The Sun.
London, England, 1853-05-16 00:00:00

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.

The last mail took to England intelligence of the
submission of the Kafir chief Kreili, and the terms
of that submission as drawn up by General Cath-
cart. The latest accounts from the frontier bring
full details of the termination of hostilities with the
more powerful Gaika chief Sandilli. In the course
of the negotiations with Kreili, if the communica-
tions with that leader can be so called, two special
messengers from Sandilli himself waited on Colonel
Maclean, Commissioner to British Kaffraria, charged
with a petition from the rebel chief praying for
peace, and desiring to know from the English com-
mander to what district he and his tribe should re-
tire. The petition containedanacknowledg,ment that
" he had no more strength to fight the English,"
that he had been driven front his country, and that
he had obeyed the Governor's " word" by crossing
the Kei—in short, that he had abandoned the
struggle. In consequence of this intimation Gene-
ral Cathcart sent Mr. Charles Brownlee to meet
Suudilli and the secondary chiefs of the Gaika tribe
at a place within the territory of Umhala, a chief
who has remained at peace with us during the
whole of the hostilities. On Mr. Brownlee's arri-
val Sandilli was sent for, and appeared before the
Governor's envoy, on Sunday, the 27th of Feb-
ruary. The draught of the conditions General
Cathcart was ready to grant was then read to San-
dilli and the rest of the chiefs. The following is,
the official copy of this document :

‘4PROCLANIATION.

"By his Excellency Lieutenant-General the Hon. G.
Cathcart, Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the
settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, in South Africa,
and of the dependencies thereof, Ordinary and Vice-
Admiral of the same, and her Majesty's High Com-
missioner for the settling and adjustment of the
affairs of the territories in Southern Africa, adjacent
and contiguous to the eastern and north-eastern fron-
tier of the said colony, and Governor of British
Kaffraria. _

" Whereas the rebellious Gaika people have now been
driven ont of the Amatolas and all other Gaika lands,
and are dispersed—some having fled beyond the Kei,
and others wandering about without homes :
" And whereas the said people have ceased, for several
months past, to resist the Queen's troops, or to commit
thefts of cattle or offences against her Majesty's loyal
subjects :
" And whereas the hereditary chief Sandilli, to whose
fortunes, although deposed, the said people have con-
tinued devotedly attached, and other minor chiefs asso-
ciated with him, who have caused all these evils, have at
length, in obedience to the Governor's word,' crossed
the Kei, and have acknowledged that they have been
subdued, and humbly crave pardon and an allotment of
some other land where they may be allowed to rest in
peace :
" And whereas it appears that the time has arrived
when an opportunity ought to be given to this misguided
people to be restored to habits of peace and good order,
and to be placed in a situation to return to their duty and
allegiance to her Majesty, under the efficient restraint
and control of some acknowledged and responsible chief :
" Now, therefore, I do hereby proclaim, declare, and
make known, that, considering her Majesty's authority
has been vindicated, and that sufficient punishment has
been inflicted, and with a view to the re-establishment
of peace and good order, I hereby extend the Royal
mercy and pardon to the said chief Sandilli and the
Gaika people.

"Ai;d f further proclaim, declare, and make known
that, although the said chief and chieftains and the
Gaika people cannot be allowed to return to tho Amatolas
and their other former lands, which have all been forfeited
to the Crown, are now in possession of her Majesty's
troops, and will be reserved as Crown lands, to be dis-
posed of according to her Majesty's pleasure, they will
nevertheless be permitted, under the responsibility of
their hereditary chief Sandilli, to live in peace in another
portion of British Kaffraria further removed from the
colonial frontier--that is to say, the country between the
Kei and the great north road leading to the Windvogel-
berg, and bounded on the north by the Thomas River,
and on the south by the country of the chief Umhala, on
the following conditions :
" 1. That the chief Sandilli, in token of submission,
shall deliver up one hundred guns, in addition to the
arms stolen by the Kafir police, and become responsible
for the good conduct of the Gaika tribe.
"2. That the chief Sandilli and all the people under
him shall in all things remain true and faithful in their
allegiance to the Queen, and obedient to her Majesty's
commands, conveyed through the Governor and the
Chief Commissioner, Colonel Maclean, or his deputies,
as heretofore.

" 3. That each minor chief lately in rebellion, before
he be permitted to reside in British Kaffraria, shall de-
liver up, in token of his submission, his own arms, and
bind himself to obey her Majesty's commands, conveyed
as aforesaid, under the responsibility and control of the
said chief Sandilli, failing which he will continue to be
held to be an outlaw, and dealt with accordingly.
"4. That the said chief Sandilli shall make an allot-
ment of land to each of the said minor chiefs, his depen-
dents, who may have returned to their allegiance,
within the country hereby allotted to him, wherein they
shall dwell :under his responsibility for their true and
loyal conduct in future.
" 5. That the said chief Sandilli shall also be held re-
sponsible for the security of the great high road and the
property of travellers frequenting it, in the same man-
ner as Pato and Siwani are bouud to protect the high
roads which pass through their country.
"Be it, however, hereby made known that this gene-
ral pardon will not extend beyond British Kaffraria, and
that any Kafir chief, or others, who may enter and be
apprehended within the colony, will, notwithstanding
this pardon, be amenable to justice, according to colo-
nial law, for any crimes they may have committed
within the said colony ; and, if found trespassing within
the Amatolas, they will be dealt with by summary jus-
tice under martial law.

" And, lastly, I do hereby proclaim, declare, and
make known, that no Hottentot will be allowed to settle
within the country hereby allotted to the said Gaika
tribes without special sanction being first obtained from
me.

" God save the Queen !
"Given under my hand and seal, at King William's
Town, this 2d day of March, 1853.
" GEORGE CATHCART,
" governor and High Commissioner.
" By command of his Excellency the Governor and
High Commissioner.
W. F. LIDDLE, Secretary to his Excellency
the Governor and her Majesty's High Com-
missioner."

The chiefs listened attentively while the above
terms were read and carefully explained to them ;
they then retired and held a consultation among
themselves, which lasted four hours. Their opinions
a the conditions may be gathered from the speech
of Sandilli on their return to the Envoy. He
thanked the Governor for his message. He said,
however, that the territory assigned was not large
enough to support them ; and was, besides,
partly the property of Umhala, partly that of
Kreili, both chiefs at peace with the English.
Thrown upon this territory, the Gaikas would be
intruders, and this would lead to war. As to
delivering up the guns, this, he said, would be just
with regard to the arms of the native police who
had departed from the English ; they were dishon-
ourably obtained ; but the men were now scattered
among all the different tribes, and it would require
much time to collect all the guns together. He
would give up a hundred muskets as a token of
submission, but their own arms they would keep,
"to fight for the Queen of the English." Sandilli
repeated that the ground assigned them by the
Governor was not enough ; and, as he supposed
his Excellency could not alter the conditions by
which the Gaikas were expelled from their own
country, ho hoped the General would send a sup-
plication on their behalf to the Queen of England,
that their lands might be restored to them, or they
would have "to go to war with each other for
grass !"

The conference then broke up. It is by no means
improbable that the contingency anticipated by
Sandilli at the close of his address will sooner or
later arrive, and that this condition of the present
peace contains the germ of another war. If the
Kafirs are driven to fight each other `for grass,"
or, in other words, for existence, they will very
likely prefer joining together and trying another
conflict with us for the recovery of the territory
they evidently still regard as their own. Persons
who know the country state that the first drought
will be speedily followed by a renewal of hostilities.
For the moment, however, there is an inclination
here to hope the best, and to think that General
Cathcart has good reasons for exacting this condi-
tion. The Cape Town Commercial Advertiser
remarks asto the treaty—
" The terms thus granted are moderate and humane,
and therefore wise. It is believed by those who know
the Kafirs that no terms more severe would have been
accepted by them. It is time to treat with them as men,
which they have proved themselves to be, both in the
field and in the council. The grand error with many is
to regard them as children, and to speak of them as
beasts. They are neither the one nor the other."
It should be added that by the colonists on and
near the frontier the expulsion of the Gaikas beyond
the Kei is fully approved they have, indeed, stated
that the Governor would not do his duty if he con-
cluded peace on any other terms.
The conditions of the treaty having been accepted
by the Kafir chiefs, General Cathcart appointed a
day for an interview with them laimaelf ; it took
Lace on the 9th of March, at the Yellow Woods,
even miles from King William's Torin. About
60 Kafirs attended the meeting ; the official report
gives the following list of the Gaika chiefs present
on the occasion :

"Sandilli and his son Dundas (90 named after Lieute-
nant-Colonel Dundas, formerly Landrost of this district,
and who is hold in friendly remembrance by the neigh-
bouring Kafirs).
" Macomo and his sons—namely Numbs, KonOs
Riliho, and Quabe.
"Tolman and his son Vandalla.
" Umfundise (a T'Slambie chief who went over from
Umhala and joined the war party.
if Dota (orother of Stock, who WaB not present).

" Each chief was attended by his Amapakati, or
councillors."

The Governor himself read the treaty to the
chiefs, Mr. Brownlee acting as interpreter. They
appeared to be in good spirits, said, " They were
glad to be taken out of the bush," and thanked his
Excellency " for giving them a coutry to live in ;"
repeating, however, their objection, that it was
"too small, altogether too small ;" it comprised
only the territory formerly held by a petty chief
called Toise, and therefore would " never be
enough for so large a tribe as themselves," and
again urged the Governor to present their prayer
to the Queen with regard to it. The Graham's
Town Journal publishes, by authority, a report of
the whole conference, in the form of a dialogue be-
tween the Governor and Macomo, who was the
spokesman of the Kafirs on the occasion. Macomo
is the elder brother of Sandilli, who, it is said, in
commencing this and the former war, acted against
his advice. On the part of the Governor the fol-
lowing address was read to the chiefs by the inter-
preter :

" Chiefe,—l am glad that I am now able to meet you
as friends, and as good subjects of our good and great
Queen.
" Chiefs—l look to you for the good conduct of your
people.
" I have seen how truly your people have adhered to
you, their chiefs, and how you can make them happy or
miserable by leading them right or wrong, as you choose.
Let me see that you, Sandilli, and you, Macomo, as well
as the other Gaika chiefs, are as good and as true to the
Queen, our great chief, as your people have been to you.
" The chiefs Pato, Siwani, Umliala, Kama, and Toise,
with others, wisely refused to join you in rebellion ;
they listened to the words of Maclean, and remained
unmolested, enjoying the pleasure of peace.
"Maclean is now in the place of Mackinnon, and he,
as my mouth, will live among you and govern you under
me, in the Queen's name.
" While it is war between us, I cannot talk with the
enemies of the Queen until they are subdued, and beg
for peace, and are forgiven.
" Now that you are forgiven, and it is peace with
you, Sandilli, my ears will be open to hear your word,
and I have placed Brownlee here, to listen to your
wishes regarding the welfare of your people, and he will
carry them to Maclean and me. He will give you good
advice, which if you listen to, you and your people will
escape much trouble.
" Let there be no more cattle-stealing, and then I
shall hope to see you sitting happily in peace, your gar-
dens flourishing, and your cattle feeding and increasing
along the rivers, and that the Queen's army will never
be called upon to punish any chief or tribe of Kafirs for
crimes committed against the colony, or for rebellion
against the Queen."

His Excellency added, that if the chiefs wished
to say anything ho was ready to hear them. Ma-
como replied :

"We have but one word to say, and to thank. We
thank the Governor for taking us out of the bush, and
for giving us a place to live in.
" When a chief errs, he is punished and forgiven.
This young man (Sandilli) erred, and has been punished,
and is now forgiven, but the country you have given
him is too small. Toise, who formerly occupied it, had
but a small tribe. Sandilli has a large one, which will
not find room there.

" Governor.—These are things you should have
thought of before you went to war. I know that Toise
has but a small tribe, and that it never half filled the
country allotted him.
" Macomo.—We look to you to speak for us, and to
represent our case to the Queen. We are her subjects.
When settled in the country allotted us, Kreili, Uinhala,
and Toise will affect to be satisfied, but will regard us as
intruders, and this will cause constant heartburmngs
between us.

" Governor,—l will send your words to the Queen,
but I will give you no hope of ever again occupying the
Amatolas, as when you were there you were constantly
plotting mischief, and cannot be trusted there again."
At the conclusion of the meeting, and after the
Governor had left, the chiefs and their people
thronged round Colonel Maclean, their new Chief
Commissioner, whom they greeted with great cor-
diality.
There are no later accounts from the frontier.
Subjoined are a few extracts from thq colonial
journals on the termination of the war :
(Eastern Province News, March 5.)
"We have already noticed the evacuation of the Ama-
tolas. The expulsion of the Gaikas from that fine territory
is a very important measure. The Gaikas have been
fighting for their lands, and they 4.'ve been worsted. In
the memory of living men their frontiers once touched
the TJitenhage township borders ; now, through a suc-
cession of wars extending over no long period, they are
driven back some 200 miles, without hope of recovering
again an inch of their forfeited territory. The colonists
have suffered by these wars, but it amounts to some-
thing worse than absurdity to affirm that the Kafirs
have not been yet far greater losers. What progress
have they made in wealth, or in acquisition of any kind,
during the last quarter of a century of wars, compared
with that which they would have undoubtedly made
during a like period of peace ? How poor their condi-
tion, compared with that of the Basutos, who have had
peace for the last 15 years ! We trust that war will at
last appear even to the Gaikas the very losing game
which it proves. There is nothing to be recovered by
it. Each war carries them further backward and down-
ward. Their next effort may leave them without any
territory wherein to rest."

(From the Cape Town Commercial Advertiser, March 21.)
" The frontier post of Saturday brought no news.
The `peace' is criticised with much severity in the
frontier journals, more moderately in some of the Port
Elizabeth papers. That the peace must long be an
armed one, if the present frontier is to be preserved, is
clear, but this would not have been less clear had the
war been prosecuted until the Gaikas were exterminated
or driven over the Kei. It is for military men to deter-
mine what amount and description of force will be re-
quired to protect the colonial frontier, to preserve obe-
dience within British Caffraria, and to present a front to
the tribes beyond tha Kei and the Orange River.
Speaking of British Caffraria only, Sir George Napier
and Sir tPeregrin Maitland suggested 5,000 or 7,000
men ; experience in the war just closed, and the exten-
sion of British sovereignty to the Vaal River, will pro-
bably incline them to add 3,000 more. Taking all
charges into account for the support of such an army,
in such a country, the British Treasury would scarcely
come out under a million sterling a-year. This can
hardly be expected, and therefore some less expensive
means of defence for the old colony will have to be de-
vised."

That there are many;persons dissatisfied with the
change to a state of peace is proved by the neces-
sity of publishing the following general order,
which was issued by Governor Cathcart immedia-
tely after his return to King William's Town :

" Head-quarters, King William's Town,
March 8.

" The Commander-in-Chief has reason to believe that
there are certain persons, followers of the army in Bri-
tish Caffraria, resident within the military rayon of the
post of King William's Town, who have been so base
as to attempt to obstruct the restoration of peace by
their evil designs, false rumours, and other nefarious
means, with a view to prolong their own profitable deal-
ings, which the restoration of peace may probably limit
in extent.

" Be it known, therefore, that such conduct amounts
to high treason, and will be dealt with accordingly.
" It is hereby commanded that all officers, non-com-
missioned officers, and soldiers, and all magistrates, do
use their utmost endeavours to.detect and bring to jus-
tice miscreants so offending.
" Such offenders, when so brought to justice, should
they not be summarily dealt with as they deserve, by
the infliction of the immediate punishment of death under
martial law, but be mercifully brought to a general
court-martial, either in British Caffraria or other dis-
tricts, in which martial ]aw prevails, and be duly con-
victed of the said heinous offence, the president and
members of such general courts-martial are hereby re-
minded, that the prisoner being tried under the 108th
article of war, the powers of the Court extend to im-
prisonment with hard labour for life ; and their sentence,
when duly approved, will be carried into effect in one of
the convict stations within the colony of the Cape of
Good Hope, under a colonial ordinance which has been
passed as a provision for such cases.
"A. J. CLOETE, Quartermaster-General.
"By command of his Excellency the Governor and
Commander of the Forces.
" CHARLES SEYMOUR, Lieutenant-Colonel,
Military Secretary."

Some of the " traders, general dealers, and in-
habitants " of King William's Town felt aggrieved
by the above order, and drew up an address, pray-
ing his Excellency to allow them to disprove the
" base and malicious insinuations made by some
evil person or persons," on which they supposed
the order was founded ; 38 signatures were placed
to it. This address received the following reply

" King William's Town, March 9.
"Gentlemen,—l am directed by his Excellency the
Governor to acknowledge the receipt of your memorial
of this date.

" His Excellency has no reason to doubt that the in-
habitants of King William's Town who signed the me-
morial are all honest men and loyal subjects, and, if they
are so, the general order can have no reference to them.
" I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
"Your most obedient humble servant,
" W. F. LIDDLE, Private Secretary.
"M. Hart, Esq., and the other Gentlemen
who signd the Memorial."

The General Screw Steam Navigation Company's
ship Harbinger, Captain Lane, from Southampton,
to Port Phillip and Sydney, arrived here at 8
o'clock last night, all well. The Harbinger has had
a very fine passage of 37 days from Southampton ;
she will take in coal and water, and proceed im-
mediately to Port Phillip.
The Queen of the South, Captain Norman, be-
longing to the same company, from Southampton
to the Mauritius and India, arrived here on the
20th, after a splendid passage of 32 days from
Plymouth.
The Australian Royal Mail steamer Adelaide,
Captain Jackson, arrived here at 2 p.m. yesterday
(the 21st) ; she has been twice detained on her
voyage for want of coals, and the passage has been
much longer than anticipated ; she left Plymouth
for the second time on the 3d of January, and
arrived. at St. Vincent's on the 17th. Here she