On the first occasion of Mahatma Gandhi's and his followers' imprisonment, they had only been in jail for a fortnight when fresh arrivals brought news that some negotiations were going on with the Transvaal Government about a compromise. General Smuts welcomed Mr. Albert Cartwright's, the editor of The Leader, mediation in the struggle. The substance of the proposed settlement was that the Indians should register voluntarily, and not under any law; that the details to be entered upon the new certificates of registration should be settled by Government in consultation with the Indian community. Gandhi felt proud of the keen common sense and high courage of those who advanced it, and saw that such was the stuff which Satyagrahis are made of. According to Gandhi, it would obviously be best for all if he and his followers were to register voluntarily only after the Black Act was repealed.