THOUGHTS UPON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA, AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA. A PAPER READ BY DONALD CURRTE, ESQ., C.M.G., AT THE ROYAL COLONIAL INSTITUTE, On Thursday, Ttti June, 1877. His Geace The DUKE OF MANOHESTEE, KR, (President OF the Institute), in the Chair. LONDON. 1877. THOUGHTS UPON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA, AND CENTRAL AND EASTERN AFRICA. By Donald Currie, Esq., C.M.G. A FEW days before the last meeting of the Members of the Institute, the Honorary Secretaiy, accom- panied by a member of the Council, called upon me to explain the circumstances under which you had been disappointed in the arrangements you had made for a paper upon South Africa ; and in the einergency it Avas pressed upon me that I might render a ser\ice, and further the object in view, by taking up the subject. I mention this at the outset, because it may be a matter of surprise to some of the Members present that I should appear here, havmg no claim whatever to a special knowledge of the subject, never having l^een in that country. But it seemed to me to be of great importance to the Cape Colony and Natal, to Griqualand and the Orange Free State, as Avell as to the Transvaal under present circumstances, and, indeed, to the whole of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa also, that the aflairs of that continent, and its probable future, should have the attention of the public by means of an enlightened discussion. You A 'J 4 will, thereforo, bear v/itli me, if in a soiriewhat crude manner, and in the necessarily brief limits of this paper, I deal witli the principles which affect tliat conntr}^, rather than v/ith mere details, which can be better insisted upon by those who have lived in South iVfrica, and are conversant with its special characteristics. The cpiestion is, what combination of circumstances and syste- matic arrangement of means, what development of resources and of motive power, is to ];ress South Africa forward in civilization and ])rosperity ? And in making these enquiries it will naturally occur to us to bear in mind tlie obstacles which have hitherto hiiulered a more complete success, and some of wiiich eriiin(;t be altogether removed. I need not go back to the early history of iho Cni e ('olony and Natal. You all know how the Dutch settlers, after the Portuguese discov- eries, established themselves in the Cape Colony, rnid sub^equent^y in the interior and in Natal, and liow, hy conquest and settlement, English influences predominated. The history of the estr.blishment of the Orange Free State, and of the Transvnal Republic, is sufficiently recent to be well known to all interested in that part of the YN'orld. I take as my starting point 1871, when res- ponsible Government was given to the Cape Colon}\ From that date the new history of South Africa begins, with the political changes in the old Colony, and the outcoiuc of mineral wealth in the Dianiojid Fields, followed by the dispute between the Imperial Government and the Orange Free State. The thoughts which occur to me in relation to these subjects I propose very brieliy to jilace before you ; they may be taken as offering the texts for argument and discusssion, and will, 1 am sure, have considerate criticism. Her Mnjesty the Queen, in 1871, upon iha recommendation of the late Government, gave to the Cape Colony the power to control its own affairs. }^y a small majority of the Cape Legislature this pi-ivilege was acce])tcd ; but in the minds of many throughout the Colony there prevailed the doubt whether the Capo was sufficiently advanced to undertake tlie duties of responsible Government. In the Parliaments immediately preceding the date of this establishment of virtual independence, men then well known, but now still more eminent, assisted to influence or direct the affairs of the Cape Colony. The Honorable J. C. Molteno, Prime ^iinister of the Cape, was then an inde- pendent advocate for its liberties ; while the distmguished chief of the Orange Free State, his lienor President Brand, held his part in the debates of an Assembly of which his father was the Speaker. It is quite possible that those who then objected to the capacity of the Cape Colony to manage its own affairs mi^-ht have been entitled to armte that tD ^ '^: ^ o 6 fi postponement for a certain period would have been advisable; but now in this month of June, 1877, after the troubles and disputes connected with Con- federation, and the Diamond Fields, and the Transvaal, I put it to }'ou whether it is not good for South Afi-ica that the Queen at that time gave the Cape Colony- responsible Government ? I venture to think that the prospects of to-day for the whole of South Africa would not have been so bright if the Imperial sanction had not been accorded to the natural instinct of Englishmen for self-government ; and it will be admitted that the circumstances of the last five years have been favorable to a successful development of the principle of self government. The South African communities, in the swift strides which they have made Avithin the last few years, owe much of their intellectual and material progress to the iufluences of favorable circumstances. The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West gave an impulse to the prosperity of South Africa. Hidden treasures of wealth were brought to light; forhnies were made ; enterprise was stimulated ; imj^orts and exports were encouraged ; immi- gr.'Uits were drawn to the country ; land rose in value ; and South Africa got a name. But then troubles arose. The acceptance of the cession of the Diamond Fields in the name of Her Majesty's Government opened up the question of the right to possess them. The Orange Free State claimed, with earnest indigna- tlon, that the land was theirs, and they stated they were prepared to prove their title to it. Controvers}^ stimulated enquiry, and men's minds were naturally directed to the consideration of the question of what was right, and ought to be done. To anyone acquainted with the politics of the Cape Colony, and the strong feeling which prevailed in the Orange Free State from 1871 until this question was settled, it is unnecessary to enter into details. There was everywhere amongst the men of Dutch descent, and amongst some Englishmen too, both in the Republics and in the Cape Colony, the belief that England was open to the imputation of having sought to possess what was not clearly proved to be within tlie just right of this country. All this, however, is now changed ; for the Orange Free State, upon the invitation of the noble Lord who directs the policy of the Colonial Office, deputed President Brand to visit England, and in due time the dispute was settled, with a generous and liberal regard for the rights of the Orange Free State. That State is satisfied; the Diamond Fields question is at rest. But the influence of the diamonds as a source of wealth, and of the Diamond Field question first as a subject of controversy, and after- wards as resulting in an honorable settlement, must be taken into account as of great importance in estimating all that affects the present and the future of South Africa. 8 In the Republic of the Transvaal, President Burgers — whose name I must always mention with respect, as one with whom I had the most intimate relations when he hved with me in England — had, up to the time of leaving his country to visit Europe, exerted in the short time which had elapsed after his election, the influence of an educated mind. But while giving Mr. Burgers credit for the utmost readiness to further a beneficent policy, such as that of the English Government towards South Africa, I must admit that on bis return to the Transvaal after the successful settle- ment, as he thought, of the Loan in Holland, he evinced a desire to inaugurate efforts for Transvaal development which his country had not the means to accomplish. A different policy prevailed in Natal. Tliere the limited population of the subjects of the Queen, Avarm in the enthusiasm which they have as such, and courageous at the same time in the presence of an overwhelming force of savage tribes, thought less of aggrandizement and more of progress and development. And so it came to pass that her Majesty's Government settled with Natal the basis of a Railway system, which will materially contribute to the prosperity of that Colony. What of Griqualand West, placed all along in a position of apparent antagonism with the Orange Free State ; treated with some indifference by the Cape Colony ; and burdened with a heavy taxation in maintaining an administration of its own ? What could Griqualand West do although it possessed a mine of diamonds ? And what is to be the future of Griqualand West ? Through the action of the Home Government and the enlightened accord of the Cape Parliament, that part of South Africa will now have its fortunes attached to the Cape Colony. If it had not been for these vexed questions the proposed confederation policy might have had a ^varmer welcome in South Africa, and have met with less oppo- sition ; yet even now the Orange Free State is under- stood to have objections to the union of the states of South Africa. President Brand did not feel, it within the scope of his powers to discuss the question at the Conference with respect to native law and other matters which was held in London last vear, althouoh he concurred in the desirability of a common system of police, the regulation of the sale of arms and of spirituous liquors, as well as the development of indus- trial education ; but time works wonders, and now that the Transvaal has been annexed, it is very possible that the people of the Free State will gradually accustom themselves to the idea of a closer union with the English Colonies. So long ago as the 22nd December, 1858, the Orange Free State passed this resolution : — *' This Kaad is convinced that a union " or alliance with the Cape Colony, whether on *Mhe basis of federation or otherwise, is desirable, 10 " and therefore resolves to request his Honor the " President to correspond with his Excellency the '-'' Governor upon that subject for the " purpose of planning the approximate terms of *' union." In 1871 the Cape appointed a Commission on Federation, and in their Eeport the following words occur : — '* Some, whose opinions are entitled to great " respect, are of opinion that until the Free State, " the Transvaal Republic^ and Natal shew a disposi- *' tion to federate with the Cape, and until West '' Griqualand and the country between the Kei and *' the Bashae, or between the Kei and Natal, shall " have been annexed to the Colony, no change of the ''- kind proposed will be either necessary or expedient. '' . . . . The time may come when the advantage "of a union among South African communities for " the creation of a strong Government, powerful to " protect, and, to a certain extent, to control its "several members, will become apparent to all" — while, in 1875, Natal and Griqualand West passed resolutions that it was desirable to form a federative union. Now that the Transvaal is joined to the Eno-lish possessions, there remains outside the Orange Free State only, and her interests and sympathies will bring her in; but time must be given for this, and for the development of kindlier feelings than those which prevailed during the Diamond Fields dispute. 11 Here, then, in South Africa are several commu- nities, all divided ; all with special peculiarities ; the Cape Colony itself actually, as is said by some persons, wishing to be divided into an Eastern and Western Colony ; but whether one Colony or two Colonies, making up with the other parts of South Africa an assemblage of peoples who are kept separate now, not by conflicting interests, but by geographical and accidental conditions, by an un- willingness to face sudden political changes, and by misapprehension. What systematic arrangement of means, ^vhat development of resources, is to press -them aJl forward in union, civilization, and prosperity? Is each Colony, or State, to go alone ? What will they gain by that ? Or are they to unite into one great community for the general good of Africa, spreading fruitfuhiess, wealth, and happiness in their onward progress ? And here, I may ask, what is there more fitting than the admirable words used by the noble Lord, who more than all others has sought to promote Colonial interests. In his speech in the House of Lords on the occasion of his introducing the Government Bill for the Confederation of the States of South Africa, Lord Carnarvon said : — '' But of all the changes " which this measure may produce, I anticipate, '• with the advent of political and administrative '' union, none more hopefully than a real union in '' sentiment of the Dutch and EngHsh race, The 12 '' old quarrel to which 1 have alkulecl is dying out, '^ is fast becoming a thing of the past : real " friendliness exists luider the crust of political '^ discord all must gain in general '^ ])olitical strength, as in material prosperity, by '' combination, and I will only add that my highest " object has been to restore the union of sentiment '' betAveen the two peoples." A short time ago it was unpopular to say a word in favoiu- of Confederation ; it might be better to call it union, or community of interests ; but whatever the name, the thing itself is now more acceptable. I daresay, if Mr. Fronde had staled that Lord Car- narvon only wisl^ted South Africa to be united and prosperous, and that representatives should meet and discuss its future, people there v/ould have said this was reasonable and good. But it was called Confedera- tion, the proposed meeting was termed a Conference, and when catch words are got hold of, misconceptions are apt to follow. I venture to say that the position of South Africa at the present moment warrants in the minds of all, even of those who may not entirely aoree with the Colonial policy referred to, a cordial appro \'al of the statesmanlike prescience which can estimate circumstances, and foresee and direct to a suitable and satisfactory result. Six months ago the Transvaal was at war with Secocoeni, but now this chief is quiet; Cetchwayo, the Zulu King, has withdrawn his warriors from the IS borders of the territory ; and the British flag flies over Pretoria. The people of the Transvaal did not yield unAvIllhigl}^ to a manifest destiny when they accepted with generous welcome tlie control of a Government which now-a-daj^s in South Africa is so unlike the inconsiderate British rule of former times. Li that country, as in the Free State, the recollection of a policy which could establish the freedom of the slave, while disregarding the just claims of the masters, and which, as in the case of the Basuto war, could step in just at the m.oment of the Boers' victory to secure our own supremacy after we had parted with the Orange Free State as n possession, could have had no friendh^ issue,'if it liad not been for the wide-spread conviction that Engl;md is now desirous to act justly and earnestly for the good of South Africa. Who that knows the history of Soul h Africa can avoid regret and shame in the recollection that when the slaves were set free the colonists were com • pelled to discount their treasury bills, received as com- pensation, at a ruinous loss, to colonial speculators, who were also able to purchase the lauds of the discontented proprietors to great advantage, while tlie old owners passed over the Yaal and Orange River to be free fi'om foreign control ? We nuist all rejoice that the Transvaal is now under British influence. That State is placed as a Avedge in the Southern part of Central Africa. A\'it]i Natal it controls the whole outlet to the nortli, 14 aloiigbklG of the Portuguese possessions oti the coast line, and the future of the Transvaal will be closely identified with the future of Central Africa. Amongst the influences which are to affect the future of South Africa, I think the first to be mentioned is Education. Already in the Cape Colony, and in the Free State and Natal, Colleges and Educational Institutions afford advantages to the risins: 2:eneration, Institutions which I am told have in them the elements of future greatness, although more modest in administration than those which a\c possess at home. The facilities for travel ])lace us here in contact from day to day with gentlemen from that distant country, who never before had seen England, or enjoyed its privileges ; and I thhik it must be iienerallv admitted that for intcllio;ence and readiness of resource, the visitors from South Africa may bear comparison with any of us. l^erhaps the climate has much to do with the quick per- ception and energy which are observed in the visitor from Africa, and under favourable circumstances the benefits of education will develope these and other qualities into higher mtelJectual power. In this 1 see for South Africa the source of great advancement, for it the climate of a country deadens or over-stimulates, lu)^^' can we expect progressive and increasing prosperity ? The white inhabitants of South Africa require their acutest faculties in dealino^ with the natives. Thev have not merely to place their colour in opposition to 1^ tiie native people, they have to match inkilcct against craft ; but if the South African is destined to have the overwhehning superiority Avhich follo^vs right deaUng, and high moral influences, am I not right in pLacing the highest education of the intellect of South Africa as a most potent influence for good in that land? And then we must have Enterprise : and in the word enterprise I include both mental and material enterprise, under the influence of a fitting education, that is to say, all that can advance sound christian principles. It is a singular fact that while the hunter in search of sport may have penetrated far into the regions of Africa, or the trader in the pursuit of gain has risked his life in its wilds, both have found far ahead of them, at the utmost limits, the missionary Avith the Gospel of Peace. And [dthough this is a topic which sometimes provokes a smile, for 1 cannot but admit that there may occa- sionally have been some unfitness in the agency employed, yet it is not to be denied that by a Moflatt, a Livingstone, and a Stewart in Africa, or a Henry Marty n or Bishop Heber in India, the conviction has been established that justice, enlightenment, and high principle, govern the conduct of our countrymen. But if it be conceded that these principles must influence and prevail, I may take it for granted that enterprise, missionary or com- mercial, will have the spring of enlightened eaL'uest- 16 ness, and that the trader, or miner, or agriculturalist , like the missionary himself, will be impelled by something more than a mere love of gain. Here I may remind you of the missionary and commercial zeal illustrated by the establish- ment of the Scottish and English Missions, as an advanced inland post of British influence amongst the natives on Lake Nyassa. The object there is to form a power for good, evangelical and industrial, designed lo be a nucleus of advancing christian life and civilization to the Nyassa and surrounding region. It is a bold step: it is the most advanced effort in that quarter, and it has the character of nationality, for it places the English name on that inland sea as a point to which British influence must reach. The impression will arise in the minds of those who desire to honor the memory of Dr. Livingstone, that this is a fitting tribute to his memory, and we may remember the words of that distinguished traveller, who often spoke of that country as most healthy and suitable for such a settlement, '' all will go right some " day, although I may not live to participate in the '' joy, or even see the commencement of better times." The Telegraph will be one of the most im- portant agents in giving an impetus to enterprise, both moral and material. Hence the satisfaction with which we must regard the energetic efforts of the Cape Government and the Governments of Natal 17 and the Orange Free State, in the estabhshment of a more complete system of land telegraph imes. And if this intercommnnleation in that country is advantageous, and to be encouraged, vvdiat arguments do I require to enforce what has already been urged by me before the Royal United Service Institution, that is to say, the duty of the Government of this country, botli on Imperial nnd Colonial grounds, to lay, without loss of time, a Telegraphic Cable betv/een England and the Cape Colony; for the great benelits to he derived from communication by telegraph in Africa will lose half their value, unless the Colony is linked with the mother country by an equally rapid means of intercou.rse ? It may be taken as a matter of course that proper Roads in the Colonies must be made. Tliis is the question for the East of Africa, and is now occupjdng the attention of those who are interested in the means of securins: intercourse with the o;rent interior lakes. To the farmer, the wool grower, tiie trader, to all, indeed, who live hundreds of miles to the jjorth of the Cape and Natal, it is a matter of pressing necessity that tliere should be established the least diihcult means of reachins' the sea coast. Following- the formation of suitable roads there is, naturally, the greater development of land carriage by the establish- ment of Railways. Nothing demonstrates more clearly the prosperity of the Cape, and its enterprise too, than the course which has been adopted by the 5 18 Cape Govcriiiuent and Parliament in tlieir decision to expend five millions sterling in the con- strnction of railways. Another great want of Sonth Africa is snitable Seaports and Harbours; for, excepting Cape Toavii, there is no harbour where a vessel can lie in shelter, and have the facilities which are required for loading and discharging. Mossel Bay, Port Elizabeth (Algo;i Bay), Port Alfred, and East London, are all open roadsteads ; and at Durban, in Natal, it is difficult to be certain of more than ten feet of water on the bar. Sir John Coode, the eminent civil engineer, has lately visited tliat country on the invitation of the Cape Governiuent, and has surveyed all the ports. It will be extremely interesting to hear what opinions he has formed as to the best means to be adopted for securing greater facilities to ship]:>ing at the seaports which I have named. Then there are the elements of material prosperity. The Gold Mine has played a remark- able part in the history of the Avorld. It seems as if Providence employed the attraction of gold to draw men to people distant and neglected portions of the globe. Hence the prosperity of California, the advance of Australia, und the probable advance of South Africa. But besides Gold, a bountiful Nature has set throughout South Africa large mineral wealth — cobalt, iron, silver, copper, manganese, tin, lend, coal, not to speak of diamonds. ID And iis regards the soil and climate,* fruit and grain of every description grow and iiourish, wheat as fine as that of California, the produce of tlie tropics alongside of the fruits and productions with which we are familiar in this countr}'. and -with an abundance unknown to us. The fruitfulness of tliat country, remarked ])y all travellers, requires oidy the presence and energy of enterprising Avhite men to bring out its hidden illimitable resources. Irrigation is one means which must have greater attention in that country. One may wonder that the bountiful showers which fall in Southern Africa are not collected and stored for the irrio-ation of the soil, and the use of the "flocks juid herds of the inhabitants. I. assume that all tliis will follow a larger in] migration, and the increase of enterprise and wealth. linmii»Tation is one of the greatest wants of South Africa; it must be encouraged by the Governments of that country, following the example of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. One good result to be expected from a union of the communities of South Africa will be the harmonious arrange- ment of a general system of immigration. * Note. — The climate of South Africa is very favourable to jocrsons of delicate constitution. There has recently been a marked increase in the number of visitors to South Africa in search of health, as well as for pleasure ; and steps should be taken without delay to provide suitable Hotel accommodation in the interior, and to improve the fauilitiea for travel. — D,t\ B 2 20 The Cape Colony has most worthily niaile efforts to supply tins want for itself. I renierii- ber President Burgers said to me there v/as no use in the Transvaal spending money for the introduction of immigrants, so long as the Cape Government thought tit to import them at the expense of the Colony, for that they fuuiid their vv^ay into the Transvaal. To this I replied that 'in my opinion, this flict, if a fact, should not iniiuence the Cape Government to alter their plans, j-eeing that ev-en if the people v/ent into the Transvaal they would help to develope its resources, and to bring revenue to the Cape Colony itself. One of the most irnport:uit objects of tlie South African authorities must be arrangements for immigration, and to this end much has been done already. Tr.e public works of tlie Colony have been supplied v/ilh workmen by the Cape Emigration Commissioners in this country, Messrs. Glanville and ]]urnet, whose able and untiring exertions are devoted to obtaining the very best class of men for the Colony. I knov/ that they are also most zealous and successful in searching for and facilitating the trans- port of those free emigrants who proceed to, or are enoao^ed for, South Africa. But I venture to uro;e, as I have done officially in a communication to the Cape, the vast advantage which will accrue to the Colony if the Government can agree upon a thorough s}'stem, such as has prevailed in Australia and New Zealand, 21 for the introduction of agriculturali^^fts, masoiis, joiners, carpenters, suiitlis, shepherds, and others ; nnen with a littJe money, or Avith whiit is as good, snitiible knowledge and liandiness in their trades. It is what Nevv' Zealand has accomplished successfully, and even trie Hawaian Go^'ernment aims at alike resulc. And tliis idea has had a start", for last vv^eek the Cape Commissioners despatched in the steamer "Courland" 71) emigrants from Scotland, who have received the promise of land in the Transkei ui)on an agreement for its possession by them, they paying one shilling per acre per month for 10 years, at the end of v/hich time tlie valuable land so granted to them is to be their own ]:)roperty. The extension of this plan will be of the utmost possible bene lit to the Cape Colony; but it has a limit, I fear, in this difficulty — that in South Africa a large portion of the fertile lands has been allowed to fall into the hands of speculators or others out of the control of the Governments, so that there is not the same ix>wer to G^ive oTaiits of land as in xlustralia i G CD and in New Zealand. Nevertheless, it is quite plain that due encouragement should be given in this direction by the Colonial Governments; and no greater benefit can accrue for the future development of South Africa than from a well organized practical system of free or assisted immigration. The geographical position of the Cupe Colony, as commandim?* the AVestern ronte to India and Australia, claims from the Imperial Governihent greater atten- 22 ticn thnn it liPcS received from a military and naval point of view: for with all the loyalty and courage of the people of South Africa, Avhat humiliation would it l)rin;!; if, through the neglect of the Home author- ities, tiie harbours and coast were to suffer from the attacks of an enemy ! This is not the place in which to enlari{e upon the importance of Simon's Bay as a navnl st:ition, and the urgent necessity for the establishment of a Graving Dock there for the repair of the ve.-sels of the British fleet; it will snthce if I simply indicate in this paper the readiness which I feel assured [)re vails throughout the English posses- sions in that quarter to join in any system of patriotic action with tlic* jnotlier coiuitry for colonial defence. One very interesting indication of the impulses of the people of South Africa in this direction may be found in the intention of some of the volunteers of the Caj)e Colony to visit this country, to compete Avith their brethren from Canada and Australia for the prizes offered at Wimbledon. The Native Question is a great difficulty. And here I would venture to pay a tribute to the en- lightened ])olicy of the Cape Government towards the coloured races. The gradual extermination of the native p^opulation, as in America and in Australia, is not to be expected in South Africa. The Kafirs are there; they are capable of improvement; and it is our duty to treat them fairly, for they may be trained in time into useful members of the creat 28 South African community. The great destiny for South Africa I hold to be the overcoming of ignorance and the conquest of material oppositions throughout. In this I include an object dear to Englishmen, the gradual abolition of slavery, and in its place the establishment of commercial and agricultm^al advantages. Africa has been shut up for many centuries. It is to be opened up and receive within its borders, torn by war and oppressed ])y cruelty, the blessings of our civilization. This is not to be gained by wishing, or theorising, or by the presence of British Fleets on the Eastern or Western Coasts. Practical persistent common- sense efforts must be employed, in order that the whole country may be opened up. The merchants and traders will take their course northwards, tlie Boers in advance; trading stations will be estabUshed; farms opened out; mineral resources will be developed. Along the coast, the ports now under Portuguese autliority will be occupied by agencies of the merchants of the southern ports; and due West into the interior, routes from the coast ports will open up communica- tions with the advancing communities inland. At present the Eastern Coast Ports do not facilitate intercourse with the interior, for the Portuguese are un- able to exercise control beyond their forts or stations nenr the coast. It is only necessary to refer to the reports of the British Consular Agents to discover the lament- 24 iible state of matters on the EaBtern Coast of Africa.^ It lui8 been observed with striking comments n|)on the prospects of the fntnre of that part of the world by the Consular Agents, that produce for export, such as Coffee, which grows in perfection in many ptU'ts of Africa, but ^vhich cannot pay for its carriage via the Nile, might be enormously developed if |)rope]' routes were made to the sea coast. And the Consul at Zanzibar, in 1873, made this remark : " If the diiricult problem of the civilization of the " wild tribes of inner Africa be surmountable, it will " be by opening up f^icilities for conmierce ^' that it will be solved; for in the absence of " sucli iuducements, the, to them, distasteful work '^ of cultivation will never progress ]:)cyond the ^' servile labours of their women, ^vhich for ages have '• sutiiced to supply their Avants." The Government of this country, by the estiib- lishment of a line of steamers between the Cape and Ziuizi].)ar, and between Zanzibar and Aden, intended to stimulate commercial intercourse, and thereby assist in the abolition of the Slave Trade. It is quite true that the Sultan of Zanzibar has fallen in with the wishes of the Government by concluding a treaty, but it has only had the effect of driving the * XoTE. — The benevolent and enlightened efforts of His Majesty the King of the Belgians to give a new impulse to African exploration, with a view to the arnelioiation of the condition of the native races and the general development of the country, are now to have a practical result in the direction indicated. The Eoyal Geographical Hociety have also resolved to take steps for opening out Routes into Central Africa, from the Eastern and South Eastern Coast. — D,C. 2$ slave trade (o pass by land northwards, with additional saflerino's to the captives. Indeed, in the coast ports there is the same need for supervision and vigilance as before. I am satisfied that the proper course lur the Government to take is to encourage steamsh![)S tradhig along the coast to make such places as Mozambique and the mouths of the Zambesi ports of destination, or of longer call for the steamers than at present, in order that a permanent influence may be exerted upon the people. But beyond this, I may sjiy that it is not reasonable to expect that there can he any diminution in the traffic in slaves, or any advancement in the desire for freedom to them, so long as we fail to recognise the fact* that tlie slave trade is encom-agcd b}' many Indian Banians as v/ell as by Arab traders. It is n.ot through the connection with India and the l-ersian Gulf that the slave trade is to be controlled, seeing tliiit there is a population in those parts providing a market for the traffic, and an asylum for such as have made their fortunes by the trade. In my judgment South Africa, ^vith its British people and enterprise, is the country which is to have the honor of abolishing slavery, by tlie encoura.gement of industry. Leo:itimate trade on the East Coast has shown a marked increase since the establishment of steam navigation. In the report of Captain Prideaux, Her Majesty's Consul at Zanzibar, Vvdth respect to trade and commerce for the years 1873-4, immediately after mail steamers had been placed upon the Ime between Aden, Zanzibar, and the Cape, there appears a striking comparison between the com\se of trade before and after the establishment of a steam service and tlie new regulations of the Sultan of Zanzibar for the suppression of the slave trade on the coast. Partly owing to the difficulty of finding out from those who farm the Customs in the Zanzibar territory, and partly from the objection of the limited number of merchants who have mercantile houses at the sea board, and who are naturally jealous of rivalry, it has always been difficult to obtain the exact data which indicate the progress of commerce in imports and exports. The Slave Trade, however, evi- dently still continues. The importation of arms, beads, and wire, which shewed a marked decrease in 1872-3, somewhat recovered its position in 1873-4, and for this reason : — the negociations for the treaty of 1873 li'ave erround for uneasiness to the merchants wlio supply the slave dealers, and wliile negociations were in progress, a virtual stop was put to the trade. In 1873-4 the trade was re- newed, and the Consul properly mentions this as '' a melancholy proof of the vitality of the land trafric " to which the public attention is now directed." The efforts which England has made for the sup[)ression of the slave trade on the East Coast of South Africa and in the Mozambique Channel, and 27 the exertions of our Consuls and Naval Officers merit the hio'hest praise. The naval ofiiccr.-i hcive very little assistance, official reports state, from any other power. Consul Elton, in his last report, has stated that tb.e Portuguese made no exertions at sea to hinder iho traffic, except, indeed, one or two short trips of a little steamer, which for the rest of the 3^ear sheltered itself ill Mozambio^ue. In May 1875, Kear-Admiral Cummino; wrote to the Secretary of the Admiralty as follows : — " That slavery exists, and to a great " extent, in Mozambique is unquestioned ; but before *' the navy can put a sto]) to this tliey must have '* greater powers. The navy know full well that '' tlieir present work is all in vain." And here I may mention one hindrance to the development or' traffic along the coast, nameh^, that the coasting trade could only be carried on under the Portuguese tiag, except in the case of mail steamers. The development of the trade of the coast ports situated between Zanzibar and Natal will hereafter l^e l)est secured through river carriage by the natural channeis, such as the Zambesi. The improved caravan roads which have been suggested will naturally offer the points of junction for the traders and immigrants from the Cape Colony on their civilising march to the north; but as the whole line of coast between Delagoa Bay and Zanzibar is in the hands of the Portu- guese Governuient, the question may be asked what will Portuo-al do to assist us ? The -honor of discovery, 28 and the right oC conquest iiud possession, gave to the Portii2:iiese this length oi sea board, a niirrov/ strip of land, within whose limits their anthoi'ity is not always respected or recognised, and beyond whose borders very little trattic from the east enters and spreads itself. The English Consul at Mozam- roique. in his report for 1875, referring to this large extent of sea coast possessions, wliich he estimates at 1200 miles in extent, says that " the furthest points "in the interior occnoied bv the Portuo'uese are on " the Zambesi river, where a few men were recently " stationed as high as Znmba, but are now withdrawn '^ to Tete." lie states distinctly, that " there are no " posts held in the interior by the Portuguese on the '^ East Coast of Africa elsewdiere than in their district " of Zambezia," The whole of this territory is capable of great development, but how can this be furthered by Portuguese influence, if, according to Consul Elton's report, " the finances of Mozambique are in '^ a deplorable state, and naturally affect trade? '' I\Ioney has been borrowed from the French mer- '* cliunts to meet the militaiy pay, and every penny '' is sent to the capital to keep the machinery of the '• Local Government from coming to a sudden stand- " still." Under such circumstances it may become a matter for serious consideration whether any power is justified in impeding com.merce and civilization by the exercise of a merelv nominal sovereitnitv. Ihc llituro [)rospects of South Eastern Africa 29 depend in a large measnre upon the use which the Government of Portugal may make of the port of Lorenzo Marques, or Delagoa Lay. Situated in close proximity to the Transvaal and the Zulu Kingdom, it oiTers to these districts, as well as to the whole of the Portuguese possessions to the norths and to the interior up to the Zambezi, a source of supply and means of export quite unique. There is an unlimited depth of water for shipping ; the harbour is safe, and the trade with Mozambique and tlie East African Coast ports couJd be largely increased. There is to be a railway ])etween the Bay and the borders of the Transvaal. The question arises then, will Portugal press forvv-ard its development, not merely establishing there a military station, but making it a centre of influence and of commercial life ? I)elao;oa Bay has offered hitherto most dangerous facilities to the Kafirs for the purchase of gunpowder, cheap guns, and spirits. It is not an uncommon thing for hundreds of Zulus to be seen at and near Delagoa Bay, waiting for a delivery of guns, and under a treaty made with President Burgers this facility was to be increased by a reduction of the duty. This imphes a £>i'ave danoer, ao-o-ravated by the utter absence of control, as Consul Elton states, by the Portuguese beyond their own port. The Government of Portugal, as may be seen from their comumnication.s Vvdth our Government, are now deeply interested in carrying out every 30 practicMble uieusiire in their power for t-lie de- velopment and prosperity of the te'rritories under their control on the EaKst Coast of Africa. I am quite aware that our Blue Books show great laxity on the part of the ofhcials of Portugal in Africa. It is to be regretted that that Government has not hitherto been able to establish such Agencies by liberal payment and with suitable assistance as are required ; but it is to be hoped that the enlightened purpose of the Government of Lisbon to encourage trade, and to abolish the slave traffic in harmony with England, will impress upon them the necessity for a liberal and extended expenditure and supervision. The Government is not alto- gether to blame : we must look to the limited means which circumstances have allowed them to employ in the prosecution of a task so onerous and responsible as the supervision and control of a sea coast of 1,200 miles in extent. In Natal the sale of guns is placed under restrictions for tlie very purpose of preventing any supply of arms to the native tribes; bnt Consul P]lton, the British representative at Mozambique, makes this remark in his report : — '' All our precautions and legislations are nullified " by the existence of an armoury on our flank," and he adds, " this opens a question of the gravest '^ consequences, and demands serious consideration.'' Another danger and injury to the people and to 31 the future of the country exists in the unregulated sale of spirits to such tribes as the Amatongas, a system which it has been officially reported '' is fast demoralising the country." I liave not invented these refiections, but have drawn the information mentioned from official ^^ources. For my own part, I express the conviction that the enlightened humanity of the Portuguese Government ^vi\\ dictate to the authorities of Lorencjo Marques such regulations as will secure freedom from a danger threatening to them and to England, and to tiui maintenance of amicable relations between their Governments. For it should be remembered that not a century ago Kafirs surrounded the. town of Lorenzo Marques, dismantled the fortress, seized the Governor, Eibeiro, and murdered him bar- barously. The present time offers a fine oppor- tunity for the extension of a plan of Confederation to Lorenzo Marques itself, and, if the Portuguese would have it, as far north as, or further than, Mozambique. Joint action between Portugal and England in the native question, the supply of arms, the sale of spirits, the suppression of the slave trade, and all that is included in progress and civilization, would offer not merely a grand spectacle of har- monious action for the races placed within our influence, but would secure such an increase of wealth as would amply repay all the trouble and expense incurred; mid the transfer to the British Cro\\n 32 of the Transvaal territory affords an opportunity for the immediate consideration of these important questions. Upon this theory of development inland from the East, through Portuguese territory, as compared with influences from the South, through the energy of men of the Englisli race, I will give the following v/ords from one of our Government reports : — " On '• the Zambezi v/iiter communication exists^ but " nowiiere else do the Portuguese attenipt, as a rule, " to penetrate the interior of Africa, neither do they '^ avail themselves of the Augoxa, xMoma, Kisungo, '* Busi, Snbia, Limpopo, King Georges', or the Maputa '' rivers, all means of communication, for the extension '• of trade and the civilization of the country; but, on '' the contrary, li.ey do their very best to keep those " rivers hermetically closed to lawful trade, in order '* to avoid prejudice to the Custom Plouses they have "established at a few scattered points, held upon the " seaboard of the coast, over which they claim an " entire sovereignty, but in reality exercise no iuris- '' diction, save over the fortified ' comptoirs ' and on " the Zambezi ; ns a result, in the district of " Mozambique the slave trade is carried on from " most of the rivers fronting Madagascar, because " the returns are enormous, and one cargo run '' out of three or four gives a large profit, for the " v>'ould-be legal trader, who cannot afford to lose " one venture out of twenty, is driven b}^ the circum- 33 '' locution and operation of Customs' regulations he " fails to understand into the slave trade in the hope " of rapid gains, knowing that if denounced at '' Mozambique as doing ' a contraband lawful trade/ " an opportiniity Avill be watched for to seize and " confiscate his dhow." This future of Southern and Eastern Central Africa, to extend to the distant AYest, os well as to the IS^orth, is to be developed on principles which have an interest to us all in Enghind itself, as concerned in the wliolc Colonial Empire. For I may remind you of the words the noble Earl the, Secretary of State for the Colonies cuiploycd lately in the House of Lords. They have in them a. prophecy as well as. a convic- tion, quite in accord v/ith the feehngs of the members of this Institute, indicating a future, distant it may be, but still a future nearer than men cu,re to believe. Lord Carnarvon said:—" Nor can I '' see any reason why in the nature of things^ and '' apart from those fugitive causes which do not belong " to the fixed and unchanging principles of political " life, the dependencies of the British Crown should " any more than any other States be incapable of " Confederation. It is quite possible that Confeder- " ation is only one stage in the political journey of " the Empire, and that it may even lead in the '' course of time to a still closer union. But, be this " as it may, the reason wliy I now urge this measure '' for the adoption of Parliament, is that such a c 34 ^' principle of Confederation must add strength to '' these colonies, give larger objects, a higher policy, a '' wider political life, and, as I enrnestly hope, abetter " security for the right treatment of the native races. " And if so, all this means greater prosperity and '^ peace — a closer cosolidation of imperial interests. " The English Empire is, no doubt, vast, various, and *' disconnected ; and yet when all allowance and ^' deduction have been made, it is, I am prepared to " maintain, one of the most wonderful pieces of human *' administration the world has ever seen, both in *' what it does and what it does not do. Other " countries have founded Colonial Empires. France, ^* Spain, and Portugal have left their mark on the *' colonial history of the world, and yet as colonising *' powers they have virtually ceased to exist; and, " among other reasons, for this, that they were '' founded upon a close principle of restriction. We " have adopted a different system ; we have discarded *' restrictions ; we have looked to freedom of Govern- " ment as our ultimate object, and we have been ^' rewarded by an almost immeasin^able freedom of '' growtli." I shall trespass no longer upon the time which remains for discussion ; others better acquainted with the details will offer you more light upon the matters to which I have referred. It is enough for me that I have been allowed to draw attention to some considerations which apply to the present 35 and future condition of South Africa, a country in which I take a deep interest, and whose welfare and prosperity have been the object of continued concern to the members of the Royal Colonial Institute. 36 THE FOLLOWIJ^G IS A REPORT OF THE DISCUSSION WHICH APPEARED IN *' THE COLONIES AND INDIA " OF 23rd JUNE, 1877. Mr. Froude said he liad attended there that evenmg not expect- hig to be called upon to say anything, but to listen to Mr. Donald Curric. It was difficult to limit what could be said to the customary ten minutes ; and as to Avhat he might wish to say, as it was on South Africa he felt a little shy in spealdng on the subject. As he was present, it was but natural that they would expect him to say something about his own short connection with that country ; but there were difficulties to be encountered in going into the matter on account of the many sensitive points involved on which it was undesirable to touch. PerhaiDS, however, they would allow him the opportunity of stating what passed between himself and Mr. Molteno when Mr. Molteno was in England last year. On his (Mr. Fronde's) first visit to the Cape, Mr. Molteno was exceedingly kind to him — indeed, much jnore than kind — and afforded him every opportunity of seeing and hearing everything to be seen and heard, besides giving him the benefit of his (Mr. Molteno's) large knowledge of the Colony. He (Mr. Froude) certainly thought he had imderstood Mr. Molteno. But there had been points left imperfectly explained. When Mr. Froude v^^ent out again to the Cape there was a certain degree of misunderstanding which led to disagreements. When, however, Mr. Molteno was in England last year, he and Mr. Froude came to a thorough understanding that there had been mutual mistakes ; that neither had intended in the slightest degree to do anything of which either had a right to complain ; and therefore they agreed not to go into any details. There he would now wish to leave the matter, with the words which Mr, Molteno used in parting with him, " All's well that ends well." He (Mr. Froude) was sure they must all thank Mr. Donald Currie for the careful and elaborate analysis he had given of the present state of South Africa. There was hardly a point he had left untouched, and it all showed a marvellous insight into the different races, the different interests, the large resources in all directions which admitted of being opened out. The different objects on which Mr. Currie had touched were so many that he could not attempt to follow him through. He would confine himself to one, on which Mr. Currie had entered with least detail ; he meant the native question. It derived importance from the recent great acquisition of the Transvaal territory. The white races in South Africa, he conceived, might have their little differ- ences and difficulties in arriving at eonfederatiou or any other 37 arrangement of their affairs which they might like to make ; but tlie white races in South Africa could be trusted to take care of themselves ; and there might be a little pushing and shouldering before parties fell into their natural places, but this was a matter of slight and secondary consideration. We had had rather to think of that enormous mass of people who were now subordinated to us, and for whom, by taking over that country, we had now made om*selves responsible — he alluded to the Zulu and other native tribes in the Cape Colony, and in Natal, and in the Transvaal. He believed he was right in saying that, if all the natives were put together, it would be found that there were 400,000 in Natal, and about 800,000 more in the Cape Colony and its dependencies. There were nearly 200,000 in Basuto Land. In Kaffraria and in the Colony 500,000 or 600,000. In the Transvaal, by a stroke of Sir Theophilus Shepstone's pen, there had just been added about a million more; and all round the Transvaal there were vast powerful native tribes, numbering it was difficult to say how- many — there were probably a million and a half with whom we should be brought into immediate relations in consequence of the annexation. Those people we should not allow to make war any more, and thus keep their numbers from increasing. They were extremely prolific, and he asked what would they be at the end of fiftj^ years ? There would be six or seven millions of them at least; and there lay a serious responsibility in us to discover by what means those people could be reclaimed from their present savagery an^ elevated into civilised communities. It would occupy a long time and was ex- tremely intricate. They were not to be recovered in a few years, but by a series of laborious efforts, which would tax all the energies of the Imperial Government and the colonists alike. The nations of Europe had taken thousands of years to reach their present state ; and it v/as not to be supposed that by simply making the black races free, b)'- giving them equal rights, and teaching them the multiplica- tion tables, that a change could be effected at once, which would put tliem on a level with the white races. It could not be done. Left to a mere collision of interests, they would go to the wall. There would bo an inferior race and a superior race simply contending one agaiiist the other for the same objects, with what was called equal rights. He know well \vhat would become of all that. The weaker party Y\'ould fall. Therefore there lay before us — whether under a system of Confederation or v/hatever it might be— one of the hardest problems, in the solution of which England must bear her share. It v,"as their first dut3\ Beyond all questions of diamonds, gold diggings, and ostrich breeding, this first duty was staring us in the face, what were to be our future relations with the native races in South Africa. Elsewhere those relations proved one of the saddest chapters in British history. One after another the inferior races with whom v/e had come in contact had died out before us. In the Zulus we have to deal with a noble, excellent people, a people that must not be allowed to perish, as the American Indians or the savages of Australia or New Zealand. In honour and conscience we must make an effort to preserve the Zulns. In some way or other the Zulu 38 peoi^le would have to be dealt with; and he earnestly hoped that English j)eople at home and in South Africa would recognize their obligation and try to fulfil it. In doing that duty the colonists would themselves receive a higher moral training ; they would themselves become a greater people in endeavouring to accomplish a difficult Avork in an honourable way than if they had piled together the largest fortunes that were ever made in a British province, or could show more diamonds than ever grew in the garden of Aladdin. iSir John Coode did not expect to be called upon to say any- thing ; he would, hov/ever, on the spur of the moment offer a few remarks. Mr. Donald Currie had been good enough to refer to his (tSir John Coode's) recent \dsit to South Africa in order to examine the coasts for the Governments of the Cape Colony, and of Natal. That ho had done, and he hoped it would not be expected that he should enlarge upon that subject, because he must not now anticipate what he .should have to say in official documents. He would only make a remark or two on some of the points which had fallen from Mr. Currie in the course of his paper — a remarkable paper, when it was remembered that the author had never visited that country. The two subjects Avhich most attracted his attention as the most pressing Avants of the Colony, were those of immigration and irrigation. The greatest of all wants of South Africa now was labour. That, he thought, no one who had visited the colony for only a short period could doubt for a i-noment. He referred with satisfaction to the fact that the Cape Government were beginning to realise the importance of immigration. He was happy to think that that was so, and that at the port of East London — which was now in immediate connection, by railway, with an important and productive jDart of the Colony in the neighbourhood of King William's Town — the Government had erected a barrack, which was just finished at the time of his visit, the object of which barrack was to accommodate in its present state fifty Scotch families. The Government had arranged that those emigrants that went out in parties of fifty families at a time were in the first instar^cc to be passed on into the interior ; this was the com- mencement of what he hoped would eventually prove to be one of the greatest steps in the Avay of supplying labour for the cultivation of the soil in South Africa. As regarded irrigation, that, perhaps, was the next most important point imperially. During the last few years they had suffered very little from drought. Time was not very long ago when there was very great suffering in the Colony arising from successive dry seasons. But even in what was considered an ordinary season in South Africa there was a great lack of water at certain times of the year, and the total annual rainfall was, as a rule, not insufficient by any means. But inasmuch as those rains usually only fell during a very few months in the year, there was great necessity for the construction of works for the storage of water, in order that it might contribute to the fertilisation of lands, and the production of crops, during the dry parts of the year. The Dutch themselves had done a great deal in that direction. He was sorry he had not been able to visit that district, which lay to the north of 39 George Town, about the central i)art of South Coast. There was a district there called Oudtshoom, where the Dutch had some most remarkable examples of what that country might be made to produce by proper irrigation. The Cape Government, not above two years since, engaged Mr. Gamble, C.E., to take up the Department of Irrigation. This gentleman had been engaged in the Colony, and had made several reports ; but as a matter of fact very little had, he believed, been as yet done. Government's attention had been directed to it, and he hoped they would be induced to promote in every way the construction of dams there to impound the water for the benefit of the Colony. Those were, perhaps, two of the most important questions affecting the Cape Colony at the present time. With regard to the introduction of arms, he was afraid that upon that point he should be obliged to differ from Mr. Donald Currie, for the mischief was to a great extent pretty well done. As respected Zulu Land he had it from the highest authority that not only were the men well supplied with arms, but the women also, and the women practised, and were most expert in their use. Whether that was for the sake of sport, or whether it be with a view to future mischief, he was unable to say, not having been able to obtain any satisfactory information on that point. But there remained the fact, and his autiiority, if he were to name it, would make it unquestionable, that both the men and women in Zulu Land did practise with firearms. Now in Kaffraria it was difi'erent. The ordinary Kafir was a 'very thrifty individual ; they had a great passion for the ijossession of fire-arms, but did not care to expend money in the purchase of ajiumnition. He did not know that he had anything more to say with regard to the other matfers touched upon in Mr. Currie' s able papei*. His attention during the time ho was in the Colony was, he might say, entirely directed to the particular object for which he went out. But those points as to the necessity for emigration on a large scale, and the need for irrigation works, he could not dwell upon too strongly. He could foresee with a large emigration a marvellous future develoi^- ment of the productive power of the Colony, if only the Government would introduce agricultural labour on a comprehensive scale, encourage that labour, and promote in some way, by loans or other- Avise, the formation of dams, in order that the country mignt have the fullest jjossible benefit of the rains which fell from the heavens. (Cheers.) Colonel Grossman also expressed himself as not having expected to be called upon to address the meeting ; but as they had asked him to say some words upon the subject he should be glad to do so. The only part of Cape Colony that he knew anything about was— that just now about to bo attached to it — Griqualand West. The diamond fields there were sources of great wealth to the Colonj^ a very great source of wealth indeed, and they had been the means of introducing into the Colony a large number of people, who had tended to the advancement of the country. He was glad that province was to be added to the Cape Colony, and he hoped, now th^t the Transvaal difficulty had been removed, that the whole of 40 the other provincn'5, with tlie Orange Free State, would in a short time form part of a great South African Confederation, though no doubt the cltip^ons of the Orange Free State were verj'- happy as thoy were at i)rcsGnt. He was in great hopes that before long that State would come into the Confederation, as he trusted all the provinces in South Africa would. For advancement in the future of Cape Colony they must have railways, harbours, and telegraphs. He thought they were doing all they could at present ; at lea>t, what- ever difference there might be in opinion as regarded the direction in which the railways should be carried, there Avas no doubt that the Cape Government lifid before it the necessity of constructing railways all through the Colony ; and whether they went through the Colony by Beaufort West or by any other route up to Griqualand West, and so on to the Transvaal, he thought it was one of the first things that ought to be done. As regarded harbours, Sir John Coocle had been out there lately, and had gone into the question very carefully, and lie must say that schemes for the improvement of Table Bay, V^n-t Eli:^abeth, and the other harbours would be well worked out by so distinguished an engineer. As regarded also the question of irrigation, Mr. Gamble had gone out there lately, and he hoped the country v;ould benefit by his reports. If the Cape Colony wen!: on making railunays, improving their harbours, carry- ing out irrigation v^'oiks, &.C., he v\^a3 sure that, whatever expense might be incurred in doing so, it would bo repaid hereafter. As regiirds other matters connected with the advancement of the Colony, it was not for him to say anything about affairs which were for the consideration of the Colonists themselves. Mr. Froude had been to the Cape, and had done more probably thaii^nyone else to teach the ]3Cople how beneficial it would be for them to enter into some confederation scheme. He hoped there would be no jealousy between rival ])roviiiees as to which place should be chosen as the eaijital. Carje Town, no doubt the most important place at the present moment in the Cape Colony, looked forv/ard to being so, but other growing provinces put in their claims. He might venture to suggest that as in Canada they fixed upon a small town upon the river Ottawa as the capital of the Dominion, and as in the United States they toolj Washington as the chief place of the Eepublic, that the Cape Colonies might take into consideration whether it would not be advisable to choose some place in the interior fairly accessible to all, and so perhaps prevent any jealousies which would be sure to arise if a larger place were selected. He concluded by remarking that he took a deep interest in the Cape Colony and South Africa generally, and he was sure that that portion of the British Empire was advancing and would advance as rapidly as any other part of her Majesty's dominions. Mr. HousTOX remarked that he was going to draw attention to what had been rather taken out of his mouth by Mr. Froude, for he always thought "the native question" was the most important for South Africa. Many people seemed to have an idea that South Africa could be made out of its various States, like Australia, New Zealand, or 11 Canarla. Now if. f^oenied fr> him that that was pntirely wrong. Tn all those Coloriie.s tho natives had boon vcvy iVw iii niuul>nr to be^ln with, and they had all died out. They had had the Anglo-Saxon race and all tho resources requisite for colonising developed. But in South Africa, as pointed out by Mr. Froudo, in tho course of fifty years the black population would be three or four times as numerous as it was to-day. They wcvc now numerous enough, .-ind if wo civilized them as one race, as was intended should be done, they must have land ; and if the Kafirs and all the black people had territory — for land was not unavailable for the white man, therefore, he considered — especially since the annexation of the Transvaal — the native question and the land question became intermixed. The only point remained was, v/hat population v/as it desirable to introduce ? He was inclined to think that cax-)italists should bo first secured, followed by an influx of the artisan class. As they pretended to be a colonising race, our ol)jecfc ought to be to civilise and make use of the black population for the small shopkGej)er, artisans, grooms, servants, and everything else out of tho black population. (Hear, hear.) Therefore it appeared to liii u that there was no ver}^ great field , except in the imm ediate future, for European immigration into South Africa. As Mr. Froude pointed out, the question of the native race remained, with regard to civilising and m.xking them perform tho ordinarj'- duties of life. Tho only other point to which he would allude was that people in this country seemed rather too much to talk about Colonies and the Cape. Now, from Capo Town into the Transvaal v/as 1,400 miles as tho crow flies, arid c>vevything in the Transvaal was very different from what Avas found in the Cape. There was so much time wasted in talking about South Africa .that he rather despaired of a solution being found ; he rather despaired of the different questions concerning South Afi'ica being settled until Confederation was brought about, there v.''ere so many questions that could only be settled by a Union Ptirliament. At present each Colony and each different race had different ways ; and thus the Anglo-Saxon race was split up in South Africa into sections. Each section looked at these questions from its own point of view. Therefore he thought that Confederation alone would settle those questions — to many of which allusion had been made that night. It became therefore very important that, instead of trying to settle those questions ourselves here, v/e should rather do all we could to forward Confederation, hoping that the Union Parliament would bo strong enough — as he believed it would be — to settle their own affairs, including, also, the native affairs. Having been called upon unex- l)ectedly to speak, those were about all the remarks he had to make. (Loud cheers.) Tiie Hon. EvELYX Ashley, M.P., said that without affectation it was an unexpected honour conferred on him to be called upon to speak. But as he believed he was tho only member of the House of Commons present, it would not be out of place if he rose to thank Mr. Donald Currie for liis interesting lecture that evening. It w^as a very useful address on a pressing question for the legislature of the present day. Although our legislators were always anxious to do the 42 best they could for the aid and prosperity of the Colonies, still he confessed that in a poj^ular assembly like the House of Commons there was very great ignorance on many Colonial matters (hear, hear) ; especially in a case of this sort — which was not a simple ques- tion. Anybody who had heard the discussion that night would see that there were embraced in the question of South African confeder- ation not only the jealousies of governing races, not only the dis- abilities of inferior races, not only what might be called the springs of free government and of material prosperity in the Colonies, but, above all, what were the urgent responsibilities which the Imperial Government must be called upon to undertake in helping to settle the question. Therefoio a discussion like this was most useful in spread- ing information. Within the narrow limit of time allowed, and the equally narrow limits of his knowledge on this subject, it would be wi'ong to enter into it at any length. But he would say that he felt deeply convinced tiiat the speakers that evening had touched upon the great difficulty we had before us — that was, the treatment of the native races. (Hear, hear.) What must be done when this question ■ — as far as the dircussion of it in the House of Commons was con- cerned — was to guard ngainst running into either of the two dangerous extremes. We must avoid one extreme — namely, saying : " Throw open the whole basis of Government, and give the Kafir and other tribes the franchise right and left." (Hear, hear.) Nobody could be more anxious than he to raise and improve the natives all the world over. But nobody could view that question without seeing that not only would a bad feeling be created between us and the Colou}^ if such an (,'xtrcme course were pursued, but great harm would also arise to the natives themselves. At the same time they must earnestly repudiate the other extreme, and never say that colour alone is to be a mark of disability. That would be contrary to our Avishes and our duty, and would i)lace a bar to the raising of the natives which Mr Froude and the last speaker had referred to as the objects we Lad to undertake. (Hear, hear.) To guide our course wisely and moderately between those two extremes must be the object of her Majesty's loyal .subjects on both continents. Now as to the difficulty of bringing those different States to unite in Confederation. It struck liim, although with his limited knowledge he might be wrong, that one of the great difficulties must be the individual jealousies of newly esLoblished communities, and the great dread of the leading men in each State of losing their position, so recently gained and so likely to be swamped by being submerged in a larger community. (Hear, hear.) If that was the case, he thought they might congratulate themselves that we had sent out to the Cape to superintend, if our hopes are realised, the formation ot that Confeder- ation, a man who united to highest tact the highest character for judgment — he alluded to Sir Bartle Frere. They might be sure that they could not have had a more admirably adapted man to carry out the objects for which he was sent, for he in an eminent degree com- bined with the largest views of an administrator that great symi)athy for the native races which he (Mr. Ashley) declared must be the guiding star of our course. (Great cheers.) 43 Mr. Anthony Trollope said if they had postponed the dis- cussion of this question for nine months, he might then, perhaps, be better able to address them than he now was ; for it was his fate to be going to entrust himself to the tender mercies of Mr. Donald Carrie in the course of this month, whose ship he hoped would carry him safely to Cape Town, from which place it was his intention to endeavour to see something of those subjects which were before them, and to return home and in a humble way describe, not with his voice — for he was not much given to speaking — but with his pen (cheers), to tell them something which he only trusted would not bo taken altogether for fiction. He had been happy to hear Mr. Donald Currie tell them they would find the annexation of the dis- tricts of South Africa — with that great question of which Mr. Ashley and the House of Commons were discussing the previous night — was carried out so satisfactorily ; and if he could bring home the inform- ation from there he might be able to fill our regiments with reci-uits — at any rate, he would endeavour to see the country and form a fair judgment of it. As he intended to appear to go out with his mind blank, he should not express any opinion at all. If he had an opinion on the subject of annexation — if he had an opinion as to the merits or demerits of Sir Theophilus Shepstone — he should keep it to him- self, so that when he came home, at th«3 expiration perhaps of nine months, he might be able to ascertain and point out all about it without any preconceived ideas at all. He thought he might say, without pretending to have made up his mind on any vexed point, that with regard to the annexation of that country, whoever may have been wrong, whoever may have been unfortunate — whether England may have been unfortunate in having it annexed, whether Lord Carnarvon may have been unfortunate in authorising as far as he did annexation, whether Sir Theophilus Shepstone was unfortunate in annexing it, or whether the English or other Colonists there had been unfortunate, he thought they all felt that for the nmltitude for which Mr. Fronde had so eloquently pleaded the annexation must bo fortunate. (Hear, hear.) He had visited all the large English-speaking countries now except that one, and no doubt the difficulty with regard to all those countries which had struck us with horror had been the fact that, in carrying out our instincts for civilising and utilising the countries which God had given us, we had never, with all our efforts and good intentions, been able to treat the natives in a manner which was wholly satis- factory. (Hear, hear.) Efforts were made on the grandest principles of philanthrojjy in New Zealand. When we first took New Zealand as our own we annihilated contracts which had been made by English men and by English communities, in order that the natives might there stand on their own soil, and be able to say — and in order that we might be able to say also — that they had been robbed of nothing and that we had deprived them of nothing. But we knew how terrible had been the fate of those natives. As Mr. Froude had said, they were dying out. In Australia they had died out ; in Tasmania utterly, there was not one left. In Australia they were dying out so fast that in the most populous parts of the 44 country tlioro was lu;r<"lly ono. \Yft knew what had bpcn the fafp Of tho nnfoitiuiate Indians over tho ieiritory wliich we own, and of which the most populous part was held by our greatest Colonists — the citizens of the United States. They were going, or had gone. But there was a race which v/e hope, and which every man in that room hoped— a race that need not go. (Hear, hear.) Now what we have to look after was this, whether in annexing tliose countries that race would not have a better chance of insuring and living in prosperity and comfort, and enjoying the gifts of God — whether it would not have a better chance by the annexation of the districts than it would if they were left divided as they had been and now were. (Hear, hear.) He did not intend to dwell on that subject, and only mentioned it as a point which, of all others, would be most interesting to him in the tour he was about to make. (Hear, hear.) Mrs. Amelia Lewis said the last time she ventured to address the Royal Colonial Institute was on the occasion when Mr. Wilson read his very remarkable paper about our taking a larger interest and introducing into the Colonies those sustenances of which we make our happiness most at home. She had for some years past enquired into the whole causes of social combinations, and nothing had impressed her more than the vast influence which Colonial life must bring back again upon the homo country — the home country going out with its influGuces on the new races, and the latter bringing sometimes one or the other to their new parents the influence back to home. In a fevv' words, she had to plead against the dreadful ignor- ance which was existing in the whole country on the whole of the Colonial subjects. (Cheers.) She declared that the ignorance was so great that a boy who could tell what the Sabines of the old Iloman v,^ere sent for, could not tell about the grand races of vvdiich this little country, the small Anglo-Saxon race— excepting only the Greeks — the only nation that had successfully colonised the globe. (Hear, hear.) Why v/ere not the people who came before our much- beloved country known about ? It would give us more chance to know something than' all the schools in the land taught. She instanced Oxford and Cambridge as no exception to the rule. She liad had the pleasure of listening to an historical lecture at Oxford, about which lectures she thought she knew something. She was born of an old, venerable man who served as the first translator for this country at the Foreign Office, the late Mr. Hutton, through whom she had been introduced to knowledge from which she had benefited. She declared that it was necessary this country should be awakened to an appreciation of the education of the boys — and for that matter girls — and make them acquainted v/ith the bearings of Colonial life, colonial history, and what the Colonies brought to us. (Hear, hear.) Need she quote anything more than the beautiful words of Mr. Burke when he stood before the House of Commons and pronounced that remarkable speech of his on the reconciliation of North America, and recommended them at the beginning of last Session. He said : — *' You exported 86,000 to Africa; at the end of about one hundred 45 years you had 866,000 ; what do you export now ? " And as Mr. Fowler said, it was not a matter of exports only, it was also a matter of imports. There was wanted much that this country was neglect- ing — that is to say, cultivation, which was her study. (Hear, hear.) 8he had already sacrificed something for that, and she asserted that it was from the Colonies that they were to ask for much of the vigour which was got. (Hear, hear.) She declared that the subject which would have to be introduced was education, and she trusted the time would come when some great men would take up this question and would at once " cotton " to the way in which history was now taught in schools. We wanted living history. (Hear, hear.) Men and women that went out to those Colonies had to bear with a different climate from their own. Only a little while ago a father who had nurtured his daughter into the greatest nicety, sent a letter to the Krho newspaper to describe her retirement in South Africa, which no doubt had a large future. Her own ideas on South Africa were such that they were scarcely possible to be good enough and to recognise humbly the claims which that vast country demanded. Therefore she trusted her few words, if they only left an impression on a few of those men that had laige influence, that the time had come when something should be done, and something that should emanate from that Society she was addressing, to make the working men and women and the public generally acquainted in a large sense, by which she meant emigration to Africa ; they ought not to think that Africa meant, like a small paragraph in a daily newspaper \Vould lead them to suppose, a place abounding with gorillas, but a glorious country. (Hear, hear.) It was she assured them a serious subject, and one upon which, traced to the highest and lowest society, the greatest ignorance prevailed. (Great cheering.) Governor EoWE, C.M.G. (West African Settlements), said the subject of the treatment of the natives in South Africa was one of very considerable interest to him. Of the South African Colonies he had no personal knowledge ; but he had of the natives of Equatorial Africa, based upon an experience of years. The future of Africa he believed depended upon the action of the races that had lived there for centuries. The people who were going to cultivate Africa he believed were the aboriginal inhabitants, the negro people — the Hottentots, the black people who had lived in Africa j)robably for a longer period than our race in England ; and the fact that those races did not disappear before the white man, v/as a proof that souie day they would cultivate Africa and would develope its very many products for our use. (Hear, hear.) He did not believe for one moment that we should have any insuperable difficulty in dealing with them. There were, and would be always, difficulties in carrjdng out anything that was worth carrying out; but he felt sure that unless our race had altered very much, or did alter very much — if the ruling principle of England was animated by the same feelings of justice towards the negro that it had always been, and by that same firmness as well as fairness which was cha.racteristic of our nation, we should get over all the difficulties which presented themselves to usj 4(5 and the result would be that the black people of Africa would not be a source of weakness to us but a source of strength. (Hear, hear.) Mr. F. D. Archer (a native of Barbadoes) had listened to some very interesting speeches and an admirable paper on South Africa — a subject in which he must necessarily be interested, being of African descent — he thought he could not on behalf of the Colonies better approve the sentiments expressed than by saying a few words in acknowledgment of such kindly expressions of symj)athy towards people of the African race. He could not say very much about South Africa, not having been there, but with regard to the matter of the annexation (of the Transvaal) he thought there could be no doubt that it was one of the grandest things that could have been l)erformed by the British Government, as it would for ever sottle the question of slavery there. In the Transvaal, slavery had existed in a somewhat disguised form for some time, and if now the British Government, who had put down slavery in their own Colonies, should take on themselves the duty of stopping it effectually in that quarter, that must, he thought, rather be regarded as a cause of triumphant congratulation to all interested in the welfare of the natives than otherwise. (Hear, hear.) He did not know what might be meant by Confederation from a political point of view ; he did not pictend to understand much about it. If, however, it meant that all those States should be drawn together under one Government, and that that Government should be influenced by dictates of justice and humanity towards the people occupying those States, then he would say, let them have Confederation bj^ all means. (Cheers.) That the civilised nations of the earth should, on going into other countries, and as civilised people, endeavour to depress the people of those countries, seemed to him altogether but the restoration of ideas of the state of barbarism which existed thousands of years ago. If tbey looked at the conduct of the Romans, who were the greatest conquerors earth had seen, it would be found that they tried to impress their civilisation on the nations they conquered ; and so let England go forward — not to damp the energies of native races, but to aid them to rise to the standard of true men, to aid them to see that it was meant towards them and their kinsmen, that, equally as other men, they should enjoy the blessings of the earth, and be good and serviceable members of the communities to which they belonged. He knew well that there was always a conflict of the races. "Whenever men of white complexions and men of black com- plexions met there ever seemed to be a bone of contention between them. The one, from his superior civilisation, looked down upon the other, and that man who through his ignorance could not compete with the more intellectual individual had to give way. But the individual who was blessed with the greater knowledge had a duty before him, which was that it should be his object to extend a helping hand to his fellow-man, to lift him up from his degraded position, in order that he might be even what the great God who made of one flesh and blood all the families of the earth intended Uim to be. He did not know what might be the future of South Africa, but if he could trust to the humanity and justice which had ever been manifested by the British Government in their dealings with the Colonies, which in the providence of God had come under their power, he would say that there was a great future iu store, not only for South Africa, but for Africa generally. He knew well that many thousands of people had been civilised and brought under the rule of noble and high-souled government — such as the Govern- ment of England was— and he was confident that these people, elevated from the condition of ignorance in which they now existed, would form, not communities of subject races merely, but integral parts of the grand whole of the British Colonial possessions. (Great cheering.) Mr. ViNTCENT (member of the Legislative Assembly, Cape of Good Hope), said he was in the same position as the previous speakers : he came to listen, and might say with trutli he Lad been an attentive and also a gratified listener to the able and interesting Ijaper with which they had been favoured. It was peculiarly gratifying to him, as a colonist only recently arrived, to find so much interest evinced on Colonial questions. It was a striking proof to him that there was a strong and mutual desire to draw the bond of union now existing between the mother-country and the Colonies still closer (hear, hear), to consolidate that Empire, which, though small in point of territory at home, was large when they took into consideration the large, important, and extensive Colonial territory which opened up all round. (Hear, hear). Mr. Donald Currie had been good enough to speak in hopeful and cheering terms of the future of Africa. He thanked him for the kind and encouraging tone in which he had spoken of that great, and he might say important continent, and trusted that his hopes might be realised — realised by the industry and by the enterprise of the colonists, and stimulated by cordial sympathy from the mother-country, and that those high and lofty views to which Mr. Donald Currie had referred so eloquently njight be a guide for the future. (Hear, hear.) Whenever African matters were discussed the native question naturally always was prominently brought forward ; and Avhen that question was men- tioned it was almost invariably called the " native difficult3\" Now that term not inaptly expressed the condition of i)ublic opinion with reference to this difficult and intricate matter; but he might say that they at the Cape had been hitherto singularly fortunate in their native policy. For upwards of a quarter of a century the colonists at the Cape had lived in peace and security, and during that period neither the Imperial nor Colonial forces had been engaged in actual warfare on the immediate Colonial borders. During that time, too, the colonists had considerably increased in numbers and wealth, and large tracts of country which were previously occupied by restless tribes were now in the occupation of industrious and thriving farmers. That was also the case with the natives immediately bordering on the Colonial boundary. It was found that amongst those tribes many who formerly existed entii-ely by means of the chase and by raids into neighbouring districts, had now 48 taken to tilling the soil and had become producers, and in con- sequence of their contact with white men had also been stimulated into habits of industry, and had acquired greater thrift and a strong desire to improve their position, the consequence being that there was a greater disposition among those natives to go into the Colony to supply that great want so often referred to — labour. (Hear, hear.) There had been a striking instance in connection Avith the rail- v/ay works recently undertaken by the Cape Colony. When first those works began it was found impossible to get any of the natives beyond the border to engage for service on them. Now that had been quite changed, and he was informed a few days before his departure from the Cape by the Minister of Works, that he could get more Kafirs now than he could immediately employ on the works of the railway. (Hear, hear.) It was not only in this direction that im- Xjrovement had taken place ; but almost every year the Colonial boundaries were being extended, and frequent applications made to the local Legislature for the incorporation of certain tracts of land which had not been acquired by conquest or by forcing out the natives ; but those incorporations took place in consequence of volun- tary and siDontaneous requests made by various native chiefs, and by their immediate followers, to be placed under the care and protection of the Colonial Government. He thought those two facts which he had mentioned were striking proofs that thus far the Colonial ijolicy had not been without fruit. Now, it might be asked what the native policy was. Well, it was difficult to define, and, moreover, time would not permit him to do so that night ; in the second place, it would be almost impossible strictly to define the native policy of the Cape, which was to a certain extent regulated and guided b}'' circum- stances, and by the condition ©f the different tribes with which they had to deal. He might say that the guiding principle which under- lay all their intercourse and transactions with those tribes was as much as possible to obtain the confidence of the jjcople — to gain their confidence by the strict justice of their rule, and also, after the aimcxation had been consentsd to and completed, as far as j)ossible to reduce the jjower of the chiefs and to break up the tribal rights, and to endeavour to substitute Colonial magistrates and English laws for tribal lav/s and native customs. Those were the leading principles of the native j^olicy of the Cape, which thus far he could say had been successful. In advocating that policy, which had been truly called a liberal policy, it must not be supposed, however, that he v/as advo- catmg what was termed sometimes in the Colony "the Exeter Hall Ijolicy." He did not think it necessary there to describe that policy ; it was one which he believed Avas dying out fast. Yet people were found here, most estimable, kind-hearted, well-meainng people, who to some extent very often looked upon the black man in every instance as an angel of light as compared with the Colonists, whom they too frequently viewed as relentless and cruel opj^ressors. He was happy to thiidc that those views were no longer in the ascendant, as they were a little while ago ; nor could he help thinking that if such opinions were held they were calculated to injure the natives them- selves. They were cruel and unjust in the first place, because they 49 not unnaturally exasperated the Colonists, and very often led them to commit acts whioh, as it were, were forced upon them by such in- j ustice ; but, on the other hand, it was more cruel still towards the native, because it placed him in a false position, inflated him unduly, and rendered him proud and unmanageable ; and the consequence was that very often in self-defence the Colonists, who, it must be remembered, had long odds against them, were in some instances almost forced to wage what had been termed a war of extermmation upon the poor natives. Now this we should wish and endeavour to avoid at the Cape of Good Hope. It certainly could not be the mission or the destiny of the white man to exterminate the coloured races, and if it was possible that the difficult and great problem coidd be solved in South Africa of utilizing the original races there it would be a great boon to all. He desired to make a few remarks on the subject of Confederation, although he had not nearly exhausted the subject of the native policy. Confederation was a great question, and so important as to require most mature consideration. He was i-ather struck by some remarks which he had heard that evening. They led him to believe that Confederation was already looked upon here as an accomplished fact, speakers having repeatedly spoken of " The Confederated States of South Africa." Now that, he thought, was not desirable. They, as colonists, would like to deal with the question in their own way and take their own time. Although they had been officially assured time after time that there .was no desire whatever on the part of the Home Government to press this question upon them, still he could not help drawing his own conclusions from jcmarks heard that evening, which led him to believe that there was a tendency — -though not actually expressed perhajjs — but a strong tendency iniduly to Dvesn this question upon the colonists, a thing he did not think it desii'able should be done. When Confederation was spoken of they were constantly told that union was strength. There was no denying so patent a fact : union was certainly strength ; but then it should also be a true and perfect union (hear, hear), where the parts fitted well together, where they were not forced or squeezed together, but where they formed a comjiact whole. (Hear, hear.) Now, just look for a moment at the condition of South Africa. The Cape Colony had only for a few years enjoyed the rights of self-government. Only five years ago an important change was made in its con- stitution by the introduction of responsible government. That system was only now being successfully worked. The Cape Colony had, moreover, a revenue of a million and a half sterling. Now when they went to Natal they found a small Colony where the Constitution had been considerably curtailed of late by the action of the Home Government, while the revenue at present was very small compared with that of the Cape." They next came to the Transvaal, now in a state of transition, with scarcely any revenue just now, and ut pjresent, he might say, under quasi-military rule. Then there was Griqualand West. That would soon be no more than a district, or what would be called in this counli-y a counfy. Then there remained the Orange Free State, a tmall. territory with a revenue 50 of about £100,000, ur about a iifteenth portion of that of tbft Cape of Good Hope. Now these provinces the Cape was at present asked to confederate with ; and he put it to the meeting whether, as a colonist of the Cape Colony, he was not justified in saying that they cei-tainly required a little time to consider before they threw in their lot under a federal form of government with other States. (Hear, hear.) He was strong in the view that union was certainly desirable, and union would come before long ; but it often occurred to him that they might very advantageously secure a yet more perfect union than a confederation, and that was what he would term a legislative imion. (Cheers.) When the size of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope was taken into consideration, its improve- ment and wealth when compared with the other provinces, then he thought it would be far more advantageous for all concerned to have a legislative union, such as was originally contemplated when Ihe first Conference was held of the delegates of the North American Colonies. He had not referred to the South African Permissive Bill now passing through the British Parliament, because in the first instance it was a strictly Permissive Bill, so that no Colony or Province need accept any of its provisions, and in the second place because important alterations had been made in the first draft Bill, and which alterations he had not had an opportunity of considering, and was therefore not prepared to express an opinion thereon. He might, however, say that he did not believe that the Cape Colony would accept any Bill which was calculated to curtail any of the political privileges which it now enjoyed. The Cape Colonists were truly loyal. He need not repeat that. Every British Colony contained none but loyal subjects, but they were also British subjects, and as such they valued and cherished their free representative institutions. (Great cheering.) Mr. Lamport, of Natal, said he should take the liberty to say a few words, because there was on that map (j)ointing) a country which had occupied a considerable share of the i^aper read, and which country he happened to represent. He had been a colonist for about twenty-seven years, and claimed to know something of South Africa and the circumstances of that colony. He desired, however, to say one word on behalf of Natal on one particular point, and he took leave to preface it by remarking that, with respect to the subject of the paper which had been read, he wished to impress upon the meeting with more precision than had been done by the essayist, one point. They would never do any good with the native races, as regarded Natal, or as respected colonisation generally, until they could offer at the outset protection and security. Without that all would be perfectly in vain. He reminded them that Mr. Froude had said that the native races could be counted almost by millions, and that in the Colony of Natal 400,000 natives were present. He had reminded them also that the adjoining country, Zulu Land, thfit Cetchwayo had from 28,000 to 40,000 men under arms who cunld bo called upon immediately, who were under militaiy training, ur>?aiiised in regiuients, and in readiness at a moment's notice. Ths one point he (Mr. Lamport) would impress upon the meeting would be to use their influence with the Government to give it protection. He would fall back upon his expeiience and make good his position in this way. In Natal proper they had about 150,000 natives in their midst, and notwithstanding they had all those elements — those formidable people of the Zulu — it would scarcely be believed that after all the years that had elapsed, the British Government had only maintained in the Colony of Natal for their protection a paltry half-wing of a regiment. When the inadequacy of that protection was first tested an appeal took ])lace three years ago under the terms of LangaHbalelo. The force at the command of the Government was utterly inadequate for the purpose; they simply had half a regiment, about 120 men all told, and could not move up 200 troops, not having the requisite force to back them up, and the Volunteers they could muster were something under 100 strong ; and they only had two small field-pieces to go with them, all of which provoked from the natives manifestations of ridicule and contempt. He remembered a man remarking to him when this force marched through the streets of Zoelberg : — " They go, but they'll not come back again." In the lamentable affair Avith Langalibalele there were only about Mtj Yolunteers, and they dwindled down to forty- two. Therefore he would say that, before they could inspire a feeling of security, they must offer protection. It was true that, connected with that affair with Langalibalele, Sir Garnet Wolseley was sent out — whose name he respected — and he made painstaking inquiries in the Colony ; but it only resulted in their sending out another half- wing of a regiment. He remembered, also, that there was an agent sent out — a pains- taking man — Avith General Cox to report on the defences of the Colony for the benefit of the war which Sir G. Wolseley was then carrying on. He was called upon to fill up a printed form as a justice of the peace, and he remembered sending in his report. He met Mr. Froude at Sir Garnet Wolseley's table and outside the Cathedral, and expressed to him those feelings in which all concurred, of the utter inadequacy of the Volunteer force to defend the place. Therefore it was the important duty of the British Government to maintain in those districts a force sufficient to inspire a sense of security. He heard it said that they must not depend upon England, but upon Volunteers, and the military force must be supplemented by colonisation, in which everyone from fourteen to sixty would be capable of bearing arms. He would say, as the result of his opinion, that Confederation was nothing. He had always described it as a piece of dilettanteness. They would never be able to get a council of men together, and they would be able to do nothing when they did get together. Had they concurred, and had there been Confederation, what would they do ? There there were two small Republics and half a regiment, which would have to be broken up into two — one for the Transvaal; then they would have left the British territory without any protection, which was carrying out the principle of reductio ad dbsurdum, leaving such a contemptible little force as would be no protection whatever, (Hear, hear.) P 2 52 The President said : Ladies and gentlemen, I will only say a few words. I was greatly struck by the ability of Mr. Donald Currie's paper, especially from the local colouring that he had given it, although he has never been in the Colony. He touched on a vast number of jjoints, which have led to a most interesting and instructive discussion. (Hear, hear.) Many of those points are of considerable importance ; and perhaps I might suggest to Mr. Vintcent that no doubt the gentleman who talked of confederation as *' being already ac- complished " had been contemplating the great advantages that he lioped would follow on confederation, and had looked upon the pros- spect of such a thing in his mind's eye so long, that at last the wish became tlie father of the thought, and he fancied that that confedera- tion perhaps may still be brought about, though Mr. Vintcent and also Mr. Lamport do not think it advisable to have it spoken of as if it were already nn fait accompli. With regard to Mr. TroUope, who has said he was more practised with the pen than the tongue, we must thank him for having made an exception in our favour by ad- dressing to us a most instructive speech. (Hear, hoar.) I should have fancied, though he has been in the country, that he would have spoken in more favourable terms of the position and prospects of the Maori race. From what I have heard I thought they were showing a considerable amount of civilisation. Certainly there is nothing in the conduct of England or of the English settlers in New Zealand to lead to their annihilation and extinction ; in fact, I have heard glow- ing accounts of the Maori women walking about the streets of the town in silk dresses and fasliionable bonnets and smoking pij)es with all the grace of French larlios. With regard to the Red Indians in North America, I am afraid our cousins over the line have not be- haved with consideration to the Eed Indians in their territory, but I believe in Canada thoy are not only well treated by the Government but by the settlers. The Government have, in the wisest and most far-seeing manner, settled them in communities on small territories of their own, and of which tliey are not allowed to dispose, and no man of the white race is allowed to settle amongst them. Even the 8ioux, who have been in rebellion against the United States, take refuge on the British side of the borders, where, I believe, they often become fjuiet if not settled residents. (Hear, hear.) But certainly the ques- tion of the greatest importance was the one alluded to principally by Mr. Froude — that was the vast mass of natives, of able-bodied and intelligent men, that we have now to deal with, and the increasing number of whom we shall have to deal with as we progress on that continent, and also whose numbers will increase by the blessing of good government which we enforce upon those countries. It seems to me rather a terrible prospect. Mr. Vintcent held out hopes that they are acquiring civilisation and are working for their livelihood. ^Vhen I was at the Cape, now some thirty-three years ago — no doubt things are much changed since then — but at that time nobody ever thought that a Kafir would work to better himself permanently. It was then said that the Kafir might work for a few shillings, and as soon as he got home he went back to a missionary station to live upon those shillings till they had gone ; but I am glad to hear they are ac- 53 quiring taste and habits of civilisation. Another point referred to was irrigation. That undoubtedly is most important for the Colony. I know that it has a rich soil, and that the strength of the sun dries it up till it is like a macadamized road, and it is utterly impossible to grow anything without showers, and yet there had been ample falls of rain, which, judiciously stored, would render the country fruitful. Colonel Crossman alluded to the difficulty about the capital. With respect to that, I do not think Cape Town need ever be afraid, even though it should not be the political capital, of losing its supremacy. From its geographical position, it must always be an important military station ; and I hope our Government ^vlll also take the advice of Captain Colomb, and that the United King- dom and the Colonies will undertake at some time to protect those important points he referred to in his able paper read here last meet- ing, by forming dockyards and by having the proper means of coaling and revictualling our ships of war, and fortifying such stations ; and in that event Cape Town and Simon's Bay could not be neglected. With regard to Confederation and the annexation of the Transvaal, I was this afternoon looking at some Transvaal newspapers sent to me, and I gathered from them that the annexation seems to have gone off in the most satisfactory and successful way. (Hear, hear.) It appears that those who approve of the measure carefully avoid ex- pressing any exultation that they might feel, so as to avoid giving offence to the other side. Those who object to it seem to accept it with very great resignation and with very little reluctance indeed. I beg now to offer our thanks to Mr. Donald Carrie for the trouble ho has taken in preparing his admirable paper. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) Mr. Donald Currie, in acknowledging the vote of thanks, said: — My Lord Duke, Ladies, and Gentlemen, — I feel highly gratified by the kind terms in which your Gra(;e has proposed the thanks of the meeting. I would only add one word with respect to Mr. Vintcent's able remarks. If he had been present at the banquet which was given to Sir Bartle Frere before leaving for the Cape he would have heard from Lord Carnarvon that her Majesty's Govern- ment had no intention to interfere with the privileges of the colonists. The Confederation Bill is a Permissive Bill in its spirit and object. (Hear, hear.) It was sent to the Colonies and States of South Africa with the distinct intimation that they were to give their opinions upon its clauses. Many gentlemen here heard Lord Carnarvon express in the strongest terms possible that it was quite erroneous to suppose that he intended in any sense to curtail the liberty of the Colonists, or to take away their rights under responsi'ole government. (Hear, hear.) As regards roads and the opening up of South Africa and Eastern and Central Africa, it was with the greatest pleasure I had the honour this afternoon, after my paper was finished, to receive from the Rojml Geographical Society an intimation that they wished to open out roads from the South and from the Eastern side of Africa into the interior, and had arrangements in progress for an Exploration Fund. The Royal Geographical Society have appointed a Committee with the view to plan a systematic exploratiou from the different points on the 54 coast, and we may look for the best results to that continent. (Applause.) Mr, FrvEDEiiiCK Y'ouxa (Hon. Secretary) announced that this meeting was the concluding one of the series for the present Session. The company then separated. \