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 SPEECH 
 
 HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERE, Bart.. 
 
 ETC., ETC., ETC. ; 
 
 (J&obcruor of tlje Cape oi daoob ]l3opc, nnb ^. p. I^tgb Commisflioncr 
 for ^out^ §Lfricii ; 
 
 AND OF OTHERS. 
 
 DELIVERED ON THE OCCASION OF 
 
 THE BANQUET GIVEN TO HIS EXCELLENCY UPON HIS RETURN 
 TO CAPE TOWN, JUNE 11, 1879. 
 
 LONDON : 
 JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 
 
 1879.
 
 KiNIxiN : 
 tRAPTil'RY, AONKW, ANIi Co., )'1UXTFR^, WHITFFRIARS.
 
 BANQUET 
 
 TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE RIGHT HON. 
 
 SIR BAETLE FEEEE, Baet. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 The banquet held in honour of His Excellency the 
 Governor and High Commissioner's return to the capital, 
 after an absence of nine months' duration, in Natal, the 
 Transvaal, and Griqualand West, originally fixed for Satur- 
 day, June 7th, and postponed in consequence of the lament- 
 able death, and out of respect to the memory of the late 
 Prince Imperial, took place on the afternoon of Wednesday, 
 June 11th, in the Exhibition Building, Goede Hoop Gardens, 
 Cape Town, and was the completion of the magnificent 
 reception accorded to His Excellency on his return to Cape 
 Town upon Friday, June 6th. 
 
 The Exhibition Building requires much decoration, for it is 
 only wall space. From pillar to pillar, and from wall to wall 
 throughout the building were ropes of evergreens, inter- 
 mingled with which were bannerets of every variety of 
 colour. Facing the Governor, and on the balustrade of the 
 band balcony, was one of the mottoes of the Frere family, 
 " Traditum ab antiquis servare," and the colonial coat-of-arms. 
 Rising above the foliage which hid the balcony, and centrally 
 placed, was a fir-tree, and overhead in the midst of banners, 
 and forming the central ornament, was Sir Bartle Frere's 
 monogram. The lofty pillars which support the roof were 
 covered with heaths, out of which the leaves of the colonial 
 gladiolus drooped like palms, whilst the crowns of the pillars 
 had real palm leaves. The supporting pillars at the sides 
 
 B 2
 
 4 ACCOUNT OF THE BANQUET. 
 
 were covered with drapery of red, white, and blue. The side 
 panels of the walls had alternately red, white, and blue, while 
 shrubs peeped prettily out of white arums. Behind His 
 Excellency's seat was a curtain of flags, in the centre of which 
 on a scarlet gi'ound in large letters was the word " Welcome." 
 Half way down the building on the right-hand side, worked 
 in everlasting flow^ers on a scarlet ground, was the second 
 motto of the Frere family, " Frere ay me Frere," and appro- 
 priately facing this on the opposite w^all was " Progress for 
 South Africa ! " 
 
 Five rows of tables ran along the centre of the building, 
 with a cross-table at the top, destined for the most honoured 
 guests, and a hastily-improvised cross table at the foot of the 
 others was also occupied, the total number of visitors amount- 
 ing to some 350, of whom about one-third were ladies. 
 
 The chair was occupied by the Hon. W. De Smidt. The 
 Hon. A. Ebden, M.L.C., the Hon. Mr. Fleming, M.L.A., Mr. 
 T. E. Fuller, M.L.A, Major Goodlifife and Mr. J. B. Marquard 
 officiated as vice-chairmen ; Mr. Fuller being at the foot of 
 the central table, facing the chair. 
 
 Shortly before half-past one His Excellency Sir Bartle 
 Frere arrived, accompanied by Lady Frere, the Misses Frere, 
 His Honour the Chief Justice, the Lord Bishop of Cape 
 Town, the Colonial Secretary, the Attorney-General, the 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands, the Treasurer General, the 
 Bishop of Cape Town, Colonel Hassard, R.E., Captain 
 Wright, R.N., Major Southey, Mr. Justice Dwyer, &c., &c., 
 and was received by the Executive Committee. A procession 
 was formed from the Lodge to the Exhibition Building, the 
 Hon. Mr. De Smidt leading it wath Lady Frere, followed by 
 H. E. the Bight Hon. the Governor and Lady De Villiers, 
 after whom came the Chief Justice Avith Miss Frere, the 
 Bishop of Cape Town with Mrs. Sprigg, the Members of the 
 Cabinet and Mrs. Miller and Mrs. Uppington ; and the repre- 
 sentatives of the Army and Navy and other officials, &c. As 
 His Excellency entered the building the company rose on 
 their feet, and the band struck up " God Save the Queen," 
 and the Governor's party and suite took their seats at the 
 head table in the same order in which they had entered the 
 building. His Excellency taking his seat on the right of the 
 Chairman, who, in a few brief words, bade him " welcome," in 
 the name of the company assembled to do him honour. 
 
 The banquet ended, and the first toast, " Her Majesty the 
 Queen," having been given by the Chairman, and received 
 in the usual loyal manner, followed by " God Save the 
 
 ^^/
 
 SPEECH OF MR. FULLER. 5 
 
 Queen " by the band, the Chairman said the next toast he 
 had to propose was " The Health of their Royal Highnesses 
 the Prince and Princess of Wales and the other members of 
 the Royal Family." With regard to that toast, he thought 
 it was unnecessary for him to say more than a few words. 
 The Prince of Wales had always evinced a great interest in 
 matters connected with the welfare of this colony, as well as 
 in colonial matters generally ; and he had no donbt the as- 
 sembled company would join in doing all honour to the toast 
 which he now proposed to them. 
 
 The toast was received with hearty cheers ; the band play- 
 ing " God bless the Prince of Wales." 
 
 Mr. T. E. Fuller, Vice-Chairman, M.L.A. (for Cape Town), 
 in proposing the toast of the day, then said : — " Mr. Chair- 
 man, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour of having 
 been selected to propose to you the health of His Excellency 
 Sir Bartle Frere (cheers), the Governor of this Colony, and 
 Her Majesty's High Commissioner for South 'Afx^ica (loud 
 and continued cheering). Ladies and Gentlemen, when I 
 was asked to propose this toast, I felt that it should have 
 been committed to one of the foremost of our citizens, but at 
 the same time I did not hesitate for one moment to express 
 your sentiments of esteem and affection for one of the most 
 high-minded and courageous servants of the Queen who ever 
 came to this Colony (loud and continued cheering). I felt 
 indeed that the proposal of this toast was almost a work of 
 supererogation, for you have already, if I may say so, drunk 
 it with honour in your magnificent reception of His Excel- 
 lency on Friday last (cheers). Moreover, all along the line 
 from the Transvaal downwards, the people of this Colony 
 have held but one language and manifested but one feeling 
 (cheers). Ladies and Gentlemen, that makes my task to-day 
 at once more difficult and more easy. My words of con- 
 gratulation are anticipated, and I have simply to glean from 
 a field already reaped. But the theme will bear repetition 
 because of the strong feeling of the people (cheers), and that 
 is my consolation in repeating to you to-day what Jias
 
 b SPEECH OF MR. FULLER. 
 
 already been well said before. I beg on your behalf to 
 express through this toast to His Excellency the High Com- 
 missioner the profound sympathy of this community with 
 the troubles and cares through which he has passed on 
 behalf of South Africa (prolonged cheers). Ladies and 
 Gentlemen, those cares and those troubles were sufficient to 
 weigh down the spirits and bear down the strength of the 
 strongest man. His Excellency was placed in a position 
 which was enough to try him to the uttermost. It was no 
 light thing to be called upon to make a decision sharply and 
 decisively for peace or war (cheers). Our honoured guest 
 had to act for the Imperial Government and for South 
 Africa, and upon his own shoulders rested the full burden 
 of that position. 
 
 "No sooner had the war commenced than His Excellency 
 found himself face to face with that unparalleled disaster at 
 Isandhlwana. Ladies and Gentlemen, the shock of that 
 disaster extended to the civilised world (hear, hear), but it 
 fell first of all upon His Excellency the High Commissioner 
 and the Commander-in-Chief. Then followed the terrible 
 period of suspense when anxious fears were entertained of an 
 invasion of Natal, but those fears were happily mitigated by 
 the heroic defence of Rorke's Drift, and by the consciousness 
 which it gave that the Zulus had there been taught, that if 
 they should dare to cross the border and to invade Natal, they 
 would meet with a reception worthy of our nation and of our 
 army. Scarcely had this anxiety passed away when there 
 arrived from the Transvaal emissaries threatening almost 
 rebellion. Having conciliated the people of the Transvaal, 
 His Excellency passed on to the Diamond Fields, where also 
 a difficult task awaited him, but where, for the first time 
 since leaving Cape Town, he met with comparatively quiet 
 times. Thence he has passed to the serene atmosphere of 
 the Western Province, where, in the midst of his family I 
 hope His Excellency will find rest and tranquillity, after the 
 troubles and trials through which it has been his lot to pass 
 (cheers). To the enjoyment of this rest I sincerely hope 
 your support and sympathy will help him (cheers). We
 
 SPEECH OF MR. FULLER. 7 
 
 are here to-day not to celebrate any triumph. God forbid 
 that we should do so in the midst of battle. It becomes us 
 not to rejoice as those who put their armour off, but as those 
 who put it on. We are not celebrating His Excellency's 
 triumph over difficulties, but we are expressing in the midst 
 of the strife our confidence and trust in him (loud and con- 
 tinued cheering). 
 
 *•' Ladies and Gentlemen, this leads me to my second point. 
 I wish to give, on your behalf, not only an expression of 
 sympathy with His Excellency, but also of approval of the 
 decisive step that he thought it necessary to take in de- 
 manding the retrenchment of the power of the Zulu King 
 (loud and continued cheers). At the risk of being tedious, 
 I shall venture to read a few lines from the Times news- 
 paper of Saturday, May 3rd. It is from the Times corre- 
 spondent in Durban. He says : — ' Sir Bartle Frere has the 
 advantage of being able to feel that he is sustained by the 
 support, confidence, and sympathy of all the European 
 dwellers iu South Africa. The meetings thafr are every- 
 where being held all lead to the same result — a unanimous 
 and enthusiastic vote in Sir Bartle Frere's behalf. Whatever 
 may be thought at home of his action, here, at any rate, 
 where we are taught and guided by the logic of facts and the 
 lessons of experience, we believe that the High Commissioner 
 has merely carried out an inevitable policy. A more timid 
 and less self-reliant man might have preferred, by temporising, 
 tr> defer the final solution of a great difficulty to a time when 
 the responsibility of action would fall upon other shoulders. 
 Sir Bartle Frere was inspired by no such selfish considera- 
 tions. He believed, as we all believed, that the danger had 
 suddenly become imminent, and that the struggle could only 
 be postponed to our own detriment. He challenged Cety- 
 wayo to show himself in his true colours, and forced him to 
 prove whether his real aims were friendly or hostile. The 
 result is what most expected, tragical though are the 
 characters in which it is written. To us in Natal this war 
 means sacrifice, loss, discomfort, destruction of trade, constant 
 anxiety, and daily peril, but there are not half-a-dozen
 
 8 SPEECH OF MR. FULLER. 
 
 persons in the country who find fault with the High Com- 
 missioner for bringing to a crisis our relations with a Power 
 whose existence was a bar to abiding peace or advancing 
 civilization in South Africa ' (loud and continued cheers). 
 Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg publicly to thank in your name 
 the writer of that paragraph (hear, hear, and cheers). It 
 exactly represents our case. It does justice to the colonists, 
 and it does justice to the High Commissioner. 
 
 " I will read three lines more from another article which 
 is written in a different spirit. The writer says : — ' It is still 
 less pleasant to hear that the colonists, who will pocket the 
 greater portion of our millions and all the profits of security, 
 are enraptured with Sir Bartle Frere's great policy and loud 
 in condemnation of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's despatch. 
 They are having their wars done for them in the most de- 
 lightful way, and when they volunteer, receive pay at the 
 rate of 30s. a week. " Peace with honour, and large profits," 
 that is to be their destiny, and South Africa feels as if Provi- 
 dence had for once been very kind.' You will recognize at 
 once in these words the familiar strain of one of those 
 Spectator notes in which the most difficult and complicated 
 questions are settled in a few off-hand sentences (laughter). 
 Well, I will challenge the writer to find twenty persons in 
 the whole of South Africa who would not desire peace to- 
 morrow if it could be peace with honour and security (cheers). 
 I venture to believe that there are not half a dozen men so 
 wicked that for any profit whatever they would desire a con- 
 tinuance of the war ; and the doctrinaire writers and speakers 
 who make the charge against our colonists, which is put for- 
 ward by the Spectator, simply commit themselves to a libel 
 on the people of South Africa (hear, hear). The plain fact 
 of the case is that there was a crisis in the history of South 
 Africa. The temper of the Zulu King had become over- 
 bearing and dangerous to the people of South Africa, and 
 Sir Bartle Frere by his courage and promptness met that 
 crisis (hear, hear, and cheers;. If it had not been for His 
 Excellency's decisive demand the struggle would have taken 
 place not to the north of the Tugela but about the home-
 
 SPEECH OP MR. FULLER. 9 
 
 steads of Natal and the Cape Colony (loud and continued 
 cheering). 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen, without desiring to keep you 
 longer, I come to my last point, that we desire to express 
 in this toast the wish that His Excellency will remain in 
 our midst to witness the issue of this struggle in the 
 realization of his and our hope — the permanent peace and 
 security of Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa (cheers). 
 I hope sincerely that the Transvaal difficulty will be settled, 
 and that the people of the Transvaal may abandon the 
 idea of an injurious isolation, and imite heartily with the 
 other South African dependencies of the Crow^n in facing a 
 common danger, and securing a common prosperity. The 
 British flag has sometimes been hastily hoisted, but it has 
 never been the symbol of permanent injustice and WTong. 
 It has always been the policy of Great Britain to respect 
 the nationalities she has absorbed into her Empire. I 
 hope also that the Zulu difficulty may soon be settled, not 
 only in 'peace with honour,' but in peace with security. 
 I am sure Sir Bartle Frere, who has dared and done so 
 much for South Africa, will have nothing to do with a 
 patched-up peace (loud cheering). And, finally, I would 
 venture to express the hope which has filled my heart more 
 than any other, that out of these struggles and storms there 
 may arise, in vigour and strength, a genuine and united 
 South African nationality. Love of country is a powerful 
 feeling ; combined with a wish and desire to take part in 
 the life and progress of our country it is of more moment, 
 in connection with our future, than any other feeling which 
 can animate us. More even than the best imported excel- 
 lence, we need a patrictism and public virtue racy of the 
 soil, wide in its sympathies, and noble in its aims. Soon 
 after I came to the Colony, I heard a speech from Mr. Wil- 
 liam Porter, the Chancellor of the University, and another 
 from His Honour the Chief Justice (whom I am happy to 
 see here to-day), in which sentiments of this kind were 
 nobly expressed, and from which I and many others were 
 confirmed in our resolution not to be content with sneers at
 
 10 SIR BARTLE FRERe'S SPEECH. 
 
 the weaknesses of our adopted country, but to throw ourselves 
 heart and soul into every work tending to its elevation. 
 
 "Ladies and Gentlemen, other influences for good, even 
 such as are embodied in the life of our honoured guest, are 
 here to-day and gone to-morrow ; but a genuine, self-deny- 
 ing patriotism abides for ever, beariog imperishable fruit, 
 and putting forth new forms of strength and beauty with 
 the passing years. It is because Sir Bartle Frere has not 
 come here merely to look at us, but to share in our troubles, 
 as well as our successes, that I ask you to drink his hecilth 
 with all honours " (Loud and continued cheering). 
 
 The toast was received with loud and prolonged cheering. 
 
 His Excellency the Governor, who on rising was received 
 with the most enthusiastic and continued cheering, said : — 
 " Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen, — It is quite impos- 
 sible for me to find words adequately to express to you my 
 sense of the kindness with which Mr. Fuller has proposed^ 
 and you have received, my health this day. I wish I could 
 only express one-half of what comes to my mind on the 
 subject, but I am sure you will bear with me, and more 
 especially on an occasion like this — an occasion which we 
 have been reminded is one of no empty pageant or rejoicing, 
 but one of the discharge of a stern duty to be deliberately 
 undertaken (cheers). I felt, Ladies and Gentlemen, all the 
 way as I approached your capital, and saw the preparations 
 you had so kindly made for my reception, that there was 
 something much more than personal feeliug behind that 
 which I witnessed. We have been reminded, in very excel- 
 lent taste, as well as in very distinct terms, by Mr. Fuller, 
 that this is no time for taking pleasure or rejoicing in what 
 has been done. I do not envy the feehngs of anyone who at 
 this moment — when so many who are dear to us are in the 
 field, with the image of that chivalrous Prince whom you so 
 lately saw among you still before us, and the thoughts of 
 what awaits his widowed mother at home — I do not envy, I 
 sa}^, the feelings of anyone who could come here for any 
 display of empty pageant or pleasure. Gentlemen, it has
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERe's SPEECH. 11 
 
 been said that this demonstration had something of a per- 
 sonal bearing — as a tribute of personal feeling towards one 
 whose views and conduct you have been pleased to approve. 
 It might be very flattering to my vanity if I could think 
 that anything of that sort entered into your calculations, but 
 I feel assured that a far deeper and a far worthier motive 
 has actuated all that you have done. I wish that those who 
 think otherwise could have witnessed with me the greeting 
 which generally met my eyes as I came near Cape Town, 
 and more than once, as I passed through your streets, it was 
 embodied in the expression, ' We endorse your policy.' (Loud 
 cheers.) Gentlemen, I have no respect for any policy which 
 is not founded upon principle (renewed cheering). I know of 
 no policy that has either occurred to myself, or that has 
 been adopted by me in obedience to the commands of Her 
 Majest3^'s Government, or the suggestions of my responsible 
 Ministers, with wdiich I have ever been connected, which is 
 not founded upon principle (loud cheers). And, if you will 
 bear wdth me, I should like briefly to glanc^ at a few of 
 those principles which underlie the policy wdiich I believe 
 you approve. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I believe that the first principle is this, that 
 every subject of Her Majesty, in every part of her dominions? 
 should be able to live in his own house in the same security 
 as if he were within the four seas of old England (cheers). 
 You know that very soon after I came to this country we 
 witnessed, on a small scale, very much of what has lately 
 occurred in Natal ; and when I went to Natal I found a 
 great division of opinion as to the state of affairs which there 
 existed. There were prophets of evil, and there were a few 
 prophets who prophesied smooth things, but it seemed to me 
 from all I could learn that all were living on the brink of a 
 volcano. It seemed to me that there was no part of that 
 country which was not in imminent danger of the horrors of 
 such a war as could be brought upon it by an inroad of 
 neighbouring native races (cheers). Gentlemen, it has been 
 said that this was a hastily-formed conclusion, but I would 
 beg to ask whether this has not been for years past the con-
 
 12 SIR BARTLE FRERE's SPEECH. 
 
 viction of all, with very few exceptions, of tliose who have 
 most closely and practically studied Zulu character and his- 
 tory, and who may be supposed to know best what are the 
 intentions of the Zulus ? I do not speak now so much of the 
 people as of their ruler, but I assert, without any fear of con- 
 tradiction, that for many years past the deepest thinkers, and 
 the closest observers, of native life on the Zulu border, have 
 been of opinion that the condition of settlers in that country 
 was one of extreme peril. I have heard this same opinion 
 from other colonists, from Australians and Canadians, who 
 gave it as their reason for objecting to Natal as a field for 
 emigration ; and what I witnessed there convinced me that 
 what had long before been told me by persons well acquainted 
 Avith the countr}' was correct, and that the condition of the 
 people there was extremely hazardous. Everything I saw 
 and everything I heard pointed to the same conclusion, and 
 it proved, what I believe will bear the test of the closest in- 
 vestigation ;" that, throughout the whole of South Africa, a 
 movement originating with the Zulu rulers had stirred to 
 their hearts the whole of the native population, and they only 
 looked and hoped for some revolution which should bring 
 about the supremacy of the black races and the expulsion of 
 the Europeans (loud cheers). 
 
 " Gentlemen, the measures which were then taken in 
 the neighbouring Colony, were taken with the most careful 
 consideration, not only of His Excellency the General com- 
 manding the forces, but of the Lieut.-Governor of Natal 
 and of myself, and they were strictly directed to defence. 
 It appeared to us to be quite impossible to attempt the 
 defence of the Natal border with the forces which were 
 then in the Colony, or any which it was possible to com- 
 mand, and that the only system of defence which could 
 be effectual was one of active defence; that it was only 
 by carrying the war at once into the enemy's country, by 
 posting columns within the enemy's border, by meeting 
 him upon his own ground and threatening his own com- 
 munications, that we could prevent an irruption into the 
 colony of Natal (cheers). This, Gentlemen, is our justifica-
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERe's SPEECH. 13 
 
 tion, the justification for the act which you have been 
 pleased to affirm this day to be, as has been stated by Mr- 
 Fuller, a necessary act of defence (loud and prolonged 
 cheers). I feel convinced that when our countrymen at 
 home, even including those adverse critics to whom Mr. 
 Fuller has so well referred, come to look at these transac- 
 tions in the light of history, they will do us justice, and say 
 that w^e did no more than was necessary for the safety of the 
 colony of Natal (loud cheers). It is quite possible that that 
 verdict may not come in my time". All your history points 
 to similar cases of men who have done their best according 
 to their lights, and to whom justice was not done till lono- 
 after they had passed away (loud cheers). But, whenever it 
 may be, the thing that has mainly sustained me in all that 
 has passed, has been the conviction that, except in necessary 
 measures of defence, no soldier of Her Majesty has hitherto 
 been employed (loud and enthusiastic cheers). 
 
 " I think, Gentlemen, I might well refer to what was my 
 commission when I came to these shores. I was charged as 
 High Commissioner in these terms, ' To take all such mea- 
 sures and do all such matters and things, as can and may be 
 lawfully and discreetl}^ done for preventing the recurrence of 
 any irruption into Her Majesty's possessions by hostile tribes, 
 and for maintaining the said possessions in peace and safety' 
 (loud cheers). That, Ladies and Gentlemen, was my charge, 
 and I need not tell you that I have no plenary power to 
 make peace or war. I have power simply to defend the 
 colony, and to see that no irruption take place, and I think 
 I may venture to refer to what has since occurred. Notwith- 
 standing the unparalleled disasters which have befallen our 
 arms on some occasions, I think I may refer to the fact that 
 up to the present moment, though strictly speaking there 
 has been no difficulty in crossing the boundary, the frontier 
 of Her Majesty's possessions has remained inviolate from any 
 hostile foe (loud cheers). I think when these matters are 
 calmly judged they will more than justify Lord Chelmsford's 
 strategy, and will more than compensate for all the sufferings 
 his troops have gone through. I do not venture to speak
 
 14 SIR EARTLE FRERe's SPEECH. 
 
 boastfully, but I say that, looking to what has passed, Lord 
 Chelmsford and his troops may well feel proud that, borne 
 down as they were by overwhelming numbers, they have 
 still preserved your fellow-colonists in peace and safety 
 (enthusiastic cheers). 
 
 " We have been told, Gentlemen, that we were precipitate 
 in what we did ; we have been told that, had we not done 
 something or another which w^e have done, it w^as quite 
 possible that the King of the Zulus, being a well-meaning- 
 prince, and anxious only for the interests of peace, might not 
 have used the power which he possessed. Gentlemen, what- 
 ever that power was, we have seen only too distinctly how he 
 w^ould use it. I judge not from mere siunnise, nor from my 
 knowledge of what a man trained to despotism and bloodshed 
 is apt to do, but I judge from what he himself had said of 
 himself, and from what he himself had done, within the 
 eighteen months previous (cheers). I find that he had 
 repeatedly stated that his power was founded on blood ; that 
 it was necessary to the due maintenance of his power that he 
 should be unrestrained in his ability to slay his subjects and 
 make war upon other people. I had before me the patent 
 fact that he had asked for leave to wash his young men's 
 spears, as well as the distinct geographical fact that it was 
 impossible for him to do so without slaying British subjects, 
 or those who were so closely allied to us, that they considered 
 themselves under our protection. I would, ask. Gentlemen 
 in the name of common sense and common prudence, was it 
 to be relied upon that Cetywayo would not use the enormous 
 power which he possessed? (loud cheers). Was it possible 
 for your fellow-colonists to live in the trust, that bloodthirsty 
 as this man professes himself to be, and powerful as he 
 knows himself to be, he would belie his own statements, 
 behave as a humane and well-meaning Ruler, and abstain 
 from those acts of bloodshed and aggression which formed 
 the main glory of the Zulu nation ? (cheers). I could not 
 believe it ; I could not so persuade myself, but I believed in 
 my heart that no risk which could be undertaken by Her 
 Majesty's soldiers, was to be thought of for a moment against 
 the paramount duty of doing our best to protect Her Majesty's
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERe's SPEECH. 15 
 
 subjects (enthusiastic clieers). This, Gentlemen, is all I 
 would ask you to hear from me on this subject, the first 
 principle, that it is our duty to see as far as possible that all 
 Her Majesty's subjects are able to live in security and safety 
 (cheers). 
 
 " Then, Gentlemen, there is another principle which deeply 
 underlies the policy to which I think you refer when you say 
 that you will ' endorse our policy,' and that is, that when 
 native tribes and native society come in contact with Euro- 
 pean population and European society, there shall be a 
 distinct understanding whether European ideas, or whether 
 native ideas, are to rule and are to prevail for the govern- 
 ment of the people (cheers). I need not enter at any length 
 into this point. You know that such principles of govern- 
 ment as we live under — the principles which our ancestors 
 have worked for dui'ing ages past — are symbolized by the 
 Crown, while the Zulu rule of violence may be symbolized 
 by the Zulu assegai, and I would ask whether the Crown or 
 whether the assegai is to be the future symbol of govern- 
 ment in South Africa ? They cannot both rule, they cannot 
 co-exist. We must make our choice, and wherever we 
 come in contact with the other races of South Africa, we 
 must make our election, and decide whether the Crown or 
 whether the assegai shall prevail (cheers). And I need not 
 remind you that wherever the Crown is the symbol of 
 supremacy, there the law must be supreme, and where there 
 is an equal administration of law, there every advantage of 
 education and every franchise of political life must sooner or 
 later be enjoyed by all free inhabitants of the land. You 
 have gone much further, in this colony than in any other 
 colony in South Africa, further, I believe, than in most parts 
 of the world ; and I need not remind gentlemen here present 
 that this has not all been done at once. Long lives, and 
 valuable lives, and much labour have been expended in 
 erecting that constitutional edifice under which we live, and 
 I only trust that the tendencies and the constitution of this 
 Colony may be taken as a model for the rest of South Africa. 
 I would ask you, Gentlemen, whether this is any new policy ?
 
 16 SIR BARTLE FRERe'S SPEECH. 
 
 You know very well that it is not. You know very well 
 that it has become the traditional policy of your chief 
 statesmen. There are very few men who have made their 
 mark in your political life who do not concur in the main 
 principles on which you should be governed, and on which 
 you should assist to govern the natives of the land ; and I 
 would ask, in passing, whether it is to be supposed for one 
 moment that those principles are adverse to the native 
 population ? I firmly believe. Gentlemen, with all respect 
 for those who go much further than I do in admiring native 
 institutions, that in no part of the world has the difficult 
 problem of how the native races should live alongside us, and 
 take a share in social and political development, been better 
 understood, or worked out with more single-minded purpose 
 to do justice to all the native races, than in the Cape Colony 
 (loud cheers). 
 
 '' I think, Gentlemen, we may well bear with those who 
 think differently, just at this moment, from us on this point. 
 Let us do all honour to men who have done yeoman service 
 in stating the case of the native races under every dis- 
 advantage of race rivalry, and of that inevitable difficulty 
 which besets the problem in every part of the world. I have 
 seen something of these difficulties in India, and I have 
 heard much about the difficulties which have to a great 
 extent been overcome in Canada, but I am quite certain that 
 when the question is fairly investigated, when you have fairly 
 taken into account the weight of opinions of every kind on 
 this subject, you will find that in no part of the world 
 has a nearer approach been made to those conditions of 
 peaceful living one alongside the other, which must come 
 about before you can look for security, than in South Africa. 
 It is not by exterminating, it is not by expelling the 
 native races that anything can be done in this direction. 
 We know that by one means or another they must be taught 
 to live among us, and to rise to our level without expecting 
 us to go down to theirs (cheers), and I would ask whether 
 this has not been done to a very great extent in all the older 
 parts of this Colony ?
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERE's SPEECH. 17 
 
 " Few things have struck me more than the very kindly 
 and cordial relations which, in spite of occasional hasty lan- 
 guage, exist in all the settled parts of the colony which 
 I have visited between those of European descent and those 
 who are working under them, derived from the native tribes 
 of South Africa (cheers). One of the most extraordinary 
 instances of this kind I very lately witnessed at the Diamond 
 Fields. I saw there the whole of the severe labour of the 
 Fields done by men who came voluntarily from hundreds of 
 miles off to work for wages for European masters. There 
 was no compulsion, not a shadow of coercion in the system ; 
 they came and they worked, and they went away contented 
 and happy, and this, remember, was done under conditions 
 eminently unfavourable to what you might call a philoso- 
 phical solution of the problem ; it was simply the action of 
 old-established ideas among the old colonists, and the com- 
 mercial laws of supply and demand actuating those of more 
 recent arrival ; and the result was to convince me that there 
 was no inherent difficulty whatever in solving the problem, if 
 you only take time to allow the natural instincts of both 
 races to be developed under a firm and strong government 
 (loud cheers). 
 
 " The third principle to which I would allude is, I think, a 
 necessary result of the others which I have named, and that 
 is the principle of self-government. You are aware of the 
 difficulty we have had in the Transvaal, to which Mr. Fuller 
 has very briefly alluded, but I think I may say that when I 
 left the Transvaal, both I myself and those 1 had met, came 
 to the conclusion that we had not before thoroughly under- 
 stood each other. I told the Transvaal patriots, and I told 
 them very distinctly, that there could be no hope whatever 
 held out to them that the English Government would retrace 
 its steps, and throw them back into the chaos and difficulties 
 from which they had just emerged (cheers). This was their 
 sole panacea for their difficulties, and I assured them that it 
 was quite hopeless to expect that it would ever be given 
 to them. I spoke on this point with all the plainness that I 
 could command, and they naturally felt some disappointment
 
 18 SIR BARTLE FRERe's SPEECH. 
 
 at my telling them what I did, but I could also assure them, 
 and I was happy indeed to be able to point to this Colony in 
 proof of what I said, that it lay entirely with them, under 
 the British flag, to work out for themselves, in a much 
 shorter period than it has taken you, the same measure of 
 independence and self-government which you possess ; and 
 that I did not know that there was any man in Her 
 Majesty's dominions, taking every county in England, who 
 could say that he was more free, more independent, or more 
 self-governed, than a citizen of this Colony (cheers). I did 
 not expect that what I said should at once find acceptance 
 at their hands, but I said if they would only take my advice 
 and come and see your elections, your deliberations in Par- 
 liament, and how you governed yourselves here, I felt assured 
 that, from the excellent good sense which, at the bottom of all 
 their want of foreign training and foreign experience and 
 travel, characterizes the population of the Transvaal, they 
 would be brought to the conclusion that they could not do 
 better than for once move back on the track which the old 
 voortrekkers traversed, and take an example from the brethren 
 whom they have left behind them (loud cheers). 
 
 " Something of the same sort appeared in Griqualand 
 West. Nothing could bo more surprising to me than to find 
 a population, so much larger than was generally understood, 
 with so many more permanent interests, and so many more 
 of the elements of settled political life, living as they did still 
 almost in a state of permanent encampment ; but this state 
 of things is evidently passing away, and I feel very little 
 doubt but that the large and intelligent population which is 
 there settled will prove to be much more permanent than 
 most of us who have not seen it can imagine, and that you 
 will find them, from their intelligence, from their wealth, and 
 from their industry, most valuable coadjutors in developing 
 South Africa (cheers). We had, as you are aware, Gentle- 
 men, a difficulty to overcome in discussing the terms on 
 which they should join you here in the Cape Colony. An 
 Act of Annexation has been passed, and we have held our 
 hands in carrying it out, from a doubt suggested to me by
 
 SIR BAKTLE FRERE S SPEECH. 
 
 19 
 
 my responsible Ministers that it might be found necessary to 
 grant to Griqualand West wider privileges and a larger 
 measure of self-government than was contemplated by the 
 Act of Annexation. When I w^ent up there, I found there 
 was very excellent reason for the caution which my Ministers 
 had advised. I found that there was a very great indis- 
 position on the part of Griqualand West to associate them- 
 selves with us upon the precise conditions laid down in the 
 Act passed by this Legislature and approved by Her Majesty's 
 Government, but I could see no sign of anytliirg approaching 
 a disinclination to join us under other and more favourable 
 circumstances (cheers). I believe there was nothing what- 
 ever on the part of the leading men w^hom I met up there, to 
 prevent their uniting with you upon such terms as you your- 
 selves would consider equitable and just, and I feel that their 
 union with us is only deferred until Parliament shall have 
 discussed the matter more fully, with the light wdiich has 
 been thrown upon it by subsequent events, and I look 
 forward with great confidence to the time when you will 
 regard the Diamond Fields as one of those portions of South 
 Africa which everybody who intends to see the whole of the 
 country is bound to visit (cheers). 
 
 " I need hardly refer to the last point in that policy of 
 which you have approved. We all know that union is 
 strength, and a union such as you will approve — a union 
 which will give to all who unite with you the same privileges 
 and the same franchise as you yourselves enjoy, can be 
 nothing but strength, and the foundation of happiness to all 
 concerned. It must not be a union merely of this or that 
 Colony, it must be a union which will mould us all into an 
 integral part of a great Empire. I think, Ladies and Gentle- 
 men, that what has passed since our troubles in Natal began, 
 has sufficiently shown us the advantage of being members of 
 such an empire as the British Empire (loud applause). I 
 refer not only to the very ready manner in which England 
 came forward at the time of our greatest need, both of men 
 and money, and this at a time when she was herself 
 threatened with wars in Europe, with wars in Asia, and 
 
 c 2
 
 20 SIR BARTLE FRERE S SPEECH. 
 
 when there was in England itself the greatest com- 
 mercial depression. Without any hesitation, without count- 
 ing the cost for a single second, the cry of the whole nation 
 was, '' Send out such reinforcements as shall secure the 
 safety of our countrymen in Natal " (cheers). " Let not a 
 day pass without sufficient reinforcements being sent." 
 However much theoretical philanthropists and theoretical 
 philosophers may think at this moment as to the cost of the 
 future, there was no counting of cost on the part of the 
 English people. Is it not, I ask you, something to feel proud 
 of, to be bound up as colonies in such an empire as this ? 
 Since our troubles began I have received from Canada, and 
 I have received from India, letters asking me to speak the 
 word, and assuring me you would receive from the shores of 
 the Frozen Ocean, and from the sun-dried plains of India, 
 any assistance you wanted to secure the European race in 
 South Africa (loud and continued cheering). 
 
 " I am sure no one here can have forgotten the noble way 
 in which the Colony of Mauritius came forward, sending 
 soldiers, as St. Helena did also, and not only soldiers but 
 large contributions in money for the sick and w^ounded. 
 And I feel sure, little as we may be connected with the 
 Colonies of Australia, that when it shall be heard that the 
 Colonists of South Africa are in danger, there will be but 
 one feeling from one end of the country to the other, and the 
 same feeling will be manifested in every part of Australia 
 which has actuated the people in Canada, in Mauritius, in 
 India, in St. Helena, and in England (loud cheers). I would 
 ask you, is there nothing in feeling that your destinies are 
 bound up with the destinies of people, who in all parts of the 
 world have proved themselves worthy of that great inherit- 
 ance of freedom which they have derived from their ances- 
 tors ? (cheers). 
 
 " I must not detain you any longer, but I would beg you 
 to accept my very hearty thanks for the kindness which you 
 have ever shown me, and with which you have received me 
 since my return. I would ask you also to accept my thanks 
 for the way in which you have spoken on behalf of Soutt
 
 SIR BARTLE FRERe'S SPEECH. 21 
 
 Africa. I feel assured that the words which have been 
 spoken, and the deeds which have been done during the last 
 few months, will have a most important effect upon the 
 destinies of this land ; and lastly, let me thank you on behalf 
 of Her Majesty's Government, which I represent; let me 
 thank you for what you have done in the way of acknow_ 
 ledging the aid wdiich Her Majesty's Government so liberally 
 sent, and for the loyalty which you have always expressed 
 towards the British Crown. 
 
 " I have only one word more to say. I have been warned 
 by friendly critics, not precisely by my responsible advisers, 
 but by very friendly critics, that a governor of this colony 
 has no opinions, or ought to have no opinions, of his own, 
 only those of his ministers, in any matter that relates to the 
 Cape Colony. I accept as it is expressed this constitutional 
 doctrine, and I will not trouble you with anything specially 
 relating to the Cape Colony, but, Gentlemen, among the 
 remedies prescribed for the maladies wliich afflict us, there 
 is one which is very frequently prescribed, and th^t is, that 
 all this mischief is due to responsible government, and that 
 the sooner you throw off responsible government, and revert 
 to some more autocratic form of administration the better it 
 will be for you. This advice has been given you by critics 
 and men of very great weight in forming opinion at home, 
 but I feel convinced that my countrymen will never listen to 
 them (loud applause). I think it is firmly resolved that 
 there shall be no going back in this matter, and these critics 
 Avill come round, sooner or later, to my own opinion, that it 
 is to responsible government that your safety at this moment 
 is mainly due (cheers) — that it is to responsible government 
 you must look for the means for the development of South 
 Africa, and that it is by extending such government as you 
 yourselves possess to other parts of the country, that you 
 may best join with them in promoting a united South 
 Africa (cheers). Therefore, I say, let there be no going 
 back in the matter of responsible government (renewed 
 cheers). I will not detain you any longer, but I again most
 
 22 SPEECHES OF MR. FLEMING AND CAPT. WRIGHT. 
 
 heartily thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for your 
 kindness in thus receiving me." 
 
 His Excellency resumed his seat amidst enthusiastic, loud, 
 and continued cheering. 
 
 Mr. Fleming, M.L. A., said he had to propose a toast which 
 he had no doubt would be received heartily and cordially by 
 all present — " The Array, the Navy, and the Volunteers " 
 (loud cheers). In connection with the Zulu war they could 
 not but recollect the awful sacrifice to which the army had 
 had to submit on the fatal field of Isandhlwana, nor could 
 they forget the services of those who had served elsewhere. 
 Nor could they overlook the great services of Captain Brad- 
 shaw, and other officers and men of the Royal Navy ; nor 
 those of the young men who had served the Colony as Volun- 
 teers. All were deserving of the utmost honour that Meeting 
 could render to them. With regard to the war itself he could 
 only express his hope that the result would be an honourable 
 peace, and when that was attained he hoped the Imperial 
 Government would recognise the services of those who had 
 been engaged in the war (cheers). 
 
 The toast having been drunk with cheers. 
 
 Captain Wright, R.N., responded on behalf of the Navy, 
 thanking the company for the wa}^ in which they had 
 received the toast, and Mr. Fleming for the terms in which 
 he had proposed it. That gentleman spoke of Captain 
 Bradshaw, and the good service he had rendered by bring- 
 ing the Shall some thousands of miles out of her course to 
 render assistance to the Colony in a time of need ; and he 
 (Captain Wright) was happy to say that Captain Bradshaw, 
 for so disregarding his orders, had been justified at home 
 both by the House of Lords and the House of Commons 
 (hear, hear !). There was another officer, Admiral Sullivan, 
 whose exercise of sound sense, at a time of great difficulty 
 at Natal, resulted to a certain extent in restoring con- 
 fidence — it might almost be said in a time of panic — to 
 the community (hear, hear!). Naval men now received 
 to a great extent a military education, which fitted them
 
 JUDGE ebden's speech. 23 
 
 to take a useful part in military operations when the 
 necessity for their so doing arose. They had been found 
 of great service in that way in China and India, and now 
 again in Zululand ; and he thought he might venture to 
 say they had always conducted themselves with credit 
 (cheers). But though they now received to a great extent 
 a military education, if the time should come for them 
 to be employed in active warfare with their vessels, he felt 
 well assured they would be able to maintain that supremacy on 
 the seas which they had enjoyed in the days of yore (cheers). 
 
 Colonel Hassard, RE., briefly returned thanks on behalf 
 of the Army, expressing his hope that it would always be 
 found doing its duty, and he thanked the people of the Colony, 
 and more especially those of Cape Town, for the noble man- 
 ner in w^hich they had contributed to relieve the widows and 
 orphans of soldiers after the great disaster at Isandhlwana. 
 
 Major SouTHEY, C.M.G., M.L. A., returned thanks on behalf 
 of the Volunteers, who, he was happy to say, at all events so 
 far as those of Cape Town were concerned, were airways willing 
 to obey orders without any personal feeling, and he had no 
 doubt would be equal to the discharge of any duty which 
 they might be called upon to perform. 
 
 Mr. Judge Ebden proposed the " Ministry," who, he was 
 happy to say, were working cordially and hai-moniously with 
 His Excellency the Governor. The Cape was a part of a 
 great empire, and in no part of that empire was it unneces- 
 sary that a Minister should exercise his influence upon the 
 councils of the State. Mr. Sprigg and his Ministry exercised 
 that influence here, and he was happy to say it had borne 
 good fruit. South Africa had to meet barbarism in arms, 
 and to strike at the power of the tyrant Cetywayo, and the 
 sympathies of the Premier and of the Cape Ministry had been 
 entirely with his Excellency the Governor and High Com- 
 missioner in the matter of meeting that emergency. A good 
 deal had been said about the native policy, and it was grati- 
 fying that the Earl of Carnarvon, at a recent meeting of the 
 Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, should have re- 
 corded that the policy adopted by the xjresent Cape Ministry
 
 24 coiiONiAL secretary's speech. 
 
 was just and beneficial to the native races. Self-government 
 was a great principle, and where it existed it ought to carry 
 with it self-defence, and he thought the people of the Cape 
 Colony had shown their capability of self-defence under recent 
 events, for by sending Volunteers up to the Transkei they 
 had enabled that country to be denuded of the military, who 
 were therefore made available for service in Zululand. 
 
 He then referred to the services rendered by the Attorney- 
 General, who, although not a military man, had gone into the 
 field to encourage the brave Burghers and Southey's Volun- 
 teers to do their best to put an end to the war on the 
 northern border of the Colony. And other officers had con- 
 ducted themselves in a way which could not but redound to 
 the credit of the Colony. In conclusion, he expressed his hope 
 that the Governor and the Ministry would receive such an 
 amount of support during the ensuing session of Parliament 
 as would enable them successfully to carry on the affairs of 
 the Colony, and forward the progress and development of 
 South Africa generally. 
 
 The toast having been duly honoured. 
 
 The Colonial Secretary (Hon. J. E. Gordon Sprigg, M.J.A.) 
 in replying to the toast said he did not think that a speech 
 would be expected from him on the present occasion, nor 
 that he would be expected to expound the ministerial policy. 
 The day was coming for that in an adjoining building (the 
 House of Assembly) in less than a fortnight, when he trusted 
 the Ministry would be able to give a good account of them- 
 selves (cheers). His Excellency the Governor had said that 
 he had been warned by critics that a governor should have 
 no policy in this Colony apart from the policy of his respon- 
 sible advisers. He thought those present scarcely needed the 
 assurance from him that His Excellency had never attempted 
 to set up any policy in opposition to that of his responsible 
 advisers (loud cheers). The policy which the Ministry of 
 this Colony was endeavouring to carry out to the best of its 
 ability was the policy which had been propounded by himself 
 to the country ; it had been initiated by the Ministry, and it 
 liiet with the entire approval of His Excellency the Governor.
 
 COLONIAL secretary's SPEECH. 25 
 
 It had been said that the Ministry had nothing to do 
 with the events that had taken place in Natal, and that its 
 duty was simply confined to carrying on the administration 
 of affairs in this Colon}^, but from that statement he begged 
 most humbly to dissent. If our forefathers in England had 
 wrapped themselves up thus selfishly in their own individual 
 interests, England, instead of being what she is at this day, 
 the greatest empire the world had ever seen, would have 
 been simply an island in the northern seas. Whatever 
 policy might be pursued in the adjoining states of this 
 Colony which bore upon the welfare of South Africa, inter- 
 ested this Colony, and was a matter which concerned the 
 Ministry of this Colony (cheers). It was true that the Ministry 
 of this country were not responsible for the policy which His 
 Excellency the High Commissioner had pursued in Natal, 
 but the relations between Natal and this Colony were so inti- 
 mate, that it was impossible for great events to take place 
 there without having a reflex action upon the public life of 
 this Colony (cheers). Although it might not have been the 
 duty of the Ministry to advise the Governor on the policy he 
 was pursuing in Natal, he tl^iought he should be wanting in 
 his duty to the people, and wanting in respect to His Excel- 
 lency, if he were not to inform those present that during the 
 whole of the time when the Governor was in Natal, and on 
 the weary journey he had passed through since he left Natal, 
 he had been in constant communication with him ; and as 
 the head of the Government of this Colony, the leading state 
 of South Africa, he felt it to be his duty to tender to his 
 Excellency the best opinions he was able to form upon the 
 difficult circumstances in which he was placed (cheers.) As 
 representing the Government of this Colony, if he thought 
 that His Excellency was taking a course likely to be preju- 
 dicial to South Africa, especially to the interests of this 
 Colony, it would have been his duty to remonstrate with him 
 as to the course he was taking. 
 
 He might be asked what had been the character of the 
 opinions he had given to the Governor, and whether in any 
 respect he had remonstrated with him upon the steps he
 
 26 
 
 had taken ? Not for a single hour, and for this simple reason, 
 that the Ministry of this Colony (and he spoke more par- 
 ticularly for himself as the head of the Ministry), believed 
 that the Zulu Chief was at the bottom of all the native 
 troubles of South Africa, and they, therefore, were entirely 
 at one with the policy that His Excellency as High Com- 
 missioner on behalf of Her Majesty's Government had seen 
 fit to pursue (loud and prolonged cheering). His Excellency 
 would testify that in all the communications which he had 
 addressed to him during those difficult and perilous times 
 through which he had passed in Natal, he at all times 
 had sought to cheer and encourage him in the noble and 
 patriotic course he had taken, for he believed it to be a 
 course which would result in the ultimate good and per- 
 manent peace and security of South Africa (loud cheers). 
 This being the view which the Ministry took, they believed 
 it to be their duty, by every means in their power, to 
 support His Excellency the Governor and Her Majesty's 
 High Commissioner in the course he was taking, and he 
 felt sure they would receive support in so doing in an 
 adjoining building from the representatives of the people 
 (loud cheers). 
 
 So far from this matter of the Zulu war, and the course 
 taken by the High Commissioner, not being a subject which 
 could proj)erly be brought before the Parliament of this 
 Colony, he held that it was a subject which might very pro- 
 perly be brought before the Parliament of the Colony (ap- 
 plause). The House of Commons at home discussed matters 
 of foreign policy, and we also had our foreign affairs to dis- 
 cuss in our Legislature, and if the representatives of the 
 leading state of South Africa had evinced more interest in 
 the general affairs of South Africa, he believed we might not 
 have had to deplore the war which was now ravaging the 
 borders of Natal (loud applause). If the European races in 
 this country v/ould only stand together as one man for their 
 rights and liberties, determined to maintain the peace and 
 security of South Africa, he thought we should find the time 
 for war would disappear, and on this account more than any
 
 MR. ADVOCATE COLe's SPEECH. 27 
 
 other, be stood before the country as an ardent advocate for 
 the confederation of the various colonies and states of South 
 Africa (loud applause). 
 
 The time for taking practical steps in the way of con- 
 federation might not yet have arrived, but the aim of the 
 Government was to hasten it on, believing that it was calcu- 
 lated to promote the safety and permanent welfare of South 
 Africa (cheers). He begged to tender, on behalf of himself 
 and his colleagues, his most hearty thanks for the very kind 
 manner in which the toast had been received. He was 
 sorry that one of their number was absent. Those present 
 knew what difficulties had surrounded the Ministry since 
 they took office, first one and then another had had to go 
 from the capital to extreme parts of the colony, to assist, by 
 advice or otherwise, those engaged in carrying on war. He 
 could not sit down without thanking those of our own 
 colonists who had so bravely done duty on the borders of 
 the colony, and those also who were still fighting our battles 
 (loud cheers). 
 
 Mr. Advocate Cole, in proposing " The Cape Parliament," 
 said that after he had undertaken the task of doing so, he was 
 struck by being told that there was no Cape Parliament in 
 existence, and that in dealing with the toast he would in 
 reaUty be dealing with an abstraction of his own brain 
 (laughter). He knew that there was no Parliament in ses- 
 sion, and that the new ParHament had not j'ct been opened 
 by the Governor, but still, when he saw the names of the 
 mem.bers of that Parliament published in the Government 
 Gazette, he came to the conclusion that there was a Parlia- 
 ment, although it had not yet been inaugurated by His 
 Excellency. He was glad to propose the toast, not only 
 because he had himself had the honour of belonging to 
 former Parliaments, but because a Parliament had now 
 existed in this colony for twenty-five years, which, by its 
 proceedings, had not only been a credit to the colony, but 
 which would have been a credit to any nation on earth (hear, 
 hear !). It had done the work of the country well, and had 
 showai an aptitude for the discharge of its . duties which
 
 28 HON. A. EBDEN MR. VINTCENT. 
 
 could hardly have been exceeded (hear, hear !). Its proceed- 
 ings had been marked by a tone of courtesy and respect, 
 and there had been in all debates none of that rowdiness 
 which had unfortunately been exhibited by some other 
 Legislative Assemblies. He believed the new Parliament 
 would do its best to follow in the steps of its predecessors, 
 and do its best to promote the progress and welfare of the 
 Colony. 
 
 The toast having been heartily drunk, 
 
 The Hon. A. Ebden, M.L.C, responded on behalf of the 
 Legislative Council, remarking that he felt somewhat un- 
 comfortable because the task had not fallen to some parlia- 
 mentary veteran, he himself having no claim to such an 
 honour, having so recently been elected a member. He 
 thought, however, they had all reason to be thankful for the 
 large measure of success which had attended the introduction 
 of responsible government into the colony, and that there 
 had been such harmony between the tw^o houses of the 
 legislature. There had been no collisions between them 
 such as they bad seen in some other parts of the world (hear, 
 hear !). These were very serious times, and they might expect 
 that the new Parliament would have matters of more than 
 ordinary to deal with, but he hoped that both Houses would 
 extend a hearty support to the present policy of the Ministry 
 — which was a vigorous policy. What they had to do was to 
 labour for the common good, by effecting the triumph of 
 civilisation over barbarism, without lust for territory or thirst 
 for conquest (cheers). 
 
 Mr. ViNTCENT, M.L.A., in returning thanks on behalf of 
 the House of Assembly, said : The House to which he 
 belonged had only just been brought into existence, but the 
 Parliament upon which they justly prided themselves had 
 existed for twenty-five years. He was happy to say that 
 representative institutions had not only advanced the welfare 
 of this Colony, but tended to the general improvement of 
 South Africa (hear, hear !). He might say that both Houses, 
 if they were in session, w^ould cordially have joined in 
 welcoming the Governor on his return to Cape Town. He
 
 MAJOR (tOODLIFFE'S SPEECH. 29 
 
 would not enter into questions of policy generally, but upon 
 behalf of the House of Assembly he said that whatever 
 questions might be brought before it would be dealt with in 
 a spirit of moderation and fairness (hear, hear !). He hoped 
 His Excellency the Governor would before long be able to 
 inform Parliament that the war had been brouo-ht to a sue- 
 cessful end, and that they might once more enter upon a 
 course of legislation for peace (cheers). 
 
 Major GooDLiFFE gave " The health of Lady Frere and 
 her Family," of whom he spoke in terms of great respect, and 
 reverted to the fact that the only son of Lady Frere and the 
 High Commissioner was at present serving at the front as a 
 Volunteer (hear, hear !). In conclusion he called upon the 
 company to give a cordial and hearty response to the toast 
 (loud and prolonged cheering). 
 
 His Excellency the Right Hon. the Governor said in 
 reply : " Lady Frere begs me to return thanks on her 
 behalf for the very kind manner in which you h^ve received 
 the toast proposed by Mr. GoodlifFe. I am perhaps saying 
 what Lady Frere herself would not sanction when I say that 
 no one in the world has done more to assist and strenofthen 
 the High Commissioner to do what he has done than Lady 
 Frere (cheers). But I only express my own sentiments when 
 I say that she feels nothing more than the kind way in which 
 Mr. Goodliffe spoke of our only son, who is at present with 
 Lord Chelmsford ; and I only hope that he may be spared to 
 come back and thank you himself for your kind remembrance 
 of him " (cheers). 
 
 His Excellency then proposed the health of the Chair- 
 man, saying : " It is not often in Cape Town that we have a 
 meeting so very unanimous as we have had to-day ; and I am 
 very certain you have very seldom seen the duty of Chairman 
 performed with so much dignity and so well as by our 
 'revered Chairman on the present occasion. He is one who 
 has spent his life in the Colony, and I hope you will cordially 
 join in drinking health and prosperity to him." (Cheers). 
 
 The Chairman, in returning thanks, said, he felt quite 
 unequal to the occasion, in consequence of the terms in
 
 30 MAJOR GOODLIFFE's SPEECH. 
 
 which His Excellency had proposed his health, and which 
 were more than he deserved. It was something to see that 
 such an assembly had come together to render honour where 
 honour was due ; and to have the satisfaction of saying that 
 the tribute paid to the Governor had come from the heart 
 (hear, hear !). His Excellency had said somewhat about his 
 being an old colonist ; he was perhaps, in years, the oldest 
 person there present. He had seen different phases of 
 affairs in the Colony ; and he might say that the native 
 policy of Sir Bar tie Frere would be beneficial not only 
 to the European races in South Africa, but also to the 
 natives themselves (hear, hear !). The only way to civilise 
 them was to bring them under the rule of Her Majesty, 
 and that was the best rule imder which any people lived 
 on earth (hear, hear !). He had himself had experience of 
 wars with the natives as far back as 1819, and under Sir 
 Benjamin Durban in 1835 ; and the policy then was the 
 same as the policy of Sir Bartle Frere, and if that policy had 
 been carried out it would have been the saving of many 
 valuable lives and of much treasure (hear, hear !). He hoped 
 that policy would be carried out now, not by the extermina- 
 tion of the natives, but, as His Excellency hoped, by civilising 
 influences, and good to South Africa at large would be the 
 result. He was very sensible of the honour which had been 
 done to him by placing him in the chair, and the very flatter- 
 ing acknowledgment which had been made of the manner in 
 which he had discharged his duty there. (Cheers.) 
 
 The proceedings terminated at a quarter to five, when His 
 Excellency and his family took their departure. 
 
 BRADBURY, AGNEW, &, CO., PRINTERS, AVHITEFRIARS.
 
 \