. The Downing Street Caffre war threatens to be tedious
and pro- tracted. During-the whole of January Sir Harry Smith remained 'standing on the defensive. His communication with the sea was ,kept open, and he had received reinforcements in troops and stores; but he and his men were still cooped up in their strong -holds, while the Caffies held possession of the open country. The Caffre chief Seyelo had occupied the lower Keiskamma, and 'blocked up the land road from King William's Town (Sir Harry :Smith's head-quarters) to Graham's Town. Forts White and Cox were inaccessible from King William's Town, being closely in- vested by the Caffres, and must have been beginning to run short of provisions. Fort Hare had received supplies from Graham's 'lown, by n-ay of Fort Beaufort ; but its garrison had been unable to open any communication with the forts to the Eastward. Seieral smart actions had taken place, in all of which the :Cairns had • been worsted. The chief Hermanus had fallen in in attack upon Fort Beisufert; a vigorous attack upon Fort [LATEST EDITION.] Hare, in which Sandilli was understood to have been present, was gallantly repelled; and Seyelo had been discomfited in a skirmish. But the Caffres had displayed even more than their usual daring, and a much greater amount of stmtagetieal skill, and even discipline, than any former war has witnessed. In addition to the stores and accessions of regular troops and Burgher levies which Sir Harry Smith was drawing to him, he had projected alli- ances with Native tribes ; the success of which, the failure of his attempts to diplomatize with the Caffres renders rather problemati- cal. His proclamations were in his usual inflated style ; the epi- thets he heaped upon the enemy, little better than vulgar scold- ing; and his promises of unlimited permission to plunder, both to burgher volunteers and native allies, as questionable in respect of policy as of morality. All appearances tend to inspire fears that the war will be long and costly. As yet few Caffres had ventured into the colony ; but an universal panic had driven the settlers along the whole line of frontier from their homesteads. The defection of the chief Her- manus had given rise to anxious jealousies and suspicions of the loyalty of the Frontier Hottentots in general. Perhaps an old grudge which a certain class of Frontier settlers bear to the mis- sionaries, and to their protkges the Coloured races, predisposed the former to entertain suspicions of the Hottentots. But if it is true that the pressgang in Graham's Town has been employed to enrol Hottentots for Frontier service by compulsion, while the Whites were left free, a dangerous spirit may really have been awakened among the Coloured population.
