The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-10-11 00:00:00

CETYWAYO ON THE WAR.

The Times' Correspondent, writing from Capn Town, wider
Kg Dept. 16says
" The tran.port Natal, with the ex-Zulu King
rtYwaYo, came into Table Bay yesterday. She was
detained in Simon's Bay until the al.rival of the neces-
!no? warrants from the High Commissioner for the
transference of the prisoner to the Cape Govern-
!tent. The landing was effected early in the morn-
ing, BO as to save the prisoner from the pitiless in-
trusions of a crowd; but even at that time large
°Veber' assembled eager tO get a sight of the Zulu
tflonaß.A.
h. Accompanied by Captain Ruscombe
is under whose special guardianship he
the King landed, dressed in European clothing,
followed by four women, one little girl, and four fol.
!?_Wers- Lieutenant Shepherd, 4th King's Own, had
the Party conveyed in carriages, escorted by a troop of
Lancers under Lieutenant Moreland, through the city
to the Castle gates, where they were received by
Colonel Renard, C. 8., Royal Engineers, Command-
ant of the Forces. Here they were then taken to the
rooms fitted up for their use, which open on to the
rare Parts of the Castle, where the King can have daily
exercise. From these quarters he has a commanding
view oay.f Cape Town, Table Valley, and the shipping in
the B
At noon yesterday the ex-King was visited by
PF Bartle Frere, attended by the Hon. Mr. Littleton,
his private secretary- Captain Hallam Parr, mili-
terY secretary; and Lieutenant Dalrymple, A.D.C.
Later in the day the Premier, Mr. Gordon Sprigg,
and Mr. Miller, Treasurer-General, visited the Royal
"Ptive's quarters to see if the arrangements for his ac-
commodation were satisfactory. Daring the course
of the Premier's interview Cetywayo,' 'through Mr.
Longcaet, the interpreter, talked with apparent frank-
teeS Of many incidents of the war. From the au-
"lints his people gave him it seems they greatly ex-
aggerated the English losses and magnified the Zulu
successes in all the engagements which occurred. He
allowing
his
, however, he had done wrong in
people to fight with us. Chaka,, he
said, was a child of the British Government. I was
also a child and subject. My father, the Govern-
ment, came to chastise me for my wrongdoing. I
caught the stick with which he wished to beat me,
and broke it. I did wrong to fight with him, and am
V find, lam no longer a king; but the English,
are a great people; they do not kill those
Who have fought with them. lam satisfied to be in
their hands. I hope the great Queen will pardon me,
and allow me to return to my country, and give me a
elace to build myself a kraal where I may live.
azu sorry I did not follow the advice of my
lather, Panda, on his death- bed; he told ma
to live at peace with the English and never
Illake war with them.' When informed it was
the wish of our Government to treat him with
l_rfery consideration and supply him with all necessary
nestiforts, he expressed his thanks, and asked that
wine of his favourite wives' naming ten, might be
sent for to be with him, in addition to those already
here. His mind was anxious about them, he said, for
they had nobody to look after them now, and he felt
lonely without their companionship. He further
hag_ ged that his case might be put before the great
%Mem in as favourable a light as possible, and
asked how many days it would take to send a
message and receive a reply from England. He was
told two months might elapse before her Majesty's
Pleasure regarding him could be known. He again
thanked the Premier for visiting him, and the
Interest he had shown regarding him, and said,
after what he had heard, he would sleep happier than
he had hitherto done. Cetywayo's personal appear-
since is quite unlike any of the so-called portraits which
have appeared in the pictorial press. He is an excep-
tionally fine specimen of the noble savage—a big,
useir man about 50 years of age, standing nearly 6ft.
high, of well proportioned and fully-developed frame,
With a good-natured, broad, open face of the promi-
tent Zulu type. Major Poole speaks favourably of
his general amiability, and says he has given little
_ trouble except on one or two occasions, when he showed
a ming, disposition, and demanded to have an entire
2= roasted for his daily meal. While in Simons
!lay he was taken on board Her Majesty's ship
ss'oadicea, and saw the men go through their drill. He
eiLtpressed wonder and admiration of every thing, remark-
I was only born yesterday.' Many persons have
Government
for leave to visit the Royal captive, but the
".°l'ernment wisely consider that, as a prisoner of war,
he should be spared from intrusive curiosity, and have
given orders that the public are not to be allowed to
enter his apartments or hold conversations with him
nntil instructions are received from Sir Garnet
Virolseley or the Home authorities."

In a leading article, noticing the arrival of Cety•
Wan, at Cape Town, The Times observes :
"The arrival of the ex-King Cetywayo at Cape Town and
his reception there bring the Zulu war to a dramatic and not
..._undlignitied close. Cetywayo is, and must for some time re-
.• 4111 a Captive; but it is quite right that he should be
treated at our hands with becoming dignity and considera-
tion. There is something not a little touching in the de-
Meanour of this dethroned savage in his misfortune. He ac-
cepts his fate manfully, he is to all appearance thankful that
It has been a merciful one; he acknowledges frankly, and yet
not without a certain plaintive dignity, the blunder he com-
mitted and the punishment that has fallen on him in con-
eeeuence. Savage monarchs, it seems, not less than more
.civiiised and enlightened rulers, are occasionally deceived
by the subordinates as to the extent of their warlike
rwera, whether for offence or defence. Cetywayo professes
that he never knew the extent of the British power, nor the
small effect that his fatal successes had produced on it. He
Was the childof the English Government, he says, and ought
to have been obedient ; but like a child he thought he had
ulePosed of its power when he had broken the stick
With which it wished to beat him. He acknowledges
nla error now that it is too late. His father, Panda,
counselled him on his deathbed to live at peace
With the English. He rejected the advice, to his cost, and
‘11,9W he is only thankful that his enemies are merciful as
rel, are strong, and do not put to death their vanquished
foes. There is not a little genuine dignity in this mode of
taking
a defeat. Cetywayo is finally deposed from his king-
._doni and doomed to captivity, which cannot but be galling
la spite of our efforts to make it as little burdensome as
Possible. But lie has shown no vindictiveness or impatience,
auch
as might almost have been expected from a savage
Monarch vanquished, deserted, and dethroned, and handed
over to enemies whose merciful and moderete treatment is
Manifestly a surprise to him. It is true that his untamed dis-
Position peeps out here and there in the little traits related
of him, as when he showed a momentary sulkiness because
ae could not have an entire ox roasted for his daily meal.
But in his general demeanour there is more of the child and
lent of the savage than might have been expected from a
manor his race and antecedents. "I was only born yester-
,kl.." he is reported to have said when he witnessed dis-
c,Plined manoeuvres of the blue-jackets on board the
Boadicea. It is impossible not to be touched by this naïve
submissiveness, this frank acknowledgment by Cetywaso of
Ike Power of his victors. Even if it were not our duty as
_Well as our desire to be merciful, the demeanour of the
vanquished King in his captivity would suffice to disarm our
resentment, and is certainly entitled to respect.
"It is entirely in accordance with puvslic opinion in this
.country that Cetywayo should be treated during his captivity
nth as much consideration and respect as is practicable
"I the circumstances. He has measured his strength against
IA Unwisely as he himself admits, and he has been fairly
Irorsted. We owe it to ourselves and to his late subjects
o keep him from further mischief; but we have no need
and no right to make his fall more painful than it must
seeds be in itself by unnecessary and unbecoming harshness
oUr treatment of him. His return to Zululand is, of
rlrees out of the question. The country is to be subjected
a new organization, the whole purpose of which is to
deprive it of the offensive power which it had acquired
Under Cetywayo's rule." • • • •