The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-04-28 00:00:00

MR. FORSTER ON SOUTH AFRICA.

by Sir

Mr. Forster, speaking at a luncheon given
Donald Currie on hoard the new steamer Batcarden
Castle, lately christened by Mrs. Gladstone, said that
in his opinion there was a much mote serious and
well considered determination on the part of the
British people to stick to the colonies as long as the
colonies stuck to them than there used to be. He re-
membered the time when there was a general idea in
this country that we were educating the colonies to
break off the connection as soon as possible. But he
thought that feeling Was now replaced by the belief
that in some way or another they would wish to be
united to Great Britain. Many people seemed to
think that it would he wise to withdraw from South
Africa, but the prevailing thought was that withdrawal
was not louked forward to. He was told that there was
a shadow over South Africa,and undoubtedly the Home
Government had had much to do with South Africa of
late, and he was glad to have the opportunity of re-
moving one or two misconceptions. One was that it
should be supposed that those who .stood up for the
black races, when they thought they were in danger,
had not also the fullest sympathy with the white
races. Again, it was a mistake to think that the
colonists were opposed to giving justice to the blacks.
There was no more favourable sign of the times
than the growth of a strong public opinion in the
Cape Colony in fay-our of justice to the blacks. In a
letter in The Times the other day Mr. Mud statel
that the Imperial Government in anything they did
to put a stop to disturbances should endeavour to
carry the Cape Government with them. But he
(Mr. Forster) did not agree with the statement in
that letter that the Cape Government would be un-
willing to go with us. As to the Transvaal difficulty,
he thought that was mere of a question for the
Imperial Government than for the Government of the
Cape Colony, though they might take a lesson from the
colonists in their dealing with the difficulty in
Tembuland. It was said, too, that the English and
the Dutch were opposed on the question of doing
justice to the black races, but he did not think the
Dutch people generally would sanction the transactions
of the freebooters. It would be a sorrowful thing
indeed to suppose that the Dutch were really wedded
to a policy of injustice. What wits wanted was a
consistent and well-developed policy on the part of
the Imperial Government. To shirk our responsi-
bilities would not only be most disgraceful, but also
most costly.

HINTS TO TIM MARRIED. - Happy couples who
celebrate their wedding days may like to make a note
of the following list. At the end of the fist year they
must keep their cotton wedding; at the second, the
paper wedding. In three years comes the leather, at
five the wooden, at seven the woollen at ten the tin,
at twelve the silk or fine linen, at fifteen the crystal.
at twenty the china, at twenty-five the Pilver. All gifts
received should be of the material suitable to the cha-
racter of each annivtrsary, and thus in later years the
_presents grow more costly. At the end cf thirty years
is the pearl wedding, then comes the golden at the
half century; and the sixtieth anniversary—rarely
reached-4 the diamond