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CAPE COLONY AND BRITISH SOUTH AFRICA. 



Indeed, it seems to me that I should be neglecting my 

 duty if I did not read to your lordships the two pri- 

 vate letters which the unfortunate Prince took out 

 with him as letters of introduction to Sir Bartle Frere 

 and Lord Chelmsford. They are private letters, and 

 are the letters under which the Prince attached him- 

 self to the army in Zoolooland : 



" February 25, 1879. 



" MY DEAR CHELMSFORD : This letter will be presented to 

 you by the Prince Imperial, who is going out on his own ac- 

 count to see as much as he can of the coming campaign in 

 Zoolooland. He is extremely anxious to go out, and wanted 

 to be employed in our army ; but the Government did not 

 consider that this could be sanctioned, but have sanctioned 

 my writing to you and to Sir Bartle Frere to say that if you 

 can show him kindness and render him assistance to see as 

 much as he can with the columns in the field, I hope you will 

 do so. He is a fine young fellow, full of spirit and pluck, and 

 having many old cadet friends in the Artillery, he will doubt- 

 less find no difficulty in getting on ; and if you can help him 

 in any other way, pray do so. My only anxiety on his ac- 

 count would be that he is too plucky and go-ahead. 



" I remain, my dear Chelmsford, yours most sincerely, 



"GEORGE." 



That is the letter to Lord Chelmsford, and I should 

 also like to read to your lordships that which was ad- 

 dressed to Sir Bartle Frere, in order that there may 

 be no mistake : 



" February 25, 1879. 



" MY DEAR 8ns BARTLE FRERK : I am anxious to make you 

 acquainted with the Prince Imperial, who is about to proceed 

 to Natal by to-morrow's packet to see as much as he can of 

 the coming campaign in Zoolooland in the capacity of a 

 spectator. He was anxious to serve in our army, having 

 been a cadet at Woolwich ; but the Government did not think 

 that this could be sanctioned. But no objection is made to 

 his going out on his own account, and I am permitted to intro- 

 duce him to you and to Lord Chelmsford in the hope and 

 with my personal request that you will give him every help 

 in your power to enable him to see what he can . I have written 

 to Chelmsford to the same effect. He is a charming young 

 man, full of spirit and energy, speaking English admirably, 

 and the more you see of him the more you will like him. 

 He has many young friends in the Artille'ry, and so I doubt 

 not with your and Chehnsford's kind assistance he will get 

 on well enough. 



" I remain, my dear Sir Bartle, yours most sincerely, 



" GEOEGE." 



My lords, having read these letters, all I can say is 

 that I think, so far as the authorities at home are con- 

 cerned, everybody must feel that nothing has been 

 done by them to place the unfortunate Prince in the 

 position which unhappily resulted in his death. We 

 all deeply regret his loss, and I am sure there is not a 

 man, woman, or child in the country, from her Majesty 

 downward, who does not sensibly deplore what has 

 occurred ; but, certainly, so far as the authorities here 

 are concerned, I feel tnat we had nothing to dp with 

 bringing about such a catastrophe as that which wo 

 now all so greatly lament. 



Lieutenant Carey, the officer who accom- 

 panied the Prince Imperial, was tried by court 

 martial, and at its close was sent home under 

 arrest pending the Queen's decision upon the 

 verdict. In the first days of August the pro- 

 ceedings of the court were quashed on account 

 of an informality. At first Lieutenant Carey 

 was severely censured throughout the United 

 Kingdom; but as the facts of his case became 

 known, public sentiment completely changed, 

 and upon his arrival in Portsmouth he was 

 to be presented with a numerously signed 

 address, expressive of sympathy for him in his 

 trying position and of confidence in him as a 

 brave officer and a true Englishman. Although 

 this address was not presented in consequence 

 of an intimation from the authorities, the sen- 

 timents it contained were expressed to him in 

 other ways, and he was everywhere treated as 

 one who had been unjustly accused. 



In the Transvaal the war showed a very bad 

 state of affairs. The Boers, in their hostility 

 to England, went so far as to refuse all assist- 

 ance against the Zooloos. None of the promises 

 made by Sir Theophilus Shepstone when he an- 

 nexed the country had been carried out, and 

 the Boers even went so far as to talk of reas- 

 serting their independence by force. The news 

 of Isandlana had hardly spread itself throughout 

 the Transvaal before the first threats of dis- 

 placing the British by force were heard. In 

 order to come to an understanding with the 

 Boers, Sir Bartle Frere set out for Pretoria, 

 and arrived on April 10th. He was received 

 with an address of welcome. In his reply he 

 stated that he had come to see that the exist- 

 ing laws were obeyed, and that the inhabitants 

 enjoyed the same protection as other portions 

 of the Queen's dominions. " I find," he said, 

 " that there are those who think the country 

 may be given up again ; but I think you will 

 see in the promptitude with which the reen- 

 forcements lately asked for were sent a clear 

 proof and guarantee that no territory over 

 which the British flag has once waved will 

 ever be abandoned." On the 12th he entered 

 the camp of 2,000 or 3,000 malcontents who 

 threatened an attack on the seat of govern- 

 ment at Pretoria, and succeeded in convincing 

 them that it was best for them to submit quiet- 

 ly. The camp was broken up, and the people 

 quietly dispersed to their homes. 



In the Transvaal the Caff res under Secocoeni, 

 who had defeated the Boers in 1877, also be- 

 came hostile, and Colonel Lanyon was sent in 

 the early part of the year to that province to 

 keep them in check. Several successful patrols 

 were made against them, and Colonel Lanyon 

 had just completed his arrangements for at- 

 tacking the stronghold of the chief, when in 

 June Sir Garnet Wolseley sent instructions to 

 him to stop and send his men to Derby to pro- 

 tect that part of the border, and prevent Cety- 

 wayo from breaking through. 



After the pacification of Zoolooland had been 

 accomplished, Sir Garnet Wolseley went to the 

 Transvaal, arriving in Pretoria on September 

 28th. He was met by a deputation of the peo- 

 ple, who presented him an address of welcome. 

 The General read a written answer to the 

 address, which he supplemented with a speech 

 of the same tenor and tone, as to the irrevocable 

 nature of the annexation. 



The Zooloo war again brought the question 

 of a South African confederation prominently 

 before the public. On June 12th Sir M. Hicks- 

 Beach addressed a dispatch to Sir Bartle 

 Frere, in which he intimated that " a deter- 

 mined effort " should be made to extend the 

 system of self-government possessed by the 

 Cape to other portions of South Africa, so that 

 the Queen's representative there might be 

 aided by a Union Ministry and Parliament in 

 dealing with the " singularly difficult and intri- 

 cate problems of government " of the whole 

 country. Setting aside previous suggestions 



