vr 
 
 TIB' 
 
 Political Papers on 
 South African Topics
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
 'm
 
 political Papers on 
 S.j^frican Topics, 
 
 1877
 
 POLITICAL PAPEES 
 
 Olf 
 
 SOUTH AFRICAN TOPICS, 
 
 ^ort Elijabctf) : 
 Printed by J. W. Pratt at the Port Elizabeth Steam Printing Works . 
 
 1877.
 
 775" 
 
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 OUR JUNIOR MEMBER. 
 
 Some men stand out iu bold relief from their fellows, by the 
 marked distinctness of their lives, and their character. In 
 literature, in trade, and in politics, this country has some of 
 whom colonists have felt proud, and continue to admire. 
 The independence and honesty of John Fairbairn, as the 
 Father of our Press, and the Founder of our Liberty, -were 
 such as t:> place him in the front rank, with all good men. 
 In the next rank, Eastern and "Western men alike recognised 
 in William Hume, another whose industry, energy, per- 
 severance, influence, and independence were marking him out 
 as one to whom the country would owe the honour due to a 
 " son of the soil ; " one of such political promise as to identify 
 him with the strong, and the leading, in the colony's political 
 advancement. Hardworking, enthusiastic, a Separationist of 
 the Saparationists, the East, in him, expected the realisation 
 of uncompromising adherence to Eastern parties and Eastern 
 politics, for Eastern welfare. With his word for his bond, 
 and a courage which no one doubted, his constituents looked 
 upon him as impervious to influences which have been the 
 political death of many a good man's fame. True and fast, 
 they confided in him as they have seldom done with others. 
 Knowing his politics they exacted no pledges, but returned 
 him, under the impression that he knew them and their 
 views as well as, they believed, they knew him and his opinions. 
 
 But events have shown that they did not quite understand 
 each other. Mr. Paterson has defined the well-known axiom 
 of representation, as applied to himself, namely, that a 
 holder of a people's suffrages is their representative, 
 80 long as he acts in accord with their expressed, 
 and even clearly-implied, opinions, with liberty upon all 
 questions on which there has been no tacit or open 
 agreement, to act as he may tbiiik best without reference 
 to his constituents. These two doctrines are the guide of 
 members of the Imperial Parliament, and we venture to assert 
 that no member of the House of Commons, whatever his 
 status, social, political, or official, would, for one moment, 
 venture to disregard it, and determine to retain his seat. In 
 
 1220912
 
 Mr. Hume's election, the grave error was committed, of not 
 coming to a clear understanding upon this view. No compact 
 having been formally made, he holds that, once a i-epresenta- 
 tive, you take him, as people marry — for better or for worse — 
 yet only so long as he may choose to hold your votes. But he 
 overlooks the fact familiar to lawyers, that to every contract 
 there mvist be at least two parties ; and that when once it is 
 complete, one cannot break from it without the other's con- 
 sent. A portion of the contract is representation (not mis- 
 representation) of a constitutency. We are borne out in this 
 view by tbe pi'actice of the House of Commons. There, as 
 May puts it, it is a settled principle of Parliamentai-y law, 
 that a member, after he is duly chosen, cannot relinquish his 
 seat, but a way is provided for him to evade the law. That 
 does not abolish or impugn the conti-act principle. Cease to 
 act up to its terms, and in honour the party contravening it is 
 bound to withdraw, if it be the wish of the other contracting 
 party. Mr. Hume would insist upon this in trade, and inlaw, 
 if in any matter of consequence his interests were at all dam- 
 nified. Now, in all questions where his voice and vote have 
 been required in Parliament, during his brief career there, he 
 has been free and unfettered in his action, by the electors up 
 to the early session of this year. Like others, he was there 
 surprised by the mine that was sprimg upon him, by the 
 Carnarvon Despatch and the Molteno Government. But, 
 accustomed to surprises, no one expected him to be so thrown 
 off his guard as to fall plump into the arms of the Govern- 
 ment, who received him tenderly and most lovingly, and, with 
 him there for a moment, magnetised him into a new form for 
 his constituents. To their bewildering astonishment, they saw 
 him vote, as they declare, in violation of all his political ante- 
 cedents, yet hoped, in spite of his adverse vote, that he had 
 done so either in a moment of weakness, of justifiable anger, 
 or under a mistake. The question at issue was, without excep- 
 tion, the most important put to the Legislature for years — and 
 seeing how staunch an advocate he had been, how self-denying, 
 laborious, and generous, his conduct to secure for them and 
 for thousands of others, more of local self-government, they 
 could not discover on what rational plea he had sharply 
 rejected the very first answer given to a portion of bis life's 
 labours and prayers. The session passed — he returned to Port 
 Elizabeth. At a public meeting, such as no one had seen 
 before in the borough, he met the public face to face, andj 
 while all admired his outspokenness, there were not ten who 
 did not deplore the exposition of his reasons for voting as he 
 had, and opposing the Conference. His constituents, never- 
 theless, while pained were not vexed, but confided still in his 
 honour, and what they believed would be his sense of the position. 
 They at last learned that, seeing it was the wish of the people, 
 he would vote for the Conference, " with proper safeguards." 
 Had he told them plainly to the contrary, they wouldat once have 
 requested him to make way for a gentleman who would be in
 
 accord with thorn upon this greatly important issue. But 
 those who knew him believed from his own lips he would meet 
 the twice publicly expressed, clear wishes of his constituency, 
 that he should i-epresent their views, and support their largely 
 sigaed petitions to Parliament, in favour of the Conference, 
 and of this C)lony being represented thereat. How grievously 
 he disappointed them in the moment of trial is but too well 
 known. His vote again with the Ministry, with Mr. Paterson 
 on the opposite side, N^as the virtuil disfranchising of those 
 who returned him t'> Parliament. Now, " moreiu sorrow than 
 in auger," they claim, that unless he voluntarily tender the 
 resignation of his seat, which some assert is his intention, 
 only a public meeting can bring it abjut. That Mr. Hume 
 may not have the voice of a C immittee alone to tell him the 
 people's views, let their voice in public meeting be heard. 
 Then let the questions be distiuctlj'- put to the electors and the 
 public generally — " D )es Mr. William Hume still retain your 
 confidence as your Representative in the House of Assembly? 
 Is it your wish that he should resign, or i^ledge himself to vote 
 for the Conference and Confederation ? Is your answer in each 
 instance to be conveyed to that gentleman — if so, when, and 
 by whom? And when, and v/here, shall we meet again to 
 render you whatever reply Mr. Hume may return ? " If this 
 fair caurse be adopted, Mr. Hume, we are assured, will not 
 hesitate to give a prompt answer. If the subject b 3 allowed 
 to drop, and no open action be taken. Port Elizabeth stultifies 
 itself, gives the lie to its antecedents, endorses the vote of its 
 junior member, the ru'ie action of the Ministry, and declares 
 tj liOrd Carnarvon that we do not look to him for relief, and to 
 raise this j^avt of the world to the proud position of a S)uth 
 African Dominion. 
 
 The foregoing view o£ the Representative's relation to his 
 constituents and the Parliament is not new, — uor merely ours. 
 It is recognised by the foremast and m:)3t esteemed thinkers 
 and statesmen of the age; and even men of mediocrity, act 
 upan it. Mr. Hume, may, therefore, have no difficulty in 
 accepting it, and so consalt the opinions and the sentiments of 
 the electors, or he will jeopardise the excellent vepnta.tion 
 which his tried p )liti3al career has deservedly won for him, 
 aad t) which we and thousands more would wish him to add 
 new lustre. 
 
 MR. HUiME-S YOTS. 
 
 A community n.n-er respects a man wh ->3e politics are of 
 chameleju hue, ever doubtful, ever changing. His motives 
 are at once suspected, and his acts are repeatedly questioned. 
 Tae moral status of such a maa is never hitrh. His character 
 suifers for his political shiftiness, n3 matter how clever, how 
 coA, ho.v self-pass ess ed, how bald he may be. Doubt will
 
 6.1 
 
 cling about him in all he does ; and, to use a homely phrase, 
 " the last state of that man is worse than the first," for he 
 receives no thanks even for accidentally virtuous and straight- 
 forward deeds. That a people's representative can be in 
 perfect accord with them, however, on all matters of politics, 
 is what no one expects or looks for. He is not a mere dele- 
 gate; he is xoit]i them in the majority of questions; in others 
 he acts, for what he believes, the major part of the people 
 require, or he deems best for them. Such an one, being 
 fair, is trusted. The independence which he exercises per- 
 sistently is admired, even if it is not approved, when it 
 works against a particular aim of his constituency. The 
 chameleon-like politician, on the contrary, being "all things to 
 all men," and to himself " most of all," as an Irishman would 
 say, might manoeuvre, but he would not last long. Now, Mr. 
 Hume, who does not happen to take the same view of the all- 
 absorbing question of the hour that his constituents do, is no 
 such dodger. Known for many years by thot:e whom he has 
 represented, under all circumstances, at the Town Council, at 
 the Chamber of Commerce, and in the Separati(jn League, his 
 honesty in politics is not doubted. There was not one who 
 heard him at the demonstration, which was made in the Town 
 Hall on "Wednesday, that did ; ot inWj accept his statement, 
 namely, that when he opposed Lord Carnarvon's Despatch 
 in the House of Assembly he did so conscientiously. He 
 recorded his vote against it deliberately and ft arlessly, although 
 well remembering the part he had taken in the movement to 
 bring about a Separation of the Pi-ovinces. We accept his 
 reasons, and respect his motives; but, at the same time, we as 
 heartily regret his vote. And we do so partly on the ground 
 that we believe Mr. Hume has been foi'getful of some ante- 
 cedent measures to which he was a party ; and, Vjeing affected 
 by the panic which seized the House, he has not yet got over 
 its effects upon his deliberations. 
 
 We may refer to one recint and pi-ominent event as a 
 reminder. Among many offices to which Mr. Hume gives 
 his time is that of Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. 
 In November last he joined otbei s of that instituti<jn in framing 
 an address to His Excellency the Goveinor, Sir Henry 
 Barkly, which concluded with these -^ords : — '" The 
 closer connection also of Natal to this country with the 
 Transvaal and Orange Free State is desirable, and we shall 
 rejoice to see it consummated during your Excellency's term 
 of office. Bound up in one strong Confedei'ation, for mutual 
 benefit and support, these States and Colonies would lead up 
 to that civilisation to which the philanthropist and the broad- 
 minded statesman look forward, for the region lying between 
 the Cape Colonies and the Zambesi, and which, all are assured, 
 would be productive of noble results. As one great South 
 African Dominion it would add honour to your Excellency's 
 rule, wealth and power to the British Empire, and lustre 
 to Her Majesty's reign." Mr. Hume, in his official
 
 capacity, formed one of the deputation to present the 
 address to the Governor; he, therefoi-e, as fully committed 
 himself to its sentiments and opinions as if he, individually, 
 pronounced them. He spoke for the mercantile community 
 of Port Elizabeth. Those for whom he then acted were of 
 the audience which he met face to face last Wednesday. 
 
 With the feeling of a born South African, who has struggled 
 hard for the advancement of his country, and takes a pride in 
 its prosperity and progress, Mr. Hume, it seems to us, was 
 carried away from the I'emembrance of what the country asked 
 of him, by an indignant feeling at Lord Carnarvun's seeming, 
 dictation and undue interference with the Legislative rights 
 and privileges of the Colonists. Mr. Hume said plainly, that 
 he was with Lord Carnarvon in his desire for the Confedera- 
 tion, but, now that we have responsible Government, his Lord- 
 ship had no right to interfere as he had, presuming even to 
 name the delegates for the Conference. We believe that 
 Lord Carnarvon never meant his suggestions to be taken as 
 dictation ; and we feel with Mr. Froude, as expressed by him 
 in a letter to the Graatf-Reineters, that his Lordship has 
 " unintentionally taken an office upon himself which you 
 (Graaff-Reinet) would have preferred to retain for your Legis- 
 lature. No one will regret his error more deeply, or will be 
 more anxious to repair it." This plain statement, we are 
 sure, will satisfy Mr. Hume, when he remembers the position 
 in which Mr. Fi'otide now stands to the Imperial Government 
 and to this Colony. 
 
 But there was a matter of deeper moment than this, which 
 must have moved Mr. Hume to his opposition, one that will 
 be found in the evidence of Mr. Solomon, on the subject of 
 Federation, as given by him at a Parliamentary inquiry only 
 two years ago — and that is, that he would object to entering 
 a Confederacy when Native Affairs were in agitation, and war 
 with surrounding tribes was imminent. The remembrance of 
 the fact that Sir Garnet Wolseley was on the spot to meet any 
 Smeute among the Natal tribes ; that the Transvaal burghers 
 were out on commando against Ketchwayo ; and the contin- 
 gent prospect of a much wider-spread native rising, were the 
 but too plainly appai-ent, substantial objections which oper- 
 ated on Mr. Hume's mind, and conjured up weaker matters 
 as grounds for his opposition to the Despatch. The difficulty 
 with Griqualand West was not lost sight of, nor the prospect 
 of a difference, through it, with the Free State. These foi-med 
 a bundle of troubles, which, he thought, Lord Carnarvon hoped 
 by a Conference, to cast from him, and to leave them, with 
 their consequences, to the Colonists. As they were not of the 
 Colony's seeking he did not ask us to be saddled with the 
 burden of them. 
 
 We do not agree with him in these views. We believe in 
 the thorough high-minded integi'ity of the Secretary of State 
 for the Colonies; and that in his heart he desires to enable 
 the South Afi-ican States, Provinces, and Colonies to Con-
 
 ' 8 
 
 federate, from the noblest of motives, and the most exalted of 
 aims — that of forming one rich, great, powerful Dominion on 
 the continent of Southern Africa, — one that would raise the 
 Standard of Great Britain higher in the eyes of the world, 
 and give the Cape of Good Hope a worthy place in the rank of 
 nations. 
 
 The appearance of Mr. Hume on the platform, in the early 
 part of the meeting, was not only manly, but just what would 
 be expected of a straightforward representative of the people. 
 He did not wait to gather up the opinions of the several 
 speakers, and then time his opposition. He at Dnce threw 
 life into the situation, and placed himself at the mercy of all 
 who were to address the public there that night. We do not 
 agree with Mr. Jones, who said, that, " If Mr. Hume did not 
 rejjresent the free and independent electors they should make 
 him pretty soon, or call on him to resign." On the contrary, 
 we think that if Mr. Hume feared the effects of a Conference 
 would be prejudicial to the Colony, when the Native affairs, 
 far beyond us, were in chaos and dangerous, while our own 
 were in order, peaceful, and successful, he was bound to say 
 so, and to reject Lord Carnarvon's Despatch. And doing so 
 he should not be hastily condemned, however much it may be, 
 and is, an undoubted matter of regret; for he has never 
 feared to do that which he has believed to be right, and deemed 
 likely to serve the welfare and happiness of the people. 
 
 THE PRESS AND MR. HUME. 
 
 In all great questions of public importance the Press is 
 expected to lead the way — be the beacon-light to the people. 
 Without speaking out upon convictions well founded, and in 
 a manner to win confidence, it cannot be respected. It must 
 not shift with every wind that blows — or in moments of 
 disappointment be childish in its wrath, impotent in its anger. 
 A good cause is often injured by such manners. The local 
 Press unitedly condemns Mr. Hume's vote on the Conference 
 question. We have from the first. But this is the first 
 matter upon which he has taken the side against his con- 
 constituents, and it should be believed that he had strong 
 reasons for so gravely disappointing them. He told the public 
 on AVednesday that he had voted conscientiously. The Herald, 
 on the 2-5th of last month, iu reply to the Eastern Star, said : 
 — " Members of Parliament must be allowed to use their own 
 judgment, and vote according to their conscience, or the 
 office will not be sought after by respectable and independent 
 men. A representative of a constituency is something more 
 than a mere proxy, though proxies are frequently allowed 
 considerable latitude of opinion. On the great question of 
 the day representatives should be in accord with their consti- 
 tuents, but it is possible the constituents will not be agreed
 
 9 
 
 among themselves, and the representatives may be also 
 divided in opinion. We should never think of abasing Mr. 
 Hume because he voted with the minority on this question." 
 
 At that time Mr. Hume had not trodden upon the corns of 
 the Herald, but his heel came down pretty heavily upon its 
 toes at the meeting, hence, we suppose, the following, from 
 one of its leading articles, on the 9th inst. : — "His remarks 
 on ' sentiment ' as opposed to the material pi'osperity of this 
 colony are scarcely worth notice, and only show that in 
 choosing the role of legislator and public speaker Mr. Hume 
 has mistaken his vocation. 
 
 " After a rather long and very incohei'ont address, he 
 ■wound up with an attack upon the Port Elizabeth Press, 
 which he accused of inconsistency, and in proof of the charge 
 read extracts from the Port Elizabeth Telegrapli and Eastern 
 Province Herald, and the telegrams on which they were 
 founded. Now, we have no hesitation in asserting that this 
 vras most disingenuous conduct on the part of Mr. Hume, 
 because he knew the circumstances under which those 
 articles were written. He knew they were written upon 
 receipt of the telegram from Cape Town announcing the 
 receipt of Lord Carnarvon's despatch, and not upon the 
 despatch itself. 
 
 " Mr. Hume has never had credit for any brilliant parts 
 either as statesman or orator, but he has hitherto enjoyed the 
 reputation of being frank and straightforward in his dealings; 
 but we say, the course he adopted last Wednesday night was 
 not straightforwai-d. 
 
 '• To make, as he thought, a point against ' the Press,' he 
 read what suited himself, and left unread what would have 
 explained to the audience the position taken up by the Port 
 Elizabeth pre?:s. And then, Mr. Hume, too clever ])y half, 
 not content with making the charge against the Press, ' sup- 
 posed it was to be attributed to the fact tliat the papers 
 trusted for editorials to chance gentlemen who have leisure to 
 write.' None but a man of Mr. Hume's inexperience of 
 matters connected with the Press would have ventured upon 
 Bucii a silly remark. After Mr. Hume's expression. of opinion 
 it can no longer be doubted that he Hiis-represented Port 
 Elizabeth in Parliament. 
 
 " On more than one important question last session Port 
 Elizabeth was disfranchised, one of its members voting on 
 one side and the other against him. This is an unpleasant 
 position for the most important commercial town in the Eas- 
 tern Province to occupy, and one which is not calculated to 
 increase its influence or conduce to its prosperity. On this 
 point Mr. W. Jones, in his plain, as he said, ' good old Eng- 
 lish ' spoke in unmistakeable terms : " It is the electors who 
 
 are, or ought to be, iiulependen.t, and not the elected." 
 
 These novel notions upon a Member of Parliament's relations 
 to his constituents, and theirs to him, we leave our contempo- 
 raries to reconcile. They need neither argument, nor comment
 
 10 
 
 by us — they are so cool, calm, wise, anil very consistent that they 
 must commend themselves to every dispassionate reader — who 
 loves personalit-es. But we 1-ie;^ to remark, that as journalists 
 we do not claim to be exempt from the pains and penalties 
 with which we may be visited by public men for tergiversa- 
 tion. And we do not think any of our vocation should sink 
 to contemptible personaliti»iS whtni tliey do not ajree with 
 others. We have something far better to do. Possessing 
 great advantage over public men, we should not abuse 
 that power. No one admires the action of the strong 
 against the weak ; and the Press becomes cowardlj', and, 
 therefore, unworthy of its high calling, when it permits 
 private spleen to intrude its influence upon the reviews of 
 men in public life, their words and actions. 
 
 Mr. Hume's vote, we repeat, we regret, for it was, undoubt- 
 edly, a mistake. But, judging him by the standard first laid 
 down in the quotation he gave the meeting, he had a 
 right to vote on his conscience; and, doing so to carry 
 with him the esteem of the public. It would have been 
 betttfr if he had withheld his vote; and, we maintain, 
 he should have done so, had he not been afraid of the 
 Native difficulty. But we excuse it on the ground of 
 the surprise with which he must have been taken. Now we 
 must trust that, when we receive Lord Carnarvon's further 
 despatch on the subject, he will join bis colleague in a hearty 
 support of the move for an early Conference of the States, 
 Provinces, and Colonies of South Africa, with a view to 
 establishing, in this quarter of the globe, one great, power- 
 ful, and United Dominion. 
 
 THE POLITICAL PRONOUNS. 
 
 Of all the writers France has produced, in thia nineteenth 
 century, none is more charming in style than the diplomatic, 
 literary, ever delightful — Chateaubriand. With a simple 
 arrogance, known only to French writers, he deals with egot- 
 ism in a manner that interests us through its childish pro- 
 minence. To English eyes and English ears it is peculiar. 
 The Historian of the Congress of Verona knew this well ; 
 therefore, when his Memoirs appeared in the language of 
 " perfiiiious Albion," he felt it necessary to employ "We," 
 and " I," and to " leave the two pronouns to correct each 
 other." This singularity occurred to our remembrance the 
 moment we re id the trenchant, and justly indignant, despatch 
 of January 14th, from L ird Carnarvon. " The two pronouns " 
 have been left to correct each other, viz., the Secretary of State 
 fur the Colonies, and Sir Henry Barkly with his Cabinet, in 
 such a manner that few Governors would wish repeated. 
 
 Reverting to the disrespectful, if not disloyal, tone of the 
 motion, wliich the Premier placed upon the notice paper
 
 11 
 
 directly after the opening of tbe Special Session, his Lordship 
 affirms, what we said of it at the time, namely, thatMr. Molteuo's 
 language and bohavii)ur thei'ein were without parallel or pre- 
 cedent ; the Governor was greatly to blame for this; that they 
 both, while holding the Queen's Commission, had forgotten 
 their duty and their position ; and, that, if they were right, 
 " the servants of the Queen in this country (England) wuuld 
 be unworthy of advising the Crown on this or any other sub- 
 ject." His Lordship points also to the violent stuLcment that, 
 an agitation had been created and encouraged by Her Majesty's 
 Government. This, he shows, was directed, most unfairly, 
 against Mr. Froude ; and he fully exonerates that gentle- 
 man from any charge, which some have been slow to heap 
 upon this disinterested, unselfish, and distinguished man, for 
 ■whose attention, advocacy, and help, the colonists ought to be, 
 and are eminently proud and grateful. And here, in passing, 
 we may say, there ai'e many who echo his Lordship's words — 
 "If, indeed, he (Mr. Fjoude) has been misunderstood, and mis- 
 represented, in some quarters, I trust that he will have been 
 well rewarded by tbe knowledge that he was taking part in no 
 common or insignificant question, and by the consciousness 
 of having done his utmost to render those measures in which 
 he has been engaged really beneficial to all concerned in them, 
 of whatever nationality or racf." 
 
 Passing on to the attention which the Secretary tf State 
 for the Colonies uas been scrupulously careful to show to the 
 " Resp'>nsible advisers of the Government," he reminds the 
 Governor that he, at least, has been more like a traitor than a 
 loyal subject of the Sn^ereign; more like a betrayer than a 
 true officer of tbe Queen, conniving, with, instead of withstand- 
 ing encroachers upon Her prerogatives, and the equally high 
 and exalted ones of the people at large. Wa did not fail to 
 remind Sir Henry Barkly of this long since, when he persist- 
 ently sheltered himself behind, and went v.ith ' my Responsible 
 advisers,'" and toi»k up the position he did in his last opening 
 speech. Our accusation was thought by some to be severe, 
 but the gi-eat majority decided it was just. Now, it is 
 deliberately endorsed by the Queen's Minister, who writes : 
 " I aui afraid, however, that it may not, at all times, have betn 
 sufficiently remembered that your duties, as High Commis- 
 sioner, cannot be subordinated to the local policy of your 
 advisers, and that even in matters aftV cLing the Cape alone, 
 you have obligations to Her Majedi/n Goveinvient which no 
 Colonial Minister can expect yuu to ove-i look." We have 
 italicised some of these worcis, that they may readily catch 
 the eye of those who diifered fnm us — fortunately, they were 
 few, but infiuential in this matter. Having thus disposed of 
 Mr. Molteno, the Governor, and justified and appii ved of Mr. 
 Froude's conduct here. Earl Carnarvon analyses Mr. Solomon's 
 motion, and shows that its implications, in part, were quite 
 unfounded. But he lays tiiem by, alter explaining that 
 there was no intention, on the part of his Lordship, to set the
 
 Conference aside ; that as the House had decided to assist the 
 Imperial Government in the Diamond Fields and the Free State 
 entanglements, he would gladly accept the resolution as a 
 friendly act, and be glad to see some one, or more, for the Colony, 
 appear at the London conclave with that object, and as early as 
 convenient. 
 
 More could not be asked, less was not desirable. Tlie Two 
 Pronouns can then best correct each other ; and South African 
 History will be male to glow with a l)righter page than any 
 yet added to it by the Constitution. 
 
 WILL ENGLAND BUY IT ? 
 
 The lover of contrasts may find sufficient to entertain him 
 in a study of the relative merits of Walwich Bay and its 
 radjacent country — on the West Coast, and Delagoa Bay and 
 the surrounding n jighbourho:)d on the Eastern side. It is a 
 matter of commendation that the Government have resolved 
 to guard our trade at the former place as far as they can, and 
 for that purpose intend to send Mr. Palgrave to look into 
 affairs as they are now, with a view to effecting an early 
 annexation. But we submit, that if our Government will 
 likewise turn their attention, with as little delay as possible, 
 to the expediency of haviug Delagoa Bay converted into a 
 British port, they will do a very great good to the colony, far 
 surpassing all we can expect fi-om Vv'alwich Bay, or, that by any 
 possibility, can be realised. The reasons are obvious. Glance 
 a.t the map for a few minutes, and arguinent for the jireference 
 becomes all but unnecessary. Ljoking at Walwich Bay, just 
 above the tropic of Capricorn, and carrying the vision east- 
 ward; it travels over many degrees of a waste wilderness — at 
 least, of what is as bad to us. The line of travel inward from 
 the coast is up the beds of rivers, where water is scarce, the 
 people barbarous, the cattle find n-freshment with difficiilty, 
 life is isolated, and the further yon go, the deeper you plunge 
 into Savagedom, to make the acquaintance of a people who 
 yield but little more than the form of article we mentioned in 
 a previous notice ; to find civilization ouly farther and farther 
 removed from you, and commuuication with the outer world 
 grow more difficult and remote at every step. The hunting- 
 fields have ceased to be attractive to the true sportsman; the 
 mining indications are rich, but too far from the coast to 
 be available ; and, but for Damaras, Namaquas, Bechuauas, and 
 nomadic Boers, the entire region would be left to the enjoj'ment 
 of its indigenous occupants, the elephant, the lion, and the hyaaia. 
 
 How different an aspect pi-eseuts itself on the opposite 
 coast, where Delagoa Bay is the golden mouth to one of the 
 richest fields of the grlolie. So thickly is the frontier lined 
 with roads, dotted with townships, and traversed by rivers,
 
 that one naturally pauses to consider — what sort of a country 
 this may be. Here the traveller can set his foot upon pleasant 
 grass soon after landing. He may see around him all the 
 evidence of a civilised community, which is in regular coast 
 and inland postal communication with all the rest of advanced 
 South Africa, as well as of other parts of the world. He can 
 go to an office, book his seat, as in any part of the colony, and 
 from what he sees of the map, fiu'l he can travel over good 
 roads, and rest by easy stages, from Lorenzo Marques to the 
 Gold Fields ; or, if he will, by main postal route, through Ley- 
 denburg, to the seat of a Government of Europeans, Pretoria ; 
 and if he care, thence down southward, by comfortable, 
 public, conveyance to Potchel'stroom, the great mercantile 
 centre of the Transvaal; hence on through Cronstadt, in the 
 Free State, either to the capital, Bloemfontoin. or branch off 
 into Natal ; or take the regular route through Bloemhof into 
 Griqualand West. On nearly every hand, by Delagoa Bay, he 
 has the resources of civilised life, and regular, frequent, cheap, 
 safe, postal intercoiu-se with all. If sport be his aim he can 
 easily get at it. If a lovely land, or one to explore for 
 minerals be his object, he has within a short distance of the 
 coast, wood, coal, iron and copper in the most ample of stores, 
 only awaiting capital to exhume them, and give them their 
 mercantile value. If pastoral or agricultural aims be his. 
 New Scotland and thousands of well cultivated acres will 
 prove to him that he '" may go farther and fare worse," if he will 
 not there invest his money. The magnificent cattle, of which 
 the Transvaal is South Africa's cradle and nursery, would 
 gladden the eyes of any British farmer. Coffee, sugar, fruits 
 of every description grow there in abundance ; in fact, there is 
 little indeed that will not thrive in this land — which you 
 approach through Delagoa Bay. How different is this to the 
 scene, and the prospects behind Wabvich Bay ! Shall we 
 then, sit still, and in silence allow others to close the former 
 to us by a compact with Portiigal, except upon their terms ? 
 If the colony is wise, its thoughtful and observant men will 
 take steps, at the earliest moment possible, to induce the 
 Legislature to express an opinion upon the subject — whether 
 it would be advisable, in the interest of Great Britain in 
 general, and of the British South African colonies in parti- 
 cular, to secure to the Empire such portidu of Delagoa Bay as 
 we require. On- commercial, social, and political gi-ounds we 
 believe it to be not only expedient, but necessary, that our 
 line of travel may be uninterrupted, our trade unchecked, our 
 progress advanced, and our political situation strengthened, y/- 
 
 Xi\
 
 V.^/ THE TWO BAYS.— BRITAIN'S INTEREST, 'r '• 
 
 Oue of the prominent instincts of onv nature is that of self- 
 preservation. It is one that affects all alike, " whether bond 
 or free," civilised or barbarian. In all circumstances of life it 
 exerts the first influence. Whether the cause be physical or 
 imaginary, — whether the near approach to a pi'ecipice, or the 
 doubtful character of a mercantile transaction be the object 
 of fear at the moment, the individual likely to be injured, 
 arouses his faculties to get away from it with all possible 
 speed. But our Government appear blind to this peculiarity;, 
 they have, therefore, initiated proceedings for guarding the 
 revenue of, and to prevent smuggling at a misei-able, sandy, 
 entrepot to a great, wild, ugly, waste of desert, which is 
 two-and-a-half degrees further from us, and that much nearer 
 to the equator than — Delagoa Bay. The waters of the former 
 have the fine, man-eating shark as a lively agitator ; and tons 
 of oil are gathered every year from the immense quantity of 
 other fish caught there. One or two huts and wooden houses 
 exist on a low spit, at the seaward edge of a two-mile sand 
 plain. Three or four ships, direct from Europe, slip into the 
 Bay each year, with full cargoes of firearms, ammunition, and 
 general " truck," for sale to the natives and the wandering 
 Boers, in exchange for feathers, ivory, and karosses. It is open 
 to all the world, but few are they, except from Cape Town, 
 who have any interest in that region. Once, or perhaps twice, 
 a month, small craft run up from the latter port for the 
 product of this trade — and cattle. These they drive south by 
 months of careful travel, into the Colony. This delightful, 
 important, attractive spot, on the West Coast, will be found 
 marked on the map, just below the Southern tropic, and 
 named — Walwich Bay. Galton, Chapman, Green, and 
 Andersson have described this wretched place. Once the late 
 Bishop of Cape Town contemplated a mission there for the 
 Damaras, but the idea was only a passing one. 
 
 But the law of self-preservation, of protection, has at last 
 aroused Cape Town to the expediency of interfering with our 
 friends, mostly Swedish, who have for years had the Walwich 
 Bay trade almost exclusively in their hands ; and that is not 
 agreeable to some, who think it time to get a portion of the 
 crumbs. We did so, too, in 1831. It was noticed that the 
 islands about Ichaboe yielded fat sums to a few folk every 
 year, owing to their abundance of guano. They are half 
 way between the western mouth of the Orange River and 
 Walwich Bay. This Colony, therefore, had no control over 
 them. They were capitally situated too, for running a contra- 
 band trade with coast natives. A Committee of the House of 
 Assembly, with Mr. William Porter as Chairman, accordingly 
 stated " That the Committee is of opinion that the annexation 
 of the island of Ichaboe, and several smaller and neighbour- 
 ing islands, to this Colony is necessary and expedient, and, 
 therefore, commends the House to concur in annexing them."
 
 15 
 
 "That the Committee consider that Her Majesty's dominion 
 ought to be asserted over the following cluster of islands, 
 namely, Ichaboe, Hollamsbird, Mercury, Long Island, Seal 
 Island, Penguin Island, Halifax, Possession, Albatross Rock, 
 Pomona, Plum-pudding and Roast Beef, or Sinclair's Island." 
 
 Thirteen or fourteen years later, this was fully accomplished : 
 they were gathered into the Empire. Now, on a similar 
 mission, Mr. Palgrave has been called down from Barkly to 
 revisit the scenes of his former experiences in this sandy land, 
 to prepare the way for the extension of British Colonial 
 authority over the local trade. If this place be deemed of con- 
 Bequence to the Colony's welfare, to arrest contraband, the loss 
 of revenue to the exchequer, and the prevention of mischief to 
 our merchants, how infinitely greater is the need for Delagoa 
 Bay to become a British port, instead of remaining in the 
 possession of Portugal, to play into the hands of a not over 
 scrupulous adjoining Government? Unless it become the 
 pi-operty of England, a railway from it to the Transvaal will 
 simply crush out at least one-half of the legitimate trade of 
 Port Elizabeth, and the Colony generally. The shortest 
 flight which the crow could make, from Bloemfontein to the 
 sea, would be to the mouth of the Bashee, or Umtata River. 
 But the Free State would not send its trade by that route. At 
 the same distance lies Pretoria. Given — a railway from the 
 latter place to Delagoa Bay, the Free Staters would have 
 every inducement to carry goods and produce thi-ough the 
 Transvaal, in spite of the long sea board they would have to 
 pass, as it is thoiight that the extra cost b}' the latter would 
 not equal the advantages to be derived from a nearly free 
 port, through which all the back country could be supplied. 
 
 It may be argued that, with the railway to Cradock, on one 
 side, and one from Cape Town, creeping to beyond Beaufort 
 "West, on the other, we should have nothing to fear. There 
 are grave reasons to doubt this. If the crow-line between 
 Cradock and Bloemfontein is not quite so long as from the 
 latter to the Transvaal capital, the road is void of all the great 
 advantages which favour the one between the tv/o Republican 
 seats of Government, which is level, grassy, and well watered. 
 On the Cape side obstacles will be found in the increased cost 
 for transit over so immeasurably great a length of barren 
 country, as part of it will pass through, and the difficulties of 
 the road between the terminus and the Free State. It is true 
 the East London and Queen's Town line may intervene ; but 
 •while we can run to a wholly, or nearly, free port, such as 
 Delagoa Bay is to be, it willattraci carriage via the Transvaal, 
 the Free State, and so to the Native Tribes beyond them. In 
 this way dealers may pour in such an amount of goods as 
 must most natuially, affect the general trade of the country. 
 
 That President Burgers sees this, there is no doubt. That it 
 has been one of the inducements to men who may have given 
 the loan, we quite expect, — and that it will be realised we fully 
 anticipate. We, therefore, think it is a subject of sufficient
 
 16 
 
 importance to engage the immediate attention, not of the 
 merchants of Port Elizabeth alone, but of Cape Town, and, of 
 the Government ; and, that as little time as possible be lost 
 in trying to counteract the effects of Marshal McMahon's 
 decision, secure Delagoa Bay to the Colony and to Great 
 Britain — which is of far more consequence to us all than the 
 sandspit, Walwich Bay, or the insignificant group of neigh- 
 bouring Ichaboe dung islands erer can be. 
 
 ■{U 
 
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