Papersjust received from the Cape of Good Hope copy reports
from this country, that 300 convicts are to be transshipped from Bermuda to the Cape of Good Hope; and the most angry feeling appears to have been provoked in the Colony by the intelligence. The South African Commercial Advertiser, of 21st April, denies the right of the British Government to convert a free colony into a penal colony ; calls upon the Governor to suspend the operation of any instruc- tions based upon the order in Council, on the assumption that they must have been issued in error; and concludes by declaring that the people of the Cape " lift np their hands to Heaven, and swear by Him that liveth for ever, that they will not submit to this wrong." The same spirit, more roughly expressed than if it had been meant for the public eye, animates a private letter lying before ns, from an influential mer- chant of Cape Town— "So that -- Lord Grey is sending out a lot of convicts to this colony ! it Is really a - shame. It makes one's blood boil to think of the horrors that will be produced. My sentiments and those of every right-thinking person here can only be con- veyed in the sentiments expressed by the editor of the Advertiser In hls paper of this day. The measure will be the ruin of the colony ; and many of our best and most in- fluential men have determined to leave It 1f the measure be persevered in. I suspect Sir Harr, Smith has recommended this, as another move for getting into favour with the folks at home."
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