The Sun.
London, England, 1851-06-14 00:00:00

sow had the excess been met? By the Governor borrow-
lag from the Orphan's Guar time Fund, arising from the
estates of min.,rs, of which be was the legal gu aelian. He
now came to a now point—namely, whether the policy which
he had described was in process of being brought to a conciu-
len, or of being carried out and exaggerate a He believed
the general feeling in this country to be that the people were
content to bear the 2,000 e CO/. expended in the Kafir war,
ender the indefinite notion that it would be the left war. But
fee told them that the same policy was increasing to so gigantic
an extent that all which had occurred was as nothing to
net they might expect to see. On the loth of July, 1850,
11. Smith wrote to Lord Grey to tell him, as a piece of
good news, that a new lake had been discovered in the inte-
rior, about 700 miles north of the northern frontier of our co-
lony; that the Dutch boors, discontented with our rule, were
Pressing towards the lake, and were willing to give up all
their possessions to escape from the 6th and 7th William IV.,
e' 57; but he informed Lord Grey, that he had been be-
forehand with them, and had sent his agents in advance,
and advised Lord Grey to extend the 6th and 7th "Williatn
IV.--to where? To the equator. His own impression was,
that it would be advisable to accredit British agents to re-
glide with the natives in the neighbourhood of this lake,
And for this duty he would select missionaries. He assured
the natives that the boors were their enemies—and that they
Would run imminent danger if they allowed them to come
'amongst them. Lord Grey, in reply, told Sir H. Smith that
it was the determination of the Government not to declare
the whole country to be under British rule. But observe the
Way in which he cautioned Sir H. Smith. At the same
Prue,he said, he would advise him to enter into friencily re-
lations with the natives, and advise them to combine against
the boers, telling them that the British Government would
help them, and if they would choose three or four to conduct
their affairs, the Governor of the Cape would send an officer
be reside amongst them, and aid them with his advice and
directions. The first step was to induce the natives to esta-
blish a confederacy against the beers, and induce them to in-
cite the residence of a British officer amongst them, who
might comma-d Kafraria, and virtually direct and govern
%els-bole confederacy. Then the plan was to raise a force
like the Kafrarian police, and impose a tax. upon the natives;
and his Lordship expressed a hope that he would bring
is a Bill neat session to extend this to the equator. He
bad quoted enough to show that these wars, were ruinous
le the colony and most burdensome to this country.
They had voted millions to obtain the country between
the Kei and Keiskamma, but they would spend tens
of millions before they extended their frontier from the
Orange River to the Equator. The frontier policy was now
before a Select Committee, the only material result of which
'Would be to fix the responsibility of our future policy on the
country instead of the Government. At this moment all
the Kafir tribes were united against us, and the greatest of
all, Kredi, had lately joined the confederacy. So far, he had
given a gloomy picture, which would give very little en-
couragement to a persistence in the policy which had led
to such a result. But he turned to more encouraging
symptoms which had lately occurred. He alluded to the
late arrival cf Sir 0. Stockenstrom and Mr. Fairbairn. They
Meade a solemn appeal to the Noble Lord at the head of the
government, stating calmly and deliberately, but most
solemnly. the crisis in sr hich their affairs were, and the
danger in which the colony and they themselves and their
Property were involved, pointing out the means at the dis-
Waal of the Noble Lord for putting an end to the distress,
imploring him humbly, but with the sincerity of men whore
Wealth, whose lives and property, and all they had in the
World, depended on hit answer; they placed their case in his
bands. lie might state that the Noble Lord's answer was
Inch as to give them the greatest encouragement; and
such as be for one should have anticipated from
the Noble Lord, not only from his character and
Position' but from his antecedents when at the head
of the Colonial-office, in which every one will allow him
10 have been one of the best ministers that the colonies
ever possessed. His answer to their request was, that they
Would state to him what alterations they proposed, and their
.reasons tor proposing them. Their reply was, that they
Wished no alteration whatever, but merely to be put back in
the position in which they were in the Legislative Council,
Only with this material difference, that there should be no
previous legislation necessary on the part of the Legislative
Council. They said that if the Noble Lord would only give
e promise of a constitution freed from any further delay they
'Would not only feel perfectly satisfied, but their gratitude
-Would know no bounds. The Noble Lord's second answer,
though as kind and considerate as his first, was yet not quite
so encouraging. While the Noble Lord expressed his deep
'sympathy with them in their present momentous crisis, yet
at the same time while the war lasted, he felt it necessary
to wait for further dispatches for the purpose of judging
'of the chancss of a conclusion to hostilities, before he would
'Eire a definite answer as to the time when they might
'expect to receive a representative constitution. They con-
sidered that the Noble Lord had held out great encourage-
ment to them, but at the same time they thought that he
ought to take a bolder step, and to carry out his
'views more decisively, immediately, and resolutely at
once, for they could not see what impediment stood in the
Way. Now from the last dispatches, received about a week
ego, there was not the slightest chance of the war concluding
for many months to come. What, then, was to prevent the
`Noble Lord from granting the Constitution at once, which
'Was allowed to be so immediately necessary? While Sir H.
'Smith was engaged in the war beyond the frontier, what was
to prevent the Noble Lord advising the sending out of a
special commission? Why not send out a man in the posi-
Aion and rank of Lord Clarendon to Cape Town? The in-
Stant the Constitution was given them they would come out
as one man to resist this Kafir aggression, and they would
take upon themselves, as they did twenty years ago, the
Whole expense of the war. He thanked the Noble Lord
Most heartily for the encouragement he had given the colo-
nists at the Cape, and he would put it to him whether the
discussion upon this vote ought not, for at least a day or two,
be adjourned until a decisive answer upon this subject had
'been given ?
Lord J. RUSSELL, who was extremely inaudible through.
Out his speech, was understood to say that the Hon. Mem-
ber's speech went upon the supposition that it was in the
Power of the colonists, if they gleaned to exert it, to prevent
all these aggressions from a savage tribe who were making
'War upon her Majesty's subjects merely for the sake of
!making war, for it did not appear that they had any other
object in view. Now, any man who looked into the history,
-of the Cape colony, since and before it came into their pos-
megaton, must see that the state of things there was wholly
different from that as represented by the Hon. Gentleman.
-The Dutch, in the first instance, had extended their settle-
'lnents and dwellings beyond the immediate frontier of Cape
-Town; but the Katir and other native tribes bad from time
to time rushed down upon them, destroying their possessions
and carrying off their herds of cattle. In 1845, during the
last war, 10,000 men had entered within the frontier where
the Cape farmers lived, and after destroying their farm-
houses carried away all their cattle. Surely there was no
'Wanton act then committed on the part of the colonists
-Row then could it be said that the mother country would
-throw all the expense upon them of defending themselves
from being murdered? Would not these men naturally say,
11` We will defend ourselves and our homes as well as we
.can; but you, as the sovereign power, should protect us,
and we must have your aid." The Hon. Member seemed to
suppose that the whole aggression had originally come from
the colonists, and therefore the inhabitants would themselves
be willing to defray the expenses of the war. The Hon.
Member had, no doubt, received some assurance of the
kind, but he (Lord J. Russell) could not find that there was
ever any public assurance of such a character given to the
Government. They had never said, "Give us a represen-
tative constitution, and we will support the expenses of the
-war." On the contrary, the gentleman to whom the Hon.
,Member alluded, Mr. Fairbairn, had used very different lan-
. guage before a Select Committee, and had very prudently
declined to commit himself at all by any pledge that the
colonists would sustain the expenses of the war. Such being
the case it was impossible to take any step that would give
-us perfect security on this subject. He was quite aware that
fthe war was one of a peculiar nature, and that many savage
acts were committed ; but he was afraid that no plan could
be devised which would be quite eo successful as to enable us
to say that they were free from the danger of a Kafir war.
'The policy adopted by Sir Berjamin D'Urban and his suc-
cessors, Sir H. Pottinger and others, was still pursued.
surely the Hon. Member would not recommend us to sup-
port the commando system, under which persons going out
with their rifles could shoot any of the natives they met,
whether they were engaged in any predatory operations or
otherwise. At the present moment the only question to be
+considered was whether this country shall bear the expenses
of the war. It must bo recollected that when the proposal
for a representative constitution came over here, Lord Stan-
ley, who was then Colonial Secretary, discouraged the pro-
ject except with certain conditions. It was subsequently
resolved by the Government to establish a representative
constitution in the Cape, and Earl Grey found fault with the
decision to which Lord Stanley had come. Unfortunately
those persons whom Sir H. Smith had called to the Legislative
Council with a view that they should assist him in carrying
out the details of a representative constitution—instead of aid-
ing him set themselves to thwart him by every means of ob-
struction which they could think of. It was perfectly obvious
that if they. had then said that they were disposed
to accept the instrument as sent from London, and if they
proposed to fill up the details themselves, and to abide by the
decision of the majority, the representative constitution would
have been in operation now in the Cape. It was, therefore,
entirely their own doing that they were now deprived of a
constitution. He had only two things now to say. One was
that the Government was fully determined to carry into
effect their proposal for a representative constitution to the
Cape. The other point was this—that however anxious
they were to introduce such a constitution into the Cape—
at that moment, and certainly after the last dispatches more
than beaore, they felt that there were insuperable difficulties
to the immediate putting into force the powers of that con-
stitution. There was now a war raging in the Cape, and
the whole mind and energy of the governor would of neces-
sity prevent him from giving proper attention to the working
of a constitution, and the executive would, in fact, be unable
to carry into effect a representative constitution. That was
the great difficulty—that a great portion of those who should
take an active part in the discussions were themselves en-
gaged in the war. The main question before them, as to
whether they would vote the sum proposed for the expenses
of the Kafir war, depended upon this very general question.
In 1819 and subsequently they encouraged emigrants to go
wthferoymwe the
re
out to the Cape and to settle upon the frontier. These emi-
grants were exposed from time to time to inhcenthrseirons
savage tribes. The question, then, was,
to leave them to be overpowered by those savage tribes?
He believed upon that question there could be no doubt. He
was therefore confident that the vote being founded upon
simple justice would be agreed to.
Mr. FLUME said there was only one sentiment uttered
by the Noble Lord of which be approved, and that was that
the Government were determined to carry out the promise
given by them last session of a representative constitution.
He had seldom heard a speech that more misrepresented a
case than the speech of the Noble Lord had done. The Noble
Lord seemed to forget altogether that in 1828 the inhabitants
bad signed a petition to this country, containing a statement
that if they obtained a responsible government they would
take upon themselves the whole expense of war, and relieve
the mother country from any such demands. Since then
they had often repeated the same declaration. But they
would not manage any of their wars of injustice—of tsars
provoked by the most wanton encroachments by us upon
the property of others. He had always encouraged emigra-
tion—at the same time he demanded English institutions
for the emigrants, wherever they went. He had never re-
commended them to go to Kafraria amongst savages, or to
attempt to drive people from the property which they
possessed, and thus exciting war and acts of vio-
lence in return. The Noble Lord avoided stating
the most important part of the question. In the last
dispatch these was accompanying it a map of Kafiraria.
This was a new territory, seized upon by us. It was
beyond the Cape, and did not form any part of it. The
Noble Lord forgot to tell them that Sir H. Smith
was constituted Governor over the new territory of Kafraria,
the people of which had not anything in common with the
inhabitants of the Cape. Wets not these acts of hostility
and aggression upon oar part? Did we not take possession
of those very lands upon which the cattle of that people
existed? We went out of our district to attack them. The
war was not in the Cape, but in those territories which we
have robbed the natives of; and the people of England
would be obliged to pay not only for the past war, but the
war that was then going on. Kafiraria was about one-third
of the catgut of the whole pone:mime of the cape. Our