The Sun.
London, England, 1851-04-11 00:00:00

THE SUN,

tr aced directly or indirectly to encroachments by Earn-
Deans on the laud, of the natives. Those encroach-
ments drove away the game of the hunter tribes, and ,
eurtailed th© pastures of the pastoral races. Thus de-
privets' of their means of subsistence, the native races
Must either starve or encroach upon the lands of other
tribes arid war with them, or they must rob and attack
their European foes. The timid, the weak, and the
gentle races lay down and died; the fire and energetic
resisted. Among the savages few excelled the Kafirs
nl.rigour, couraee and audacity ; and they had often
declared
that they preferred death by our swords and
bullets to death by starvation. Now, we had extended
our empire in South Africa, not slowly, not grad uelly,
as our Population had increased, and the natives had de-
creased—Blain by and civilize-
our liquors, disease,
lion but Sir Harry Smith had, within the last five
Years, extended that empire by huge. gigantic, and
extravagant strides. To explain Sir Harry Smith's
trocAti"edings he must ask permission to describe, in a few
°rl, the form and character of our South African
empire. South Africa was an elevated table
Projected from the equator towards the southern pole in
the
R shape of a huge promontory, bathed by the Atlantic,
°Mhertl, and Inuian Oceans; from the shores of those
• oceans the land mounted up by flights of mountain steps
to the table land of the interior. Between the mountains
end the Southern and Indian Oceans there was a narrow
they of fertile land. There, in former times, had dwelt
ile ri tribes of the Hottentots. Just two centuries ago the
ottentots had been assailed simultaneously by two moat
formidable foes. From the north-east came the Kafirs,
blgro race, probably with a large mixture of Arab
!hacd Increasing numbers, or a want of pasture for
teir cattle. or the attack of hostile and kindred tribes,
rod compelled them to abandon their homes under the
oldsropi .
cs, and, like the Hun and Scandinavian swarms of
to
seek in the south new lands whereon to subsist.
Coe of these swarms, called the Amakosaa, under their
treat chief Togul, wrested from the Hottentots the terri-
k°„Y Wog between the Kei and Keiskamma rivers, now
t•cwo by the name of British Kafraria. About the same
Imes ih the year 1650, the Dutch had landed at the
wilotith.western extremity of Africa, where Cape Town
48 110ar situated. The Hottentots, assailed on the one
aide ,bY the Dutch, and on the other side by the Kafirs,
"--4 CI been exterminated or enslaved. Finally, Kafirs and
t,Butele, advancing from opposite directions, had met in
anue Province of Albany; then a petty warfare had en-
seeocia similar to the border warfare of England and
and. The Kafir, like the Scot, had deemed it an
honourable act to steal cattle from his foe, and the
Ttaltcb, like the English, had not been slow to retaliate.
be 7 Dutch Boers, encamped in military villages, had
at; n able not only to defend themselves, hut, as their
tubers had increased, they had gradually pushed the
tie
efira back. In 1806, we had taken final possession of
With of Good Hope, and soon began to interfere
ra.iltary the border system of the Dutch, and to establish
1
posts on the frontiers, with garrisions of
regulartroops. The Imperial expenditure on account
(f those
Egon„ garrisons had attracted very manila-
penes to the frontier. The presence of t o
Ts had encouraged, facilitated, and hastened the
t.,tArnZchaneuednts of the Europeans on the lands of the
on various pleas we had taken pos-
lession of their territory and had claimed
rated, over their 'chiefs.' The Kefirs had re-
malted, had Stolen the cattle of the colonists, and had
—intaitted numerous depredations. The colonists had
retaliated,eii, the troops had been called out, and a Kafir
boot
With the termination of each war we had
oto h bd er to
eve our
territories, and thus had sowed the seeds of
the sk'll But
the
lKafirs
had acquired something of
I of their opponents, and had learnt the use of
wo "Peen weapons, and therefore every successive Kafir
Di_ had become more formidable than the preceding one,
eirre
g more troops and costing a larger sum of money.
so '32, us he had already said, our military force in
utreth Africa amounted only to 2,000 men, and our mili-
014:aPenditure to about 100,000/. In 1835 there was
Lir war end our military expenditure for that year
treaated to 240,0004 In 1846-7 there was another
Unur war, and th number of troops in South Africa 433 e 6,196 men © , and our military expenditure 685,00011.
With t
the conclusion of that war, in 1847, Sir H. Smith,
ahe sanction of the Colonial-office, added to the
enY of the Cape of Good Hope, on its north-eastern
is, s the provinces of Victoria and Albert, contain-
about 3,600 square miles. Beyond these pro-
to cos, still to the north•east, Sir Harry Smith added
e; our South African dominions, but not to the
PrnY of the Cape of Good Hope, the territory
British Kafraria, in which the present war com-
menced, and which contained about 3,900 square miles.
pNot content with these acquisitions, Sir H. Smith had
en crossed the mountains which guarded the northern
eLtsnatier of the Cape of Good Hope, and took possession
the whole tract of country between them and the
Grange River—an area of the size of England, contain-
tog about 50,000 square miles of as barren a desert as
northern
on the face of the earth. That desert had made our
'crlhern flank secure against the attacks of barbarians.
Raey •
ting uncovered that flank, Sir H. Smith, still travel-
i northwards, crossed the Orange River in pursuit of
alrebel Boers. These Boers had fled from Colonial-
ce oppression to Natal. There wo first permitted
era to establish a Government—then sent our troops
to subdue them, and thus added to our dominions 10,000
ssaatiare miles, situated on an harbourless ocean, with
Attars on one side, and the equally warlike Zoolahs
oe the other side. In consequence of our having
taken possession of that worthless territory, the
Boers fled again and crossed the mountains
to the plains of the interior. Sir Harry Smith
pursued them, defeated them, and proclaimed the sove-
r,,,ellenty of Great Britain over all the plains between the
mest Orange River and the Vaal or Yellow River, an
iles f about 48,000 square miles, with a frontier of 600
T,, exposed to the incursions of Zoolahs and other
oest of the same origin as the Kafirs. Again, some of
*ce Boers fled northwards and crossed the Yellow River,
114 if wa persevered in our policy of pursuing them we
cold have to follow them to the mountains of the
0011, and to add to our dominions all Africa south of
the tropics.
Thus Sir Harry Smith, with the sanction
la the colonial-office, had, since 1847, added 105,000
equate miles to our S aith African possessions, an area
nearly equal to that of the United Kingdoms, and our
28",,atb African empire now covered the vast space of
,e'ooo square miles, an area eared to the whole of the
tstrian empire, including Lombardy and adding nth Pie-
d"( to it. He calculated that on the frontier
Leat empire there was a line of 1,000 miles
°• to the attacks of sava,ges of the same blood as
ed Kafiri, and as fierce, warlike, and energetic. He
defend not attempt to calculate what it would cost ns to
od that frontier with regular troops in the same
°fesohr as we had defended the north-eastern frontier
w the es
ha ape of Good Hope. To defend those 200 miles
i"" spent of late years not less than 600,0001. an-
eronY. To show some of the consequences of the en-
ofaea.elling policy of Sir Harry Smith and of the Colonial-
'14;1 "0 would now refer to the blue 'book which had
' 'eodelivered to teem. e op
n h ened it, and the first
between he saw in it was entitled `• Boundary Disputes
tribeena Dutch Farmers and Tambookies," a Kafir
lath,. who had generally been on good terms with us.
the—aro Sir Harry Smith's arrival on the frontier, in
ooicisanter of 1847, this land was situated without the
Sir The Boers on the frontier memorialised
short.• Smith to annex it to the colony and give it to
Plea. Sir H. Smith granted the prayer of the memo-
ta,o A portion of the land in question was forthwith
the tired out for some of the Boers, and it so happened
had bee land so measured out belonged to a chiet who
Salt eostr Our ally in the last war. This, said Sir A.
tar et m, rendered the governor prodigiously popu-
Rh, the time. The Tambookies, however, refused to
aloe uP the land. The Boers threatened to compel
eel :3.111M bitterly complained that they had been de-
stro„,"" 9' the fine words of the governor. Sir A. Stoken-
looft his letter of' Ist July last, addressed to the Co-
to 41:Seerttary,thscribed these proceedings as calculated
and t the Boers and Tambookies at mutual slaughter,
deo 'a convert her Majesty's most devoted servants into
ingla3eiftste rebels." Unfortunately his gloomy forebod-
io th; 4,1 come to pass. The next subject of importance
lend book was entitled " Excitement throughout Kafir-
Soliti7 the prophecies of a witch doctor." Sir Harry
bitch had assured Lord Grey that he was pulling down
lustb„nrafr. Sir Harry Smith was not so successful as
tip o `igaltight. Last autumn the belief in witchcraft sprung
Theto Kafirland in consequence of the want of rain.
dueeciaufferings of the Kafirs became intense, and pro-
reosi, amongst th,rn feelings of desperation and ani-
ahe 'Y towards us; for before we came amongst them,
o,_arl there was a want of rain, the Kafirs used to lead
Zelr cattle from the plains to the mountain sides, where
ileter was generally to be found, or they used, by chang-
„?their pastures, to follow the rain, for frequently
_cri there was a drought in one part of their territory
tai Was falling in another. In consequence of our en-
aritusstuchrreents, the power,, cf. the Kafirs to change their
auff es was greatly diminished, and consequently their
117"icgs from drought greatly increased. He be-
olli*l‘ed that in former times the Ks firs had been per-
sh()4ed, at certain times, to pasture their cattle within
CallPrevince of Victoria and Albert, which wise men
4titd Neutral Ground; but since Sir Hurry Smith
idoued more provinces to the colony of the Cape of Good
lles,Pla "let permission had been refused.
the Kafirs
the itne.-
hfeee of more suffering, the feelings of
aotilrs us were (as the well-informed author of an inte-
ai th°g tale of the Kafir wars justly observed) the eam,,
the au3e of the Gael towards the Saxon, as described in
eeoiTso of Sir Walter Scott. The Kafir chief would
tat, ehodeic Dhu:^
hese fertile plains, that softeu'd vale,
Nene once the birthright of the Gael.
Where dwells he now? • •
Thieleat thou wo will not sally forth
And
f spoil the spoiler as we may,
rom the robber rend his prey,
Pchile of ten thousand herds there strays
pu,t one along yon river's maze,
',`Po Gael of plains and river heir
aloa,ootill with strong hand redeem his share."—(Cheeai)
hit7thinere was a belief in Kefirland that witc'rees,.an. and cetro-
ebeol gscalled bewitching things, could cause injury
beingstt lain:.. and to cattle, end coeld prevent the falling
Ptest,llB
called witch
also believed that there were certain
Tel bewc,.lld. Witch doctors, who could discover witches
kught
01,`"Ing things. The Kafirs attributed the
epec, last year to witches, and a great witch doctor
'lt" in British Kafraria. He pretended, liko
OF rrY Sosith, to Sir
4 track 'put down witchcraft; arid, as two
~etaioa never agree, Sir Harry ordered Colonel
ate),
_usoo o secure this Mehemet, as he termed
.614krnch to transport hire to Robben Islend. Colonel
lelee , however, told Sir Harry that the
lee ore Would
!vy; „a. endanger the tranquillity of the co-
iecrhke:Ly there had been nothing mischievous or
tothe,,L? the conduct of the witch doctor. On
let the • nand it was generally believed in the colony
trhe
stin,:!tch doctor had attributed to the Europeans
a:_t'g,s, of the Kafirs. Sir Harry Smith and
`.'lleeeoo.u;Lueots_innon, on the contrary, attributed the ex-
", over an hafirland to the efforts of Sir Harry Smith
steitetriut.ore the authority of the native chiefs. That
ut Produced much alarm among the frontier

farmers, which was increased by finding their lisfir ser-
vants suddenly leave them. They aeean. therefore, to
take precautions, which alarmed the Kafiri. In the
midst of this alarm and excitement Sir H. Smith wrote
to Lord Grey, on the 14th of October last, that thoegh
" he ettsched no impertance to this excitement," he
would proceed at once to the frontier, and on his arrival
he would report without delay. On the 21st October he
wrote that " his Lerdsbip need be under no apprehen-
sion of an outbreak," and that a meeting of Kafir chiefs
had been summoned for the 26th October, when he (Sir
Harry) would explain to them their true position. That
meeting had very important consequences. The great
Gaika Kafir chief Sandilli did not attend it, fearing
lest he should be put in prison, for that once before
when ho had attended a meeting he had been put into
prison. Sir Harry immediately issued a pro-
clamation deposing Sandilli from the rank of
chief. On the 31st of October. Sir Harry an-
nounced this event to Lord Grey, and assured the Noble
Earl that Sandilli possessed " neither influence
nor respect among his people." Never did Sir Harry
Smith mske a more incoherent statement. The aqetntt
to capture Sandilli had twice caused an outbreak of the
Kafirs. They ruse one and all to defend him last winter,
and there was not a man among them who would not
elailly rush between a bullet and the person of S indilli.
In the same dispatch Sir Harry stated, with reference
to the deposition of Sandilli, that "a crisis had arrived
which would test his system:" that "he had no appre-
hensien of the result;" that " every Kafir who possessed
anything was a supporter of the present Government;"
and that, " if the chiefs had endeavoured to excite the
people, they had signally tailed." In the next dispatch,
dated 6.,h Novemb r, he assured Lord Grey, that the
crisis had passed most happily, and that therefore he
should lesve the frontier and return to Cape Town. On
his arrival there he wrote again to Lord Grey, on the
26th Nov., assuring the Noble Lord " that he had left
British Kefraria in a state of perfect tranquillity—the
Kafir people fully satisfied, and the chiefs expressing
similar feelings." In the same dispatch he informed
Lord Grey that he was going to organize in the colony of
the Cape of Good Hope a rural police, analogous to the
Kafir police, which had been so " remarkably efficient
in British Kafraria." According to our last accounts,
almost every one of the Kafir police had deserted to the
enemy, with their horses, arms, and ammunition.
Sir Harry Smith proceeded forthwith to order the
governor of Natal to arm and lead into the field against
the Amagaikas 3,000 warriors of the hostile population
of the Amazoothahs. The perfect tranquillity which Sir
Harry described in his dispatch lot the 26th November
did not continue long. On the sth of December he
wrote to Lord Grey that the quiet which he had such
just grounds to anticipate was not realized. :Oa the 12th
December he wrote again and assured Lord Grey that
" he perceived little:or no difficulty in restoring tranqui-
lity." Lord Grey was delighted et receiving this dis-
patch, for in reply he wrote how " glad he was to learn
that all immediate danger of an outbreak was at an end."
Unhappy Lord Grey! This letter was witten on the
sth March; the next day he received intelligence that
the outbreak had commenced with fearful violence. It
was evident, therefore, that the two persons who ought
to have been pre-eminently well informed in these mat-
ters, were pre-eminently ignorant on them. The next
and last dispatch to which he should refer displayed in
the highest degree the blindness of Sir Harry Smith. It
was dated the 20th December last, four days before the
commencement of the war:—lt began with an account
of a meeting of the Lambie tribes, who dwelt in the
neighbourhood of King William's Town, with Sir H.
Smith. He stated that "the conduct of the chiefs and
the feelings of the assembled people were all that he
could possibly desire. The chiefs expressed their deter-
mination to adhere faithfully to the present order of things
and to obey her Majesty." According to the last accounts
they had fought against our troops, and interrupted the
communications with King William's Town. In the
same dispatch Sir Harry stated that he " had received
accounts of a very improved character as regards the
conduct of the Tambookie chiefs;" and he looked for-
ward with every confidence to being able to restore ge-
neral harmony and tranquillity." These were the chiefs
about whom Sir Andreas Stockenstroem had entertained
such gloomy forebodings. According to the last ac-
counts they had, as he had already said, attacked our
frontier, carried off a quantity of cattle, and committed
a long list of murders. Next Sir Harry was sorry to
" inform Lord Grey that the majority of the farmers on
the frontier had abandoned their homes, and moved far
into the interior. His advice and influence had been ex-
erted to induce them to remain," but " unfortunately
they had disregarded his counsel." Most fortunate it
was for them that they did disregard his compel; that
his advice had no weight nor influence with them; that
they did abandon their homes and move far into the in-
terior; for if they had believed in Sir Harry Smith most
of them would have been slaughtered. In the same
dispatch Sir Harry stated that '• he was happy to bring
under Lord Grey's notice the good and loyal feelings
which prevailed among the colonists." In the same dis-
patch Sir H. Smith stated " that they were tranquil,
contented, and happy; that he anticipated that
his system would be perpetuated," and he de-
clared that he " had every confidence in the
prospect before him." Four days after this
dispatch was written the Gaikas rose in arms—
defeated Colonel Mackinnon—then surrounded Sir H.
Smith in Fort Cox, and then repulsed Colonel Somer-
set, when he attempted to open communications with Sir
Harry. Now, what had made the Gaikas rise in arms?
He had said it already. It was the attempt to capture
Sandilli. The Kafir war, which began in 1846, was re-
kindled in 1847 in consequence of a dispute between him
and Sir Henry Pottinger. That dispute had arisen
about 13 or 14 goats, which had strayed or had been
stolen from the colony. Sir H. Pottinger bad ordered
Sandilli to restore them, and to give up the thief. San-
dilli had restored 12 goats, but had declared he knew
nothing about the remainder, nor about the thief, if there
were one. Sir Henry Pottinger was not satisfied ; he
sent a secret expedition to capture Sandilli. The Kafirs
rose in his defence, and the expedition failed. Accord-
ing to Sir Harry Smith in this "bit of a brush with
Sandilli," 56,0001. were spent on waggon hire alone.
This fact would give the House some faint idea of the
probable expense of a contest with Sandilli.—(Hear.
hear.) Sir Harry Smith, soon after his arrival in the
colony, assembled the Kafirs at King William's Town.
At those meetings, which took place in December, 1847,
and January, 1848, Sir Harry Smith pretended to de-
pose Sandilli from the rank of great chief, and to appoint
himself the Inkoli Inkulu of the Kafirs. He did se with
the strangest ceremonies. He described to Lord Grey
his proceedings on one occasion in the following words:
—"The Kafirs bring arranged in a circle, I rode into
the midst of them, bearing in my right hand a sergeant's
halberd, well sharpened, the emblem of war, in
my left hand a magic wand, my baton of peace and
authority, surmounted with a brass knob.—(A laugh.)
I directed each chief to come forward and touch which-
ever he pleased, it was immaterial to me; they all
touched the symbol of peace; then each chief kissed my
foot—(Great laughter)—exclaiming, " Inkoli Inkulu."
I then shook hands with each, never having done so
before. Three cheers were given, and thus I commenced
the foundation of the improvement of their social condi-
tion.—(Great laughter.) At another meeting ho made
the Kafir chiefs swear " to obey his commands," " to
disbelieve in witchcraft," " not to buy wire," and " every
year to give a fat ox to her Majesty." He also harangued
them in speeches full of bombast and rhodomontade,
with a mixture of religion, or rather of blasphemy, be-
ginning with a curs© and ending with a prayer, much
after the fashion of a mock oration of a trooper of Crom-
well. Thus, by alternately courting and threatening the
Kafirs, by alternately: praising and reviling them, by
playing all manner of fantastic and mountebank tricks,
by aping the manners of the savage, Sir Harry thought
to civilize Kafirs and to impose upon them;, but the
Kafirs laughed at him, turned him into ridicule, and im-
posed upon him. At the great meeting of the 19th of
December last, Sir Harry acted a somewhat similar
farce. According to the reports of the colonial news-
papers he denounced Sandilli as a rebel and an outlaw,
and offered a reward of 5001. for his capture. The Gaika
chiefs remonstrated, and entreated him to show mercy to
Sandilli. Sir Harry declared that he could not do so, for
if he were to show mercy to Sandilli the great Queen of
England would cut off his (Sir Harry's) head, and
that he would not lose his head for such a rebel as
Sandilli.—(Laughter.) The next day Sir Harry pro-
claimed a successor to Sandilli, and wrote to Lord Grey
that he had every confidence in the prospect before us.
Two days afterwards, in the postscript to the same dis-
patch, he assured Lord Grey that the best feeling per-
vaded the Kafirs, and that the Gaikas were much pleased
with his conduct. Finally, on the 24th, finding that no
Kafir would betray his chief, even for the enormous re-
ward of 5001., Sir Harry sent Colonel Mackinnon, with
a force of 587 men, to capture Sandilli. That expedi-
tion failed, as a similar one had failed in 1847. Tho
Gaikas rose in defence of their chief, they attacked our
troops in a narrow defile, from which our troops were
with difficulty extricated with serious loss. Then the
Kafirs destroyed the military villages on the frontier,
slaughtering the inhabitants; next, they surrounded Sir
Harry Smith in Fort Cox, owing to which "accidental
circumstance" (to use the strange language of the Hon.
Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for the Colo-
nies), Sir Harry Smith was for several days pre-
vented from communicating„with the colony. Next,
the Kafirs repulsed General Somerset in his
attempt to open communications with Fort Cox.
Finally, Sir Harry Smith escaped, and on the 31st
of December reached King William's Town. Im-
mediately he issued a proclamation, calling upon the co-
lonists to rise en masse, destroy and exterminate the
barbarous savages, and promising them unlimited license 11
to plunder. Now, the Tambookies had assailed us on
the north—the Kafir police had deserted—the Rat River
Hottentots had rebelled—the Boers were doggedly in-
active,
and disaffection prevailed amongst the coloured
chties on the frontier, who had been in the last war our
allies.He was afraid,
therefore, that a serious war had
commenced, and that it would be a costly one.—(Hear,
hear.)
He had seen in the
colonial newspapers that an
official noticG, had been issued. promising all able-bodied
rn'ti who should enrol a bounty of 21:for six months'
service, 61. a day pay, with rations for themselves and
families,aT e 1 d noa uddo doubt itlhe.warthmeasi:l lhaecterh:i:s2,t wr accoutrements,
Taal; yd . clothing.
alarmed, however,
piasynefiotircet,haisndwtahro;ugfohrt
what the country would have tlot
otio province
o f the
without doubt we should have to puy for it, because for
this war Sir H. Smith and Lord Grey were responsible;
it had brokenolthinwtahseniroopwat part peculiarnr
portion
of
colonyßri-
tish Kaffsria,w
of the Cape of Good Hope. The last question was,
what steps ought to be taken to relieve this country
from any expense on account of future wars with the
Kafirs. It was clear that first we must defeat the Kafirs
and reduce them to subjection, end pay fur so doing;
what should we then do? Adhere to the present
system of defending the frontier by troops at the ex..
pense of this country ? In 1848 he had presumed to
warn the House that under that system there would be
a Kafir war every three or four years, with a large bill
to pay for it; that there was only one way to save our

LONDON,

purses, and that was to give the inhabitants of the Cape
of Good Hope free institutions—complete control over
their oe n expenditure, and the management of their re-
lations with the frontier tribes—(Hear, hear)—that at
the same time the colonists should be made to distinctly
understand that they must defend themselves against
the Kafirs, and pay for their own defence; and that,
finally, our troops should be withdrawn from the fron-
tier, and only an Imperial garrison maintained in the
naval station of Cape Town. If these measures were
not adopted the House might feel certain thet on the
average of years the people of the United Kingdom
would have to pay from 600,000/. to 700,0001. a year for
the Cape of Good Hope—a sum which considerably ex-
ceeded the exports of British produce and manufactures
to that colony. The Cape of Good Hope was not worth
that price.—(Hear, hear.) With free institutions the
inhabitants of the Cape of Good Hope would be fully
capable of defending themselves against savages. They
had bid defiance to the might of Great Britain, and
threatened by force of arms to resist any attempt to
transport convicts to their shores. Let them display
a similar energy and self-reliance in a war with
Kafirs, and they would be more than a match
for Sandilli and all his followers.—(Hear, hear.)
He had concluded his observations with regard to the
military expenditure of the United Kingdom ou account
of those colonies which were neither military stations
nor convict settlements. He had endeavoured to show
that if those celonies were governed as they ought to be
governed, no troops should be maintained in them at the
expense of the United Kingdom, except for strictly Im-
perial purposes, and that it was neither just nor fair to
call upon the inhabitants of the United Kingdom to de-
fray out of their taxes the expenses of the troops which
were required for merely local purposes. He had also
attempted to show, with regard to the Cape of Good
Hope and New Zealand, that if free institutions, with
self-government, were given to those colonies, a very
considerable reduction "might ultimately be made in the
military force maintained by the United Kingdom in
those colonies, and that by that reduction a further
saving might be made in the effective military expendi-
ture of the United Kingdom—to the amount of at least
550,0001. a year. Therefore the saving which he con-
sidered could be made in the effective military expendi-
ture of the colonies to which his resolutions applied
would amount to at least 1,200,0001. a year. If to
that sum were added a proportionate amount of the
dead weight, then the ultimate saving in the
military cost of those colonies would be at least
1,600,0001. a year.—(" Hear, hear" from Mr. Williams.)
If his views on the subject of military stations were
adopted and acted upon, the military force maintained
in the colony at toe expense of the United Kingdom
might be still further reduced. The principles which he
had laid down with regard to military expenditure were
equally applicable to civil expenditure. For 1846-7
the civil expenditure of Great Britain in the colonies
had been returned at about 500,0001. Of this sum about
300,0001. was for the clothing, maintenance, superinten-
dence, and transport of convicts; 70,000/. was expended
in the military stations. These two sums being re-
quired for Imperial purposes, had very properly come
out of the Imperial purse. He thought that by adopt-
ing the principles which he had laid down the whole of
that sum of 130,0001. might ultimately be saved, with
the exception of the sum paid for the salaries of go-
vernors. For, in his opinion, if the governor of a colony
were appointed by the Imperial Government, he should
be considered as an Imperial officer, and be paid out
of the Imperial treasury. In concluding his observa-
tions on our colonial expenditure he must remark that
in every colony there were many persons who had a
strong sinister interest in the amount of Imperial expen-
diture. These persons bad made, or expected to make,
large gains, by contracts, jobs, and by the innumer-
able other modes of robbing the mother country.
.They
rejoiced in every increase of Imperial expenditure.
To them a Kafir or a Maori war, or a rebellion, was
a godsend. He had heard it, on good authority, that
in the Canadian rebellion the enormous gains of these
persons had been equal to the losses of the rest of the
community, and that they had been heard to boast,
" The good old times of that rebellion, and the speedy
commencement of the next." Sir H. Smith had stated
in one of his dispatches, that during the last Kafir war
many persons had amassed large sums of money, and that
the consequences were a redundancy of money at the
Cape of Good Hope, with general prosperity, and a
had
anhde
ititr heard
wassim. arwithstetantdeemnecnytsto He
over
self-
evidentg that with an Imperial expenditure many times
r e speculation.a rd t o
greater than the local revenue of a colony, there must
be a fine harvest for the jobbing and peculating tribe,
and that noxious date must flourish and multiply.—
(Hear, hear.) To this class, and it was not an uninflu-
ential one in our modern colonies, any proposal for a re-
duction of Imperial expenditure wasin the highest de-
gree distasteful. Corrupted by that expenditure, they
had not the feelings of self- reliance and self-respect,
which, according to the just remark of Lord Grey, our
old colonists displayed in their conflicts with the Indians,
and even with the might of France. Many of these un-
worthy Anglo-Saxons would, in their hearts, prefer Colo-
nial-office despotism, with huge Imperial expenditure, to
the freest institutions with imperial economy. We were to
blame for this degeneracy, which every high-minded and
every right-minded colonist deplored. We were to
blame for having departed from our old colonial policy
and demoralised our colonial children by our waste and
extravagance. The sooner we returned to the old policy
the better for them morally, for us pecuniarily; their
characters would be elevated and ennobled by becoming
self-reliant and obtaining self-government; and our
money would be saved by bestowing upon them the
freest institutions, and strictly enforcing the:maxian
"No Imperial expenditure for local purposes." That
maxim was the sum and substance of his firstresolution;
those resolutions expressed his idea of the true colonial
policy of Great Britain, which was self-government for
these colonies, and no Imperial expenditure except for
military stations; with that policy, the more of these co-
lonies we had, and the fewer military stations we had
need of, the richer and more powerful the British em-
pire would be. He moved those resolutions in no hos-
tile spirit to the Government, but, on the contrary, to
encourage them to pursue boldly and vigorously the po-
licy which they had commenced on the continent of
Australia. He asked them to assent to this motion—he
asked all Hon. Members to support it who wished to
reduce the national expenditure; for if there were any
portion of that expenditure in which a considerable re-
duction could be made without injury to the empire,
that portion was our colonial expenditure; and that ex-
penditure could only be reduced by acting in conformity
with the principles contained in the resolution which he
now begged leave to move. (The Hon. Gentleman re-
sumed his seat amidst general cheering.)
Mr. URQUHART, in seconding the motion, said, that
if adopted it would not only effect the important objects
which the lion. Baronet had in view, but would like-
wise open a door to an object to which he (Mr. Urqu-
hart) attached great importance—viz., the destruction of'
the present power of departmental government. The
Hon. Baronet had stated near the beginning of his speech
that the strength of this country abroad depended upon
the judicious selection of our military and naval estab-
lishments, and at the same time he had laid down cer-
tain wise and prudent maxims for the selection of those
establishments. He (Mr. Urquhart) thought that Gib-
raltar afforded a remarkable instance of the injudicious-
ness of our whole colonial arrangements. During the
150 years for which that colony had been in our posses-
sion it had cost us scarcely less than 250,000/. a year,
and, including the additional sums which we had spent
upon fortifications and otherwise, he believed that the
whole of our expenditure upon that colony alone would
represent a capital sum of no less than 100,000,0001.,
which he maintained was entirely thrown away, for the
colony neither furnished a place for the defence, repara-
tion, or provisioning of our fleet, nor the means of at-
tacking an enemy. Instead of its giving us a security
over Spain, it rendered that nation the necessary
and inevitable enemy of England, unless when it
found itself obliged to fall back upon us in conse-
quence of a greater hostility elsewhere; and it no more
commanded the Mediterranean because it was
placed at its entrance than it commanded the
Atlantic because it was placed on its side. To use the
words of Napoleon, " Gibraltar opened nothing, and
shut nothing; while it secured to France the undying
hatrel of Spain against England."—(Hear, hear.) And
yet upon this unimportant place we were squandering a
sum equal to the eighth part of the national debt; in-
stead of placing it immediately in schedule A.—(Heat.)
Gibraltar also afforded an apt illustration of the internal
liberties of those colonies called military, the privilege
of participating in the government of their own inter-
nal affairs being entirely denied to the colonists, on the
plea that military colonies required to be treated like
vessels, which were ruled entirely by the captain on the
quarter-deck. The Hon. Member then proceeded to
argue that Gibraltar, Malta, and the lonian Islands suf-
fered at once under the maleficent influence of the Fo-
reign and the Colonial Departments. The adoption of
the present motion, therefore, by depriving those de-
partments of their control over the army would go far
to neutralise their evil influence, With respect to the
Colonial-office in particular,
.he begged to say that if it
did not soon resign itself to the task of correcting its
own abuses, the unanimous voice of England would soon
be raised to put it down; and he wondered that the
Noble Lord at the head of the Government, whose poli-
tical position had been acquired by the correction of
abuses, had not ere now applied himself to the correc-
tion of that greatest of all abuses, the Colonial-office;
for he felt assured of this, that if the good sense of the
country did not put down the Colonial Department as
at present constituted, the Colonial Department would
put down the colonial empire of Great Britain.
The SPEAKER having put the question,
Mr. HAWES asked the indulgence of the House
while he endeavoured to offer some reply to the able and
eloquent speech of the Hon. Member for Southwark.'
That Hon. Gentleman had made a speech showing his
usual industry and great learning, and replete with de-
tails of great interest and importance. It was one that
deserved the best attention of the House, and he had lis-
tened to it with deep interest. It was impossible for him
altogether to dissent from many of the observations of
the lion. Baronet in reference to our colonial empire.
But on the other hand he was bound to say, looking at
the speech as indicating the policy he would press us to
adopt, that such a policy would be deeply injurious to
this country, would injure its best interests, and impair
one of the noblest empires that any power had ever pos
sesaed. The Hon. Baronet had based nearly the whole
of his arguments upon pecuniary considerations. Having
ascertained what the convict stations and military sta-
tions were, which he altogether excluded from his ob-
servations now, the Hon. Gentleman advised the House
deliberately neither more nor less than to abandon
those colonies which wo now possessed, in which
wn had any military establishments.—(Hear, hear.)
Was the House prepared for such a step? Anti
on what grounds did ho rest the policy which
he recommended? He (Mr. Hawes) again mid
he could not discover any beyond those of a pecuniary
character. It might be that -we were too poor' to 'hold
our own—that wo have fallen from our high estate; Nit