The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-10 00:00:00

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE.
(From the Shipping and Mercantile Gazette.)
We have received advices from the Cape of Good
Hope many days later than previous accounts.
They announce the arrival at Cape Town of Sir
H. Pottinger. The Ha ldington, steamer, with
the High Commissioner on board, arrived in Table
Bay oa the 27th of January, and having been duly
sworn into office, he immediately proceeded to busi-
mut, lay issuing a proclamatiot4 which we give below.
The state of affairs on the frontier is represented to
be anything but satisfactory. It will be seen from
the extracts, which we give below, from our Cape
contemporary, that three officers had been murdered
by the Kafirs. The subjoined letter from our cor-
maponcient at Cape Town will be reed with interest :
" Cape Town, South Africa, Feb. 2, 1847.
" Eltr, —lt is impossible to arrive at anything like. a
satisfactory account of the state of things and parties
on on the frontier, so much party spirit seems to
and against the late Government measure,
nodand what
diversity of opiei 'n as to what has been exist
such
ought to be done; at a time, too, whenfbtudhtoenoene common
whole feelirtg ought to pervade the minds o
Town and frontier
com-
munity of colonists in the Graham's.g but creditable to
districts, that it appears
subjects dependent upon thaen)Prholtnection of the British
Crown& the resignation
"The recce of Sir Peregrine It iitla.nd,
his appointment as com-
of Sir Andries StockenestrouTnr of
B gher Force of the Eastern
mandaileageneral of th
Colony, in consequence of some
Distrfcts of the
Capethe sudden departure of Sir P.
political
asdissensioncoroniander-in-chief, from the scene of;
Maitland.
lotion, before the arrival of his successor, and
the devolvir,T of
the entire command en Colonel
.
tended not a little to increase the deep
Somerset,
eltiection which kreveagd, in the minds of those in
Cape Town more im2rdirttely and directly interested
is ' the issue of affairs on the frontier. But,
early on the morning of the 27th of January,
it was announced that the Peninsular and Oriental Com.
party's steamer Haddington, hal arrived in Table Bay
during the night, having on board Sir IL Pottinger,
Bart., and suite ; also Lieutenant-General Sir George
Berkeley, K C. 8., Commander-in-Chief of the forces.
His Excellency landed under the usual salute, at eleven
P.M., and proceeded to the Government-house in Sir P.
Maitland's carriage. The streets through which he
passed were thronged with spectators, and the cheering
was deafening. He was immediately sworn into office
by his Honour Sir John Wirlde, Chief Justice, and he
immediately proceeded to business, by issuing the fol-
lowfig proclamation :
" Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to appoint
me to be her High Commissioner for the settling and ad-
justment of the affairs of the territories in Southern
Africa, adjacent or contiguous to the eastern and north-
eastern frontier of this colony, and to authorise and en-
join me to take all such measures, and do all such
matter and things, ashy me may be lawfully and discreetly
dono, for preventing the recurrence of any irruption
intcathe said colony of the tribe inhabiting any of the
territories aforesaid; and for maintaining the said colony
in peace and safety from invaders, and for promoting as
far as may be possible the good order, civilisation, and
moral and religious instruction of the tribes aforesaid.
Sir Henry would hold a levee on Wednesday, 3d Fe-
bruary, and, it was expected, almost directly proceed
with the new commander of the forces to the frontier,
to see and to hear fur himself, and form his judgment
thereby.
We make tl".e following extracts from the Cape of
Good Hope Shipping and Mercantile Gazette of the
29th of January
We are gratified to announce the arrival, en Wednes-
day last, of our new Governor, Sir Henry Pottinger,
and the Commander of the Forces, Sir George Berkeley.
This arrival, so long and so anxiously looked for by the
colonists generally, will, we trust, be productive of last-
ing good to this continent. Froze the extended powers
with which we believe that Sir Henry has been invested
as her Majesty's High Commissioner fur the adjustment
of affairs with the native tribes, and from his well-tried
and known ability, we are led to expect that cur relations
with the nativr s on our eastern and north-eastern
border will be placed on a sound and solid basis. But
we would advise cur fellow-colonists to wait a ith
patience the development of any plan which may be sag
gested, even though it may not be exactly the one to
which they are most attached—remembering that car-
rying out the object proposed is attended with difficul-
ties all but insuperable, and requires all the ability and
all the calm consideration which any man can bring to
it. We understand that his Excellency intends pro
ceeding to the fronlier almost immediately.
The intelligence from the frontier brought by this
week's pest is not of great importance. It appears, how-
ever, from the accounts given by the local press, that
there is still much of an unsatisfactory and unsettled
character in the state of our Kafir neighbours. The
most painful occurrence since our last is the melancholy death of three officers, killed by the Kafiri, and the tied
dental death of two of the Mounted Riflemen, and Ser-
geant-Major Ritchie, of the 7th Dragoon Guards. The
following are some of the particulars extracted from a
letter, and inserted in the Graham's Town Journal
"We have nothing but disasters of late. While we
were out towards the T'Somo, Colonel Somerset sent out
a party of 200 men to hold the Kei drift. These, finding
themselves getting short of suppnee, sent a patrol to get
cattle for slaughter. After marching for some time, on
reaching the summit of the Kei hills, some cattle were
seen about two miles a head. Three officers and four
Hottentots galloped off in pursuit, and succeeded in
reaching the cattle, the infantry following slowly behind.
The latter saw the former plainly bringing on the
cattle, but there were several hollows er necks to page
through, in which stood thick clusters of thorns. On
gaining the first of these the infantry heard sharp
firing and proceeded onward, but ou reaching the
spot found only a horse and three or four Kafirs dead,
but neither the officers nor cattle. They returned the
same evening. Two of the Hottentots came into
the camp one after the other the next day, and a party
was sent out in search of the missing party. The
thaee officers—namely. Captain Gibson, Dr. Howell,
Rifle Brigade, and Mr. Chettvyn, 73d, were found
killed, but tlfe Hottentots have not been discovered.
On Tuesday we got down to the Kei Drift, but the
river gas too much swollen to cram. On Wednesday
it subsided a little, and on Thursday we crossed the
cavalry, in which Sergeant-Major Ritchie, 7th Dra-
goon Guards, two C.M.R. and two horses were drowned.
Two mule waggons were also washed away. The guns,
infantry, and 6,000 head of cattle were left on the other
aide. Besides having no food except beef, we have had
wet weather all the time we have been out."

PRIVATE BILLS,
The following are the principal portions of the
Second Report of the Commons' Select Committee
appointed " to continue the Inquiry into the Private
Business of the House, the expenses attending the
obtaining of all Brivate Bills, including all the ex-
penses of the opponents as well as the promoters of
Bills, and the taxing of expenses relating thereto,"
just printed by order of the House :
" Your Committee have made considerable progress
in their inquiries ; and having obtained full informa•
tion on the subject of fees paid to the House, on the
taxation of costs, and the formation of Committees on
Private Bills, have agreed to the following report
upon these points, reserving the other subjects of their
inquiries for a future report :
" Fins or THE HOESE.—It appears that the fees
consist of a great variety of small items, charged on
every stage of the proceedings on Private Bills. There
fees are so complicated as not to be easily understood,
either by the clerk who has to collect them, or
by the parties who have to pay them.
" Since of late years all the officers of the House
have been remunerated by fixed salaries, and all fees
have been carried to the credit of Commissioners
appointed by Act of Parliament to receive them, there
are now no persons individually interested, as for-
merly there were, in the number or amount of these
fees. The House, therefore, is perfectly at liberty to
make any alterations regarding them which it may
think fit.

" The subject has been for some time under the
consideration of Mr. Speaker, and by his desire Mr.
Doriniton, the Clerk of the Fees, has laid before the
Committee a table of fees, constructed upon a diffe-
rent priciple, by which it is contemplated to abolish
the present system of charging a great many small
ftes on the various proceedings of a Bill, and to
substitute a few larger fees, to be charged on the
principal stiqes—viz., one fee on presenting the
petition for a Bill, one on going into the Committee
on the Bill, one for each day in Committee, and one
on each of the readings of the Bill, with other minor
alterations an(' regulations ; and these suggestions
have received the decided approbation of your
Committee.
q"jour Committee have also called for an estimate
e fees to be collected under the proposed new
sefeesne,ulcealZll:df the income likely to arise from such
equal to that of for amount of business annually
command that the feesear 1844. Your Committee
with the assumed mount
Qf
business, to produce, as
received in ordinary
years. They, therefore received
the House, that
Mr. Speaker be requested tornitt°
table of fees based on the vicaucrit° be prepared a
either frora the
with a view to such table- iblei4easa,';b4._ove stated,
House, and brought into operation by the
commen cement of the present session
may be . , or as Soon
as

TAXA.TION OP COSTS. Your Committee hive
takers evidence upon the subject, and are satisfied
that no time shoal be lost in establishing an efficient
taxation: of Parliainent4ry costs and charges in ac-
cordancv with the opinion above expressed. In order
to effecc This object, it will be necessary to pass an
Act in t'be present session, enabling Mr. Speaker to
appoint a taxing officer or officers, who shall have
all the p owers possessed by the taxing masters of the
Court c 1 Chancery, and shall examine and tax, as
well all preliminary expenses incident to applying
to ParPiament for Private Bills, as all charges for
soliciting or opposing the same.
" Yotir Committee are of opinion that the fee to
be charged upon the taxation of costs should be as
moderate as shall be compatible with the due per-
formnea of the duty ; and further, that every facility
should. be afforded both to the promoters and oppo-
nents. of Private Bills, or parties liable to pay such
costs, for obtaining the relief which such taxation
will a (ford.
"ka actibrdance with this view, your Committee