On Thursday, Lord Grey published in the Times a bitter,
-and Sir Bartle Frere an able, though preposterously prolix, letter on Cape affairs. The latter maintains that under -the Convention with the Boers, Great Britain is bound to protect the natives on the borders of the Transvaal, and especially the Bechnanas. He proposes, therefore, that a British Resident should be sent to Bechuanaland, to guide the -chiefs, punish native marauders, and remonstrate, when neces- sary, with the Government of Pretoria. The better section of the Boers would then, he believes, help to create an opinion which would keep the filibustering section in check. The asser- tion that we took upon us an obligation to interfere, instead of claiming a right to do so, is the precise one which the Govern- ment denies, and the suggested remedy is a very feeble one. If the Boers despise us, as Sir Bartle Frere asserts, they will pay no respect to our Resident, and as he will represent -the British Government, we shall in no long time be compelled -to back his representations by force. Mr. Forster's plan of -compelling the Boers to keep the Convention or accept war is more direct than this, and more manly, too.
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