The Sun.
London, England, 1854-05-10 00:00:00

Crown. In point of
acquiredfact, by conquest..
there couldben T
no doubt
hon.tbut
this territory had been
member referred to the precedent of the United States
of America, and maintained that, though the Crown in
thata f
case
aend independent recognisedthe
State,revoltedit d
coloniesidso b
ofy virtue Amer ica
as of
an Act of Parliament. But there were many reasons
in the case of those colonies for rendering the concur-
rence of Parliament desirable. It was well known that
the Crown itself was less disposed than any of its sub;
jects to conclude hostilities ; and, unless there was an
express declaration of Parliament on the subject, it was
not likely that the Crown would have suffered hostilities
to be brought to a termination. Another reason why
Parliament authorised the Crown to treat with the
American colonists was, because there had been a long
series of acts prohibiting commerce with the American
colonists, who would not, of course, agree to a peace
until those acts were repealed. (Hear, hear.) The hon.
gentleman referred to the Act of 1836. That act em-
powered the Crown to exercise the jurisdiction of a magi-
strate beyond the limits of the colony. Thatact laid down
a most important principle as to what ought to be the
policy of this country. The hon. gentleman then read
the section which gave the Crown power to exercise the
jurisdiction of a magistrate beyond the limits of the
Orange River, but said that nothing therein contained
should extend to vest in her Majesty, her heirs or suc-
cessors, any claim of 'sovereignty over any such terri-
tory, or power to dicate to the tribes, &c., of such out-
lying territory. (Hear.) He wished they had never
crossed the Orange River except with magisterial au-
thority, merely to punish those who offended against the
natives of our own colony. As to what the hon. gen-
tleman said of the allegiance of those people, it was
quite true that no British subject could divest himself
of his allegiance except by consent of Parliament. They
had not divested British subjects of their allegiance.
All the Crown did was to relieve the people of this ter-
ritory from -their subjugation. It might be asked,
could a man remain a British eubject and be also the
subject of another country ? He might answer that
question by asking another. Where was the inconve-
nience resulting from those persons remaining British
subjects ? They would find it no more inconvenient
than millions of British subjects in America who had
emigrated from this country. But if those people really
desired to be relieved from any communication with the
Government of this country or its sovereignty, a bill
might be introduced into Parliament for that purpose.
It might be stipulated that those inhabitants should be
relieved from their allegiance, and at the same time
that they should forfeit all the rights, privileges, and
immunities attaching in a British subject, including
the right of inheritance to their relatives who
might die in the- Cape Colony, and who were our sub-
jects. The house had acknowledged that this was en-
tirely a legal question, and ono which he could presume
to say little upon. The law officers of the Crown, however,
upon whose advice the Government had acted would no
doubt be prepared to defend their opinions. As to the
question of policy, he would endeavour to state to the
house what were the motives which actuated the Go-
vernment in the line of policy they had pursued. The
hon. gentleman complained that this question was not
referred to the Cape legislature, but he (Mr. Peel)
maintained that the Government was right in viewing
this question as they did, namely as an imperial question
—an essentially imperial question—(hear)—the home
government being much more interested in it than the
local government. He agreed with the hon. gentleman
that where self-government was given to a colony the
colonists ought to bear the expenses of maintaining the
internal and frontier tranquillity. The Government re-
cognised the soundness of that doctrine, and had acted
upon it as far as they were able. The Legislature had
shown a disposition to accommodate itself to the views
of the Government. He must remind the house that it
was not now for the first time this doctrine that the
colonists should pay the expenses of maintaining frontier
tranquillity was laid down by a Secretary of State. The
hon. gentleman then read the instructions of Lord Grey,
at the close of- the Kaffir war, which lasted during the
years 1846 and 1847. The opinion:of the Government,
Lord Grey said, was, that though, under the circum-
stances, the late Kaffir war being justifiable, the Go-
vernment was right in recommending a large grant for
the payment of its expenses—that effort on the part of
the mother country could not be repeated in the event
of a,similar contingency. Such were the words of Lord
Crey. • But what happened ? A Kaffir war broke out
again in 1851 ; and everybody knew that the whole ex-
penses of that war had been defrayed by this country.
What was happening at this very moment? Why, there
were now 8,000 troops in the Cape colony. The Go-
vernment felt it impossible to withdraw them, much as
they wanted them, knowing that if the force was re-
duced war would break out afresh. And if the local
legislature had been asked to maintain those 8,000 troops,
would they not have complained—hate declared the
troops were necessary for the protection of the colony,
the keeping peace on the frontier, and that their means
and resources were utterly inadequate to such a burden.
But if the local legislature would say in time of peace,
what would be the case in the time of war, when the
force would be raised from 8,000 to 1,000, at which it
stood 12 months ago. Why, the colonists would say
they could not pay the expenses, and the result would
be this country would have to pay them as it had to do
before. Therefore, he was justified in saying this was
an essential Imperial question, and the Government
would be wanting in its duty to that house, which
had so liberally supplied its demands at the time of
the Kaffir war, if it did not seek to extricate them from
the source of expenditure and of trouble. This was the
policy which the Government had pursued in British
Kaffraria as well as in the Orange River territory. He
(Mr. Peel) wished we could quit altogether British Kaf-
fraria—he wished they could hold themselves aloof
from the native population of the country, and say to
them, "You must manage your own affairs." But
General Cathcart had advised the Government, that
if they abandoned British Kaffraria, the possession,
of that country having been the object of the late
war—the object for which the Kaffirs went to war—
the abandonment would be considered by the Kaffirs
a victory. But, if they could not abandon British
Kaffraria, let the Government at least take advantage of
the lessons of experience. The case of the Orange River
territory was identical with that of British Kaffraria.
In British Kaffraria there were 60,000 Kaffirs and
1,000 Europeans in the Orange River territory,
100,000 Kaffirs, and 10,000 Europeans. There being
this mixture of aborigines and Europeans, and the latter
having possessed themselves of the most fertile parts
of the country, it would be their mutual interest
to maintain tranquillity. There was only one of two
courses for Government to pursue—either to estab-
lish a strong government, supported by a large mili-
tary force, to crush division and uphold the limits of
the territory ; and the other course was that which the
Government now proposed for the acceptance of the
house--namely, the cession of the Orange River terri-
tory. The course which the Government had taken was
supported by great authorities. The Orange River ter-
ritory had been acquired under peculiar circumstances.
When Sir H. Smith went out there in 1847, it was still
a possession beyond the limits of the Queen's dominions.
In one of the despatches, Sir H. Smith compared him-
self to the Governor-General of India. He said that
governor-generals who had been most eminent for their
ability had determined to rest content with the extent
of the dominions which they had found, and yet their
rule was invariably distinguished by the annexation of
new tracts of country. The anticipations of Sir
Harry Smith unfortunately turned out to be delu-
sive, and it was proved by unfortunate events, that, so
far from the majority of the aboriginal inhabitants being
favourably disposed towards British rule, the over-
whelming majority of theni were decidedly hostile to it.
Lord Grey, before leaving office, warned by these facts,
had bequeathed it as his opinion to his successors that
the settled policy of this country ought to be to abandon
the Orange settlement. Sir G. Clarke had expressed
similar views, and had spoken of the settlement as one
which was anything but an acquisition in the proper
sense of the word, the territory being one which brought
no strength to Great Britain, and no credit to its cha-
rater, and no lustre to its crown. The Government had
suffered themselves to be guided by these and similar
opinions, and it was satisfactory for them to think that
the course they had adopted was that which was most
acceptable to the natives and the Dutch farmers.
Au HON. MEMBER moved that the house be
counted.

[At the time that the motion was made there were
nothing like 40 members present, but when the bell rang
the members flocked in from the coffee•rooms and
smeking-rooms, and soon made a house.]
The SPEAKER counted, and their being 40 members
present, there was, of course, a house.

Mr. F. PEEL continued his address, and gave an his-
torical summary of the circumstances under which the
Dutch farmers who were now invited to undertake the
responsibility of self-government first settled in the
colony. The delegates appointed by those boors had
recently declared their entire willingness to undertake
upon themselves the government of the country, and
Sir G. Clerk had signed a convention with them recog-
nising their country as henceforward independent of
British rule. It could not be denied that the immense
grants of land which had been made to British proprie-
tors had been exceedingly prejudicial to the native chiefs.
The extent to which the British proprietors pushed their
encroachments was sufficiently proved by the fact that
140 English proprietors, who were absentees, residing
at the Cape Colony, had in their hands n 9 less than two
millions and a half of acres in the sovereignty. The
Government had adopted that course which was mani-
festly most popular with the natives, and they resolved
to discourage further intervention in the quarrels of the
native tribes. He hoped the house would sanction their
policy, and reject the motion.
Sir J. PAKINGTON observed that, during the time h
hadi the honour of holding the seals of the Colonial-office,
tiiosa the
ttentioonrahnadgebneeiver n m uch directed to South Africa, in-
cluding the important subject of retention or non-reten
u of the
his views upon this
mattetrerwriittohrythatilfau
i rfneletssboaund ndetaonsdtao
arto
which should always be exhibited towards the Government
by those who deemed it their duty generally to oppose
them. He quite acknowledged the excellent motives of the
hon. member who introduced the au bject, but he was sorry
that he could not concur in all the ()Anions expressed by
the hon. gentleman.i The subject had been divided by the
et relatinge n thenr
tt to 3 the. policy
hon. gentleman into two headys,—aonn
of abandoning the sovereignt
gality of the mode in which the Governme
that object. The terms of the hon. gentleman's
however, were so general that they could not be considered.out
s mion,
to refer lirectly to either point, and, therefore, whatever
might be his (Sir J. Pakington's) ultimate opinion as to the
r
propriety of the mode of proceeding adopted by the Go.
vernment, still, as he differed from his hon. friend as to
the propriety of the abandonment of the territory, it would
be impossible for him to vote for the resolution in its pre-
sent terms. He concurred with the hon. gentleman the
Under Secretary for the Colonies in the wish that we had
never had the Orange River sovereignty. He very much
regretted the policy adopted by the GoTernment 4:4 Lord

W. Russell in acceding to the wishes of Sir Harry Smith,
that the Orange River territory should be added to the
dominions of the Crown in South Africa. Earl Grey, then
the Colonial Minister, at first expressed a very strong dis-
inclination to increase the territories of the Crown, but
nevertheless he relied on the representations of Sir H.
Smith, and accepted the sovereignty. A very short time,
however, elapsed. before Lord Grey was desirous of re-
versing his policy, and when he (Sir J. Pakington) suc-
ceeded in 1852 to the office of Colonial Secretary,
he found that Lord Grey had actually sent out directions
for steps to.be taken to abandon the sovereignty. Lord
Grey had also sent out a commission, consisting of Major
Hogg and Mr. Owen, two gentlemen who performed their
duties with great ability, and the country had to !egret the
premature death of Major Hogg, a man esteemed and
valued by all who knew him. During. the time he (Sir J.
Pakington) was in office he took no active steps as to the
Orange River Territory, being in hopes of receiving the re-
port of the two commissioners. He had no hesitation, how-
ever, in saying that his own individual opinion was in ac-
cordance with that of the hon. gentleman the Under-Secre-
tary for the Colonies, and of the Duke of Newcastle, in
favour of the reversal of what he considered a ruinous step.
As he had said, while waiting for a report from the com-
missioners, he had taken no active steps beyond consulting
the law advisers of thedepartment as to the proper mode of
proceeding to effect a step which he thought sound policy
required to be taken. He need not detail the reasons
which inducedhim to come to the resolution which he had
adopted, for in the speech of the lion. member for North
Staffordshire (Mr. Adderley) he had heard no very strong
reason against that course. He doubted whether the
country, or even that house, was fully aware of the gigan-
tic extent of our possessions in South Africa. Most persons
regarded the colony of the Cape of Good Hope as limited to
th town and harbour, and some circumadjacent lands, and
few were aware of the enormous extent of the territory,
which, even without Natal and the Orange River territory,
was not less than .600 or 700 miles in length and 300 in
breadth. The population, especially of Europeans, was not
adequate for the necessities of that immense district. Upon
the eastern confines of that enormous territory was a dis-
trict not hitherto attached to the British Crown. and then
came the colony of Natal, to which possessions, already too
large, were then added the Orange River territory. He be-
lieved he did not at all overstate the facts when he said that
between the Orange River and the Vaar was comprised no
less than 250,000 square miles, with a population of 100,000
Kafirs, fully 60,000 of whom constituted the pseudo tribe ac-
knowledging allegiance to the chief Moshesh, and were among
the most intelligent of the Kaffir tribes. Sir G. Cathcart
had attempted to settle the question ; but a struggle en-
sued of a more formidable character than any in which we
had ever before been engaged in. South Africa. The Euro-
pean population in that country did not exceed, he believed,
10,000, of whom not 1 in 20 wore British subjects. The re-
mainder were of Dutch origin, a large portion of whom had
migrated to that territory in order to escape British sove-
reignty. (Hear.) Those persons did not concur in any wish
that the British Crown should retain the sovereignty, and
he believed that that desire was confined to the handful of
British subjects who had speculated in land there. An
argument had been used, dwelling upon the danger and in-
convenience of allowing an independent republic to esta-
blish itself upon our northern frontier. How could that
be prevented, when it already existed ? He could not
agree that, wherever those migratory boors—those flying
Dutchmen, as he might call them—chose to wander we
were bound to follow, and assert a sovereignty in order to
avoid the phantom danger of an independent republic in
our vicinity, (Hear.) That republic existed now, but it
was surrounded on nearly all sides by British territory, and
was 400 miles from any seaport, so that little danger could
be apprehended from its existence. There was another
point worthy of consideration—what would be the expense
of maintaining possession of this territory? He was ad-
vised that we could not keep the sovereignty without an
army of 2,000 men, of whom 500 must be cava!ry ; and,
with our already overgrown possessions in South Africa,
it could not be worth while to maintain such a force for
the sake of a handful of Europeans. Was there any object
of imperial policy requiring such a step? He could see
none. It was true that he had seen it stated in the news-
papers that gold had been found, but he believed the
Government had no authentic information on that point,
and he must say that his impression remained the same as
as to the propriety of retaining the territory. He found
by the last despatches that, so far from reversing the opi-
nions he had held when in office, they went very strongly
to corroborate them. Sir George Clerk had sent home
some very strong despatches describing the state of the
country in the most discouraging terms, and Sir Geo. Cath-
cart, than whom there could be no higher authority, had
also written home, evidently sharing the opinion that, after
the struggles we had had in South Africa, and looking to
the amount of European population and other circum-
stances, it would be more advisable to abandon the colony.
'Mr. V. SMITH said the main argument of the hon.
member for North Staffordshire was, that the sovereignty
of the colony ought to be abandoned by act of Parliament,
and not by the will of the Queen. He (Mr. S.) did not,
however, think that the hon. gentleman had advanced his
arguments by the speech he had made. As a layman, he
thought that, if the Crown had the power of making bar-
gains and ceding territories, it ought also to have the power
of abandoning them. It had never, however, been the
policy of this country to abandon an inch of territory. On
the contrary, our policy had always been to claim every
rock upon which a head of cattle could be found, and an-
nex it to tho sovereignty of England. He believed the
opinions of Major Hogg, Mr. Owen, Sir George Clerk, and
of all persons conversant with the Cape colony, were in
favour of its abandonment, as a costly and unprofitable
appanage of the Crown. It was, he thought, absurd to say
that an extensive and barbarous colony in South Africa
should be maintained at enormous cost, in order that it
might enjoy a free constitution ! It was equally absurd to
contend that the cost of abandoning the colony would be
as great as retaining it, after the experience we had had of
three Kaffir wars. If the hon. gentleman proceeded to a
division, he would cordially vote against the motion.
The ATTORNEY-GENERAL would confine himself
strictly to the legal part of the question, and he must say
the lion. member for North Staffordshire had hardly acted
fairly towards the house, or, at all events, towards the
legal advisers of the Government, in the manner in which
he had framed his resolutions, as he (the Attorney-General)
and his hon. and learned colleague, tho Solicitor-General,
were not aware until that evening that his motion would
involve any question of the legal rights of the Crown. He
would very briefly state the grounds on which he was pre-
pared to justify the course which the Government had
pursued. Colonies might be divided into three classes--
such-as were acquired by occupaney on the one hand, and
such as were acquired by conquest or cession on the other.
As regarded colonies gained by occupancy, there was no
doubt that a British subject who went forth and occupied
a territory hitherto unoccupied, carried with him all the
rights and privileges of his birth—the laws, in other words,
of England, in so far as they were applicable to his condi-
tion. Ou the other hand, where colonies were acquired by
conquest or by cession, the Crown gained the absolute so-
vereignty, and no person settling or born there had any
right to the laws or institutions of this country. As to
colonies acquired by occupancy, considerable doubt existed
whether the Crown had any right to quit the territory with-
out the sanction of the Legislature, and much could be said
upon the subject; but as the present case appeared to him to
rest on a different footing, because he did not think the terri-
tory in question had been gained by occupancy, but by con-
quest, he should confine himself to it. The Cape of Good
Hope, the principal colony of South Africa, was acquired
by conquest The boors, who were subject to the Crown
at that period, thought proper at a subsequent time to
quit the territory and to establish themselves in the dis-
trict of the Orange River. They did that for the express
purpose of escaping the dominion of the British Crown,
and of establishing their independence ; they were pur-
sued by Sir H. Smith, who proclaimed the power of the
British Crown over them as subjects, but they resisted with
arms the forces of Great Britain, they were overcome, and
compelled to acknowledge the power which they had at-
tempted to resist. The territory occupied by those in the
position which he had described was gained not by occu-
pancy but by conquest, and therefore he said, as the terri-
tory had been gained without the intervention of Parlia-
ment, without that intervention it might be abandoned
again by the Crown. The hon. gentleman, indeed, ad-
mitted the power of the Crown, which he (the Attorney-
General) contended for, because he referred to the aban-
doment of Calais and Dunkirk, and Gibraltar ; but he
made a distinction between such places as these and what
he called large tracts of territory, as to which he denied the
power of the Crown so to abandon them. But he (the
Attorney-General) would like to know on what principle
he made the distinction. Why give up Calais, Dunkirk,
or Gibraltar, each containing a large number of inhabi-
tants? For if the Crown could give up these, what differ-
ence was there between them and this territory ? He must
protest that he saw none, for the difference established was
not between town and territory, but on the modes of ac-
quisition, whether by occupancy or conquest. Why, we had
already dealt so with some of our colonies; Curacoa, he
believed, was an instance. Indeed, the honourable
gentleman, who was so well acquainted with the history
of tho Cape, must know that, when it was first acquired,
we acquired it by conquest, but that we after that
gave it up by the prerogative of the Crown without the
intervention of Parliament. Therefore, it appeared to him
that the course pursued in this case was the proper course
in the circumstances. But, then, he was told that his pre-
decessors had come to a different opinion. He did not
know the reasons which had led them to such a result, but
he must admit that nothing would make him so diffident
of leis opinion as to hear that his two learned friends, two
so eminent men as his predecessors were, entertained a dif-
ferent opinion. But he could well understand that those
1 gentlemen might hate thought, and that it might still be
expedient, that an act of Parliament should be passed to
relieve the persons in that territory altogether from all
claims which the Crown might have over them. But as
far as the mere question went, whether the Crown, having
acquired dominion by conquest, could abandon it without
Parliament, he must still maintain that the means resorted
were the right means for the purpose.
Sir F. THESIGER, said, as he had been so pointedly
alluded to, he was desirous of explaining his views, which
were not so different from the Attorney-General's in the
result as in the way by which that result had been arrived
at. For although he did think it better there should be an
act of Parliament to meet the difficulties of the case ; yet
that an act was essential, he never did at all entertain such
an opinion. But he did not agree in thinking that this ter-
ritory was gained by conquest ; there was no annexation of
territory whatever to the British Crown in this instance, and
if any sovereignty existed at all, it must have been of the
most peculiar description. The boors, farmers, at an early
period began to wander beyond the Cape colony to find
their sheep and to return afterwards, thus going and return-
ing at intervals; but in 1836 they fixed for themselves a more
permanent abode beyond the colony, began to assume inde-
pendence, and to exercise dominion over the natives of the
district. That led to abuses which called for the inter-
vention of the British power, and an Act of Parliament
was passed giving the Cape Colony power over the vicinity
to 25 degrees of north latitude. He maintained, against
the opinion of some, that we did not by that act claim
dominion over the territory, but only over our own Bri-
tish subjects the same force as was given to the Acts of
Parliament a few years ago which declared it to be felony
for a British subject to hold slaves. The natives and
people of the district remained as before under their own
governors; among whom there were two more distinguished
than the rest, namely, Adam Cock and Moshe sh.. Sir
Peregrine Maitland, in a treaty which he concluded with
Adam Cock, distinctly recognised his sovereignty, and
that, too, as late as the year 1840, long after the establish-
ment of these boors and their claim of an independent ju-
risdiction. Mr. Porter, the Attorney-General at the Cape,
it appeared, entertained the opinion that this territory was
thet it
hcaor
bseeelnc
aa
um ea
et
go
nai
sdi
ti
iflobar ebnyt
ca oc nq cult seido nb ,y for tuhpeayn ctyh ,o
thought
contest, and recommended that an Act of Parliament
should be introduced, reciting that doubts had been enter-
tained how the territory had been gained, and whether it
could be abandoned by the mere authority of the
Crown, and then to proceed to allay; those doubts by
enactments proper to' the case. Therefore, he thought
thiLNeVsatsabellthe opinionitidton thatthere had
say that, up to that time; it was
been an acquisition
by c4mvinost in gin Orauge River territory. fir harry

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