the executive and administrative measures of his government, and was assisted in the performance of his duties by public servants whose duty it was to carry his orders into effect, and who held office practically during good behaviour, there was sufficient security that all the measures of the Government in every part of the territory from Natal to the Cape would be directed to the same object and guided by the same views. But when the Government ceased to have the real direction of the policy of the government of the Cape, and it fell into the hands of ministers whose advice he was bound to follow, but whose authority was confined to the Cape Colony properly so called, there ceased to be any means of insuring unity of purpose and co-operation among the authorities of different parts of the territory.

This evil was felt to be so serious, that two years ago Lord Carnarvon, who was then Secretary of State for the Colonies, carried a bill through Parliament for facilitating a confederation of the South African States, including the Dutch republics and the territory subject to British authority. But that Act is only to come into operation by the consent of the various parties concerned, which has not hitherto been obtained, and does not seem likely to be so; and even if it were, it is still less probable that an efficient authority for the government of this vast territory could be constructed out of the jarring and discordant elements from which it would have to be drawn. The Assembly, which would exercise authority in the confederation contemplated by the Act, will represent not only the men of superior intelligence, to be found in the chief seats of industry and trade, but also the Boers who, with their fathers, have been accustomed for time out of mind to oppress and plunder the native races; these uneducated natives themselves; and the miscellaneous European population of the diamond fields. It seems to me utterly impossible that an authority, resting upon representation, can be formed from such materials as these from which we could look for such a firm, just, and steady administration as is indispensable for the welfare of both the white and coloured races, and the gradual civilisation of the latter. Such an administration might, I believe, have been best secured by maintaining the former executive authority of the Crown. The Cape Colony, properly so called, with its larger proportion of civilised inhabitants, might with advantage have continued to enjoy representative institutions according to the system which, till within a short time, was the only one known in the British colonies by which real executive and administrative authority was exercised by the governor, and the Legislature took charge only of matters of legislation and finance. The extension of the colony beyond its original boundaries ought, I think, to have been avoided, and the territory beyond these boundaries in British Kafraria, Griqualand, and Natal should have been separately organised under officers subordinate to the governor of the

Cape. This was the former practice as to Natal; and the governor of the Cape, without interfering habitually in the details of its administration, exercised even in that distant settlement all the authority that was necessary to insure a uniformity of policy towards the natives throughout the British territory, and to provide for its different divisions affording to each other mutual assistance and support. This system of government was not as well organised as would have been desirable; but before responsible' government was forced on the Cape, I do not believe that there would have been any insuperable difficulty in arranging with its Parliament the improvements that were required. What was perhaps most wanted was that a uniform rate of customs duties should be established throughout British South Africa, with provisions for fairly apportioning the revenue derived from them among the several divisions of the territory, and placing a reasonable percentage of the receipts at the disposal of the governor, to be applied for purposes connected with the improvement of the natives. As they contribute by no means a small amount to this revenue, such an arrangement would have been only fair towards them.

Whenever the war with the Zulus is over, it will be a question deserving of serious consideration whether even now the reorganisation of the government of the British territories in South Africa upon the principle I have indicated ought not to be attempted. Of course, after having been once granted, what is regarded as a boon in the privilege of self-government cannot be withdrawn from the Cape colonists without their own consent. But it seems to me by no means impossible that they might be brought to see that some such modification of their present system of government as I have alluded to would be for their real interest, especially with a view to the present excitement among the coloured races within and without the Cape frontier, and to the very serious consequences that might arise if these classes were to gain an ascendency in the Assembly. No doubt, in order to induce the colonists to agree to the change I have suggested, an assurance of protection from the uncivilised tribes would be required; and to give such an assurance would be very contrary to the views of colonial policy which have of late prevailed. But I believe it would, nevertheless, be wise to give such an assurance, and that the responsibility we should incur would be less onerous than that which now rests upon us. We find that though, by professing to leave the colonists to manage their own affairs, we lose the power of so directing their policy as to avert war, still, when war comes, we cannot leave the Queen's subjects without the protection that is necessary for their safety, and we have to spend more money in giving them this protection, when the time of danger comes, than would have been necessary to maintain a control by which peace might have been preserved. I am also convinced that if the Imperial VOL. V.-No. 26.

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Government keeps the regulation of the policy towards the natives strictly in its own hands, and causes the territory we possess to be wisely and firmly administered, no heavy expense need even in the first instance be incurred, while in a short time the Government might be made self-supporting. But, to attain this result, the Home Government must exercise a strict control over its officers, and must firmly resist those extensions of territory which are generally popular in the colonies. Such extensions of territory are to be condemned, whether it is farmers of Dutch origin or independent native tribes that are brought under our authority. With regard to the former the experience we had already had of the extreme difficulty of managing these people, and of the tendency which our trying to impose our authority upon them has to drive them further and further into Africa, where it is more and more difficult to follow them, ought to have warned us against that most unfortunate measure of the annexation of the Transvaal, which has led to our war with the Zulus. That step I greatly lament, as having been contrary to every principle of sound policy. We had nothing to gain by it. On the contrary, this acquisition has caused a most inconvenient addition to the territory we are called upon to protect; and the existence of the independent republic, if we had been content to leave it alone, and had refused to enter into its quarrels with its neighbours, would have tended to make the Zulus and other native tribes more anxious for our friendship. It was true the republic was greatly misgoverned, and the farmers who dwelt in it were threatened with very serious dangers from their coloured neighbours, but this was no reason for forcing our protection upon them against their will; and the misfortunes they would probably have brought upon themselves by rejecting our advice would not have been useless as a warning to others. The sooner we can rid ourselves of this unwise addition to our dominions, the better; and I observe with satisfaction that the farmers of the Transvaal seem anxious to resume their independence.

With regard to the independent coloured tribes, I consider it also to be our true policy to abstain from attempting to bring them under our dominion, which already extends far enough and gives us quite enough to do. This does not, however, imply that we ought to take no interest in the welfare of the tribes beyond our frontier, or make no exertions for their benefit. By the employment of wellselected British agents among them, and by a temperate and judicious use of our influence, we might assist them in organising for themselves a system of government suited to their circumstances, and in effecting gradual improvements calculated to promote their advance in civilisation and in wealth.

We have much to do also for those of the coloured races who have been brought under our rule. In those parts of our territory in which the natives form a very large majority of the population,

and are still in a very low social state, a different system of governing them is required from that which is suitable in the Cape Colony properly so called, where a much larger proportion of the inhabitants is either of European descent or of habits and character modified by long contact with Europeans. In Natal and in British Kafraria we have to deal with coloured races of which the character and the customs are comparatively but little altered from those of their savage fathers. In managing them we have to contend with the same difficulties which are generally found to arise when such barbarous tribes are brought under the authority of a civilised power. The first effect of establishing such an authority, and enabling the population to appeal to a civilised government for protection against wrongs done to them, is to put a stop to the injustice and tyranny almost universally exercised over savages by their chiefs. But it unfortunately happens that it is impossible to protect the people from oppression by their chiefs without gradually breaking down the authority of the latter for all purposes, and depriving them of the means of maintaining their social position. When a Kafir chief is no longer permitted to eat up' any of his followers he chooses, he loses his sole means of making himself obeyed, and of obtaining the resources required to maintain his barbarous state as a chief. The effect of thus breaking down the authority of the chiefs and lowering their social position is to create discontent among them, and also to impose upon the British Government the task of supplying the place of the authority it has superseded in maintaining internal order among the tribes a task which it has very inadequate means of performing.

These considerations induced me thirty years ago, when I held the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies, to instruct the Governor of the Cape, instead of destroying whatever of social organisation had hitherto existed among the barbarous tribes brought under our authority, to endeavour to maintain as much of it as possible, correcting the abuses and supplying the defects of the system. With that view I proposed that the chiefs should receive salaries from the Government, in return for which they should be required to keep order in their respective districts, and to decide disputes amongst their followers, with the aid of their councillors and of a certain number of their tribe enrolled as constables, to whom small annual fees should be allowed. It was proposed that the chiefs should not exercise any power of punishing offenders, but only be authorised to carry them before the nearest British magistrate. To provide for the expense of these arrangements, it was intended that assessments should be imposed upon land and cattle, and that further direct taxation should in some form or other be introduced. It was also suggested that tithes might be required of the produce of the soil. This is a form of raising the means of providing for public expenses which seems to have prevailed almost

universally in the various countries of the world from the earliest ages, and which is as convenient and useful in a rude state of society as it is injurious in a more advanced one. When money is scarce and land cheap, the cultivators cannot by any other means contribute to the wants of the State with so little inconvenience as by the payment of tithes. Tithes received in kind provide for the maintenance of those employed in the public service; and if from the beginning the cultivators have the option of paying in money instead of in produce at a very low rate, according to the extent of land they occupy, the burden can never become a heavy one. The imposition of a moderate amount of direct taxation I hold to be of great importance in the management of rude tribes just emerging from barbarism, not only because it affords the means which would otherwise be wanting of meeting the cost of measures necessary for their improvement, but also because it supplies a motive and a stimulus to labour. It was with this view that the annual tax of seven shillings on every native hut was imposed in Natal, and I believe it is still levied with great advantage.

But while I regard it as desirable that the tribal organisation of the Kafirs should not be too hastily interfered with, and though I think some of the officers employed of late years in Africa have been hardly enough impressed with the necessity of caution in changing the position of the chiefs, it would, I think, be equally a mistake to endeavour to maintain that position permanently. What ought to be aimed at is by degrees, and as quickly as is consistent with safety, to convert the chiefs into regular officers of the Government, and to enable their followers to relieve themselves from the onerous obligations to which they are subject as members of their tribes, and to become owners and occupiers of land and houses on the same terms and with the same rights as the whites. With all the high merits of Sir T. Shepstone as an administrator of uncivilised tribes, and notwithstanding the striking success of his policy in Natal, I cannot help entertaining some doubt whether this policy has been sufficiently progressive. The manner in which he began the work of improvement deserves the very highest praise, but I do not feel so sure that the first steps have been equally well followed up. I regret that more has not been done to enable all Kafirs who wished it to exchange their claim to occupy certain lands in common with their tribe for small allotments to be held as their individual property, and also that more vigorous efforts have not been made for the extension of schools, and especially of industrial schools. Nor does it appear to me that sufficient use has been made of military discipline as an instrument both for civilising the native population and for providing at a moderate cost for the protection of the colony. Complaints have been made of the little advantage derived from the services of the native levies in the present war on the