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

713

In regard to the Kaffirs themselves, Sir
George considered that the only way to in-
fluence them was through their chiefs :

Ample experience has led to the conviction that the
only true and sate policy, for the present at least, is to
govern the several Kaffir tribes within this province
through their respective chiefs, that is, not to attempt to
take away the long-established and now existing magis-
terial power of the chief over his followers, or attempt
suddenly to Anglicise his whole system of government,
but rather to respect the chief, to hold him responsible as
a vassal of the Crown for the good conduct of his people,
and allow him for the present to govern his people accord-
ing to the accustomed Kaffrarian usage. The opposite
course has been tried, and proved a failure, as might, in-
deed, have been expected, it the knowledge of this pecu-
liar people and their circumstances and prepossessions had
been as well known as they now are.

These weighty words of a most enlightened
and sagacious mind deserve the more atten-
tion as it has been resolved to act in a directly
opposite system in India. The general prin-
ciple laid down by Sir George deserves a
more extended application than he thought
of giving to it. He adds in another place :
It must be admitted that this remarkable people have
a strong sense of the moral obligation of good faith, and
if they enter into an engagement at all are seldom found
to promise one thing and do another.
It is to be greatly lamented that a governor
who found himself able to act upon these
principles should by any circumstances have
been removed from a sphere of such impor-
tant usefulness. Though Sir George himself
does not enlarge upon the gravity of his own
proceedings, or the magnitude of the interests
committed to his charge, it is impossible to
rise from the perusal of this correspondence
without a conviction that the value of our
South African dependencies is scarcely yet
duly appreciated, and that under judicious
management they may be made to play a very
prominent part in the future history of Great
Britain.
Sir George himself returned to this country
in August, 1854, and his departure elicited
the warmest expressions of confidence and
affection from the colonists. The close of his
life became him well : he died "in his
harness," and closed a long career of more
than ordinary utility with more than ordinary
heroism.
In the present volume of despatches military
details of course very greatly preponderate, and
to those we have given our exclusive attention.
There arc, however, some interesting statistics
relative to the revenue and expenditure of
British Caffraria, which show that no branch
of his duties escaped the Governor's minute
consideration. Up to 31st Oct., 1853, the in-
come was 0,819/. 15s. 2d; the expenditure
7,821/. 1 Is. Bd.
Sir George's despatches in many points of
style resemble those of the late Duke of
Wellington ; they are characterised by the
same happy union of brevity and perspicuity,
and display a similar decision of character.
They are sometimes deficient in grammatical
correctness, and the collocation of words is
occasionally harsh. But they never leave us
in doubt as to the writer's meaning, and are
always spirited and pertinent. The more we
ponder on them the more we grieve for the
loss which this country has sustained in the
person of their soldier author.

Sight-Seeing in Germany and the Tyrol. By
Sir John Forbes. London : Smith and
Elder.
RAPID travelling by rail has brought into the
world a whole class of writers who seem also
to use steam as their agent in authorship.
Mr. Babbage invented a machine for calcu•
biting logarithms, and we have heard that an
ingenious Chancery barrister hopes to get out
a patent for a cylindrical apparatus for the
mechanical settlement of equity motions.
" Murray's Handbooks" are copyright, but
we surmise that some dexterous scribes com-
pose travels out of them, without paying tax
to Albemarle-street. Sir John Forbes, bow-
ever, is not one of those light-fingered authors.
He openly confesses his obligations to " Mur•
ray poplin" :

In closing this volume, I feel that it would be =jest to
the writers of Mr. Murray's Handbooks of North and
South Germany, not to acknowledge the great obligations
the author is under to them, for pointing out, with such
precision, the various sights most worthy to be seen; and