Tlie news from the Cape, though not exactly alarming, is
dishearteniug, especially to Sir Stafford. Northcote. The Boers are still refractory, refuse to obey the law which requires per- mite for carrying arms to be purchased from Government, rescue their comrades when sentenced for ill-treating natives, and it is alleged, though without much evidence, intrigue with Secocceni. It has been necessary to retain the 1st Dragoon Guards, to strengthen the small garrison at Middleburgh, and the Boers declare that while they will not fight the soldiers, they will assert their independence whenever the garrison is withdrawn. Secocceni, it is understood, means fighting, and 2,000 British infantry and cavalry have been dispatched to Fort Webber, to bring him to reason. His stronghold, how- ever, in the hills is so well defended, that an attack on it is like a siege, and we may not be speedily successful. Moirosi, another dangerous chief, has bidden us defiance, and altogether, South Africa appears to require a garrison of moo, men of all arms for two or three years. So many will not be retained there, as the colonists will not supply any sufficient share of the expense ; and with insufficient numbers, the com- manding officers are always liable to reverses. Sir Garnet Wolseley, however, is a match for the Boers, and he may yet succeed in raising an effective and mobile native force.
Previous page
