The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-08-02 00:00:00

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SATURDAII, AUGUST 2ati, 1870.

THE WAR 1N ZULULAND.

THE decisive British victory at Ulm; di
leaves good ground for hope that the Zulu
war is approaching an end. Ignorant
savages as they arc, the Zulus must have
known that the war in South !Africa could
not be allowed to terminate until the disaster
at Isandula had been avenged. It was im-
possible, notwithstanding a temporary cheek,
that the power of the empire could be suc-
cessfully- defied by a horde of undisciplined
barbarians, howe-rer numerous they might
bo. We did not send regiment after regi-
ment, and squadron after squadron as rein-
forcements over 7,500 miles of sea, merely
to bring them back again. A sufficient
number of Cete-wayo's subjects had to be
shot down in order to convince the Zulus, in
the moni) unmistakeable manner, than an at-
tack such as that in which a British regi-
ment fell a victim, was sure to bring down
heavy retribution upon its perpetrators. The
work had to be done, and it has been done,
and our troops have once more shown that
they possess those qualities which ensure
the ultimate victory of a superior over an
inferiorrace; but of this no proof was needed.
It has been estimated that ten thousand
Zulus have fallen before the deadly fire of
our arms since the beginning of the war,
and now that sufficient has been done for
the honour of our flag, no more welcome in-
telligence could be sent to England than that
there was no necessity for farther operations
in Zululand. Sir Garnet Wolseley's instruc-
tions are to bring the conflict to a close on
terms consistent with the national honour
and interest; and we may well feel confi-
dent that he will allow no petty personal
considerations to stand in the way of con-
cluding an arrangement which will once
more establish peace in South Africa.
_ _ _ _

Sir Bartle Fi:ere has contended from the
first that a war between the British and the
Zulus was ultimately unavoidable, and that
the existence of an adjacent 4State possessing
a formidable army was inconsistent with the
safety of our South African colonies. If the
contention of the High Commissioner be
correct, there can be no doubt that the mili-
tary organization of Cetewayo has received
a blow from which it must take many years
to recover. During those years of enforced
quiet, the colonists in Natal will have time
to organise their own forces, and to provide
the means of defending their own posses-
sions. As the matter at present stands the
colonists undoubtedly believe that they stood
in danger from the great army which could
at any time be gathered together across the
Tugela, but they made the mistake of pre-
cipitating the war without a sufficient force.
If the armies of the Zulus were really so
formidable as the colonists feared, then they
should not have rushed into the conflict
under circumstances which led to such a
catastrophe as that at Isandula. The con-
sequence has been to throw an enormous
cost upon the mothor country, which has
11A to send some 25,000 troops to South
Africa to bring to a successful close a war in
which our chief interest is that of maintain-
ing our Imperial power. The colonists of
Natal will, however, from the experience of
the past few months, see the urgent n.3ces-
-Bity for self-reliance in case the struggle
with the Zulus should have to be renewed
some years hence.

Great Britain came to the assistance of
her colony because she felt the necessity of
asserting her Imperial power; at the same
time the people at home hold it to be in- '
cumbent upon them to deprecate any abuse
and waste of that power. No empire can
endure which is not founded upon justice ;
and although all rule rests upon force, that
force should be applied with prudence, fore-
sight, and consideration. Whatever may be
the aspirations of the South African colon-
ists for an increase of territory, there can be
no question that the Government at home
as well as the nation is emphatically opposed
to any idea of annexation. The Colonial
Secretary has distinctly stated to the House
of Commons that the instructions to Sir
Garnet Wolseley are drawn up on this basis.
Even if the land of the Zulus be destined
ultimately to pass into our hands, it would
be a decided incumbrance at present. We
have more than enough upon our hands just
now in South Africa, looking at the unquiet
condition of the Transvaal, and the dis-
turbances which are continually arising with
the border tribes. It is notorious that Rus-
sia finds her conquests in Central Asia a
source of weakness to an already overgrown
empire; and to put it mildly, we should not
now find the acquisition of Zululand a means
of strength. That the arms of England
have proved victorious, that her honour has
been redeemed, and her interests protected,
are grounds for legitimate satisfaction to all
who have at heart the welfare of our empire