The Press.
London, England, 1856-07-26 00:00:00

yiteraturt,

Correspondence of Lieutenant-General the Hon.
Sir George Cathcart, K.C.8., relative to his
Military Operations in Caffraria. London :

Murray.
THE correspondence contained in this volume
extends over a period of two years. Sir
George Cathcart's first despatch from the
Cape:—" I arrived in Table Bay, in her
" Majesty's ship Hydra, last night," is dated
March 31, 1852 ; and his last:—" As I am
" about to be relieved in the government and
-.command of her Majesty's South African
"continental possessions," is dated March 20,
1854. In those two years the Kaffir war was suc-
cessfully prosecuted anal ended; the civil
administration conducted with energy and
prudence; and the principles laid down by
which the peace and prosperity of the whole
colony would be best secured, and the hostile
tribes he kept in subjection.
He accepted the command offered him with
some reluctance :
I did not fail (he says) to point out my own inferiority,
in respect of the advantage of experience to Sir Harry
Sakti, as well as the circumstance of my being junior to
General Soineret, whose practical experience and local
knowledge must be oraluable, and would probably be lost
by my appointment.
The orders of " the Duke " vanquished his
scruples, and the result proved the sagacity
of the great captain's choice.

When Sir George arrived at Cape Town, he
found the Kaffir war still raging along the whole
of the colonial frontier. The two powerful chiefs
Macomo and Sandilli, though they had been se-
verely chastised by Sir Harry Smith, were still
far from subdued, and continued to occupy in
force their respective fastnesses of the Water-
kloof and the Amatolas —extensive woody
regions intersected by ravines, and lying to
the north and north-west of King William's
Town. To the north-east, beyond the River
Kei, was the territory of the chief Kreli, the
recognised head of all the Kaffir tribes, who
was not a British subject himself, but had
all along aided and abetted the rebel chiefs
within the colony. His country hail also been
invaded by Sir Harry Smith, and, though he
had not complied with the terms dictated by
that general, at the time of Sir George's
arrival he was not openly interfering. North
of the Amatolas, again, lay the rebellious tribe
of the Tamboukies, and to the south west the
chief Seyolo had established himself between
Graham's Town and King William's Town ; so
that almost the whole of what is known as
British Caffro.ria was at that time in posses-
sion of the rebels. Their origin and organisa-
tion are thus described by Sir George :
This tract of country, as you are aware, is inhabited by
clans of a remarkable race called Kaffir., each clan having
a chief, who is assisted in governing by a council, and
owning a certain portion of territory within defined limits.
These hereditary chiefs are, with but one exception, all
descendants from the same patriarchal or royal progenitor,
and they are all therefore related ; but, as their traditions
do not extend back beyond three generations, and appear
to centre in one common origin at that day, there is little
doubt they came from some distant country and obtained
possession of their present territory by right of conquest,
under a chief whose name is supposed to have been Kosa,
as they call themselves Amaknsa, the prefix Ama consti-
tuting the plural ; and the designation Kaffir is an Arabic
nickname, signifying infidel, and not in use in their own
I.►ngaage.

Sir George seems to have discerned at once
what had been hitherto the weak point in our
contests with these savages. No amount of
beating in the field made any durable impres-
sion on them. When our troops retired, they
reoccupied the ground they had been driven
from, and merely watched an opportunity to
renew their depredations on the colonists.
The new Governor saw that permanent
military settlements must be effected in the
dangerous localities before the enemy could
be effectually overawed. To this end, as soon
vs he had succeeded, with the aid of Colonels
Vvier and Eyre, in expelling the Katfirs from
toe Water-kloof and the Amatolas, he corn-
merwed the construction of military forts in
these ,41itstricts. His method is described by
himself::—

Now, my object being to retain possession of the country
gained, what d want is, to have established in the right
place where rpreketot circumstances require it, a defensible