they did so at the suggestion of the two responsible gaol officials who represented themselves as expressing the wish of the Executive Council.  After further delay and consultations with the President and others the two officials above named consented to allow their names to be used in the manner indicated.  Not content with this the prisoners demanded that they should be allowed to send an independent messenger to the President to ascertain whether he really required a written appeal for revision of sentence.  Having received confirmation in this manner the four men addressed a letter to the Executive Council.  In this letter they stated that they had been sentenced to death; that the death-sentence had been commuted; and that they understood—­but had received no authoritative information on the subject—­that they were to suffer instead a term of fifteen years’ imprisonment.  They suggested the imposition of a monetary penalty in place of the imprisonment; they stated that they held and represented important interests in the State and that they believed their release would tend to the restoration of confidence and favourable conditions in the business community of the Rand; and they concluded by saying that, if the Executive saw fit to adopt this suggestion, they the prisoners would return to their business in good faith.

It had frequently been intimated to these men that it would be impossible for the Government to impose a fine in place of the death-sentence because money so obtained would be blood-money.  Reference had been made in the Executive Council to Biblical precedents, notably the case of Judas, and the opinion was held that if blood-money were taken the Lord would visit His wrath upon the people.