Christiaan de Wet, Louis Botha and Koos de la Rey

An extraordinary letter written in Dutch from The Hague, dated 23September 1902. The letter appoints W.J.C. Brebner as treasurer of the Boer Generals Assistance Fund, to receive funds and issue receipts on behalf of the fund. In full (translated): ‘The undersigned Louis Botha, Christiaan Rudolf de Wet and Jocobus Herculaas de la Rey, hereby certify that Mr William John Cormack Brebner has been appointed as the treasurer of the Boer Generals Assistance Fund, who by means of this document, is authorised to issue receipts on behalf of the fund.’

Generals Botha, de Wet and de la Rey visited the Netherlands in September 1902, with the mandate to collect funds for the reconstruction of South Africa and to appeal to the Dutch public to contribute towards the needs of suffering women and children as a result of the war. The generals formed a charity, the Generale Boerenhulpfonds. W.J.C. Brebner, who represented the government of the Orange Free State Republic in the peace negotiations at Vereeniging, accompanied the deputation in the capacity of secretary. This fund co-ordinated with Dutch municipalities and the amount collected was fl. 1,200,000, a much smaller sum than had been anticipated.
The letter in fine condition with bold signatures. A rare grouping of signatures, one of only a handful of examples that are known to exist.