The First Lord of the Admiralty presided at a lecture
given by a South-African Missionary in Westminster, on Thursday, and. made a speech upon the Zulu war. It wag most moderate in tone. He doubted if war could have been ultimately averted, but declared that the intention of the Government had been to sanction a defensive, not an aggressive war, and that their representatives had gone beyond instructions. He did not blame them now, but it would not be just to annex Zululand, and would be most advisable to show moderation in conquest. He deprecated undertaking further responsibilities, and thought we must call upon the colonists to undertake their own frontier defence. There were limits to the doctrine of protecting British subjects, and we could not permit colonists to involve us in wars because a few of them wandered away from the central authority. These are the old Whig doctrines, which Tories have been for five years condemning, and which we as Liberals, think may be pushed too far. The Liberal policy is not to abandon colonists, but to compel Colonial Governors to respect orders.
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