21 APRIL 1906, Page 2

Affairs in Natal have taken a more serious turn. Bambaata

having tied into the Zululand bush, the Zulu chiefs were summoned to assist in his capture, and two of them, Siganandi and N'Dubi. have flatly refused. They are, reported to have joined Bambaata, and have threatened a smaller chief, Bashi, with condign vengeance unless he joined them in an attack on the white settlements. So far the attitude of Dinizulu, the most important of Zulu chiefs, has been correct enough. He has repudiated the action of the rebels, and offered to send his men to assist in their punishment. At the same time,, his past record is scarcely so clear as to put him beyond suspicion, and he will probably be summoned to Pietermaritzburg till the trouble is over. The Natal Government have wisely resolved to deal firmly and speedily with the rising, and to use only white troops in its suppression. The whole of the Militia will, be mobilised, and special irregular corps are being raised. The revolt, while likely to prove troublesome, does not, as we have argued elsewhere, give any cause as yet for serious anxiety; but it is a matter in which South Africa , cannot afford to make mistakes.