NEWS OF THE WEEK.
Tiq state of affairs in South Africa is one of ever-increasing embarrassment and hopeless entanglement. The Caffres, aware of their inability to compete with disciplined soldiers in the field, have poured marauding swarms into the colony, left defenceless by Sir Harry Smith's concentration of the troops at his disposal in their own country, to coerce them there. If the English Com- mander-in-chief follow them, he will acknowledge himself baffled, and thus enoourage them to continue hostilities ; if he remain where he is, he will leave the Eastern districts of the colony to be sacked and plundered. The savages have outgeneralled him. He thought to crush them in their native strongholds ; they keep him cooped up there, and carry the war into the English territory. But this is only a small part of the evils with which South Africa is menaced. Dissensions and war are extending over all the British settlements. Of these there may be said to be four, each ji.tremdlt y circumstanced. There are the Western districts of the 'Cape colony, protected in a great measure from hostile inroads by the desert which extends from the Orange River to a short 'distance from the sea. There are the Eastern districts, hemmed in between the great desert and the Caine frontier, over which an in- undation of barbarous invaders is now sweeping along exactly the same channels as in the four preceding Caffre wars. There is Natal, isolated from the other settlements by the intervention
Oath-aria, surrounded by numerous independent tribes. In die in- terior, and to the North of the Eastern districts of the Cape colony, Calfraria, and Natal, is the Orange River Sovereignty, with its straggling European farms and villages, separated from each other by tracts of country within which the native chiefs exercise an almost absolute authority. Even Caffraria, though nominally in- dependent, possesses in the Missionary stations and the diplomatic agents the elements of British colonization. Here is an enormous tract of country,—extending from the 28th to the 35th degree of South latitude and from the 18th to the 37th degree of East longi- tude,—and over its whole expanse, with the exception of the dis- tilde immediately adjoining Cape Town, a thin and scattered European population is surrounded by and intermingled with hordes of predatory, brave, and cunning savages. In Caffieria the prestige of European superiority and discipline has been weakened if not destroyed ; the Eastern districts of the Cape co- lony swarm with marauding bands; in the Orange River Sove- reignty, the British Resident has encouraged or allowed a portion of the native chiefs to expel one of their number by the strong hand, and the European settlers see their fields and homesteads in imminent danger of becoming the theatre of war. The colonists, distrusting the wisdom of their riders, and irritated by contume- lious treatment, refuse to exert themselves for their own defence; the Hottentots are mutinous and conspiring ; the Commander-in- chief finds the troops under him inadequate to put an end to hostilities. On the Eastern and Northern frontiers native tribes and the emigrant Boers wait to take advantage of the weakness of the British.
' This is a painful picture it; contemplate : and what is worse, the struggle is one from which this country cannot withdraw without confessing its inability to maintain its colonial empire and sinking into a secondary power ; while there is no appearance of its having the ability to conduct the contest to a satisfactory and honourable termination without an immense sacrifice of treasure and life. For this our Ministers are no doubt much to blame, but the responsi- bility of Parliament is greater. Last session, it was well known that many of these disasters had already occurred, and that others were inevitably impending. The Secretary of State for the Colonies almost avowed in the House of Lords that he was animated by personal pique. towards the colonists ; his colleagues as good as confessed that they were ignorant of what ought to be done, and utterly helpless. :Yet Parliament, although the urgency of the ease
was obvious, tamely and disgracefully played the game of Minis- ters; affected to credit their evasions ; and aided them by the appointment of a packed Committee, with investigations aiming to suppress, not elicit information, to baffle if not silence the prayers and representations of the colonists. Upon Parliament—mainly upon the House of Commons—rests the blame of having reduced South Africa to a condition so pregnant with loss and disgrace to Great Britain.
