The Times of Friday publishes, at the head of its
columns, a telegram from Pietermaritzburg, stating that, in the judgment of experienced colonists, it is most inexpedient to remove troops from Natal. The moment they are gone, the Transvaal Boers will, in the judgment of the colonists, attack and occupy Natal. They especially apprehend an attack on December 13th, when the Boers hold a sort of jubilee. We cannot expect colonists who are making fortunes out of military expenditure to like the withdrawal of troops, but surely this notion of in- vasion must be the wildest expression of prejudice. The Boers know perfectly well that if they invade the Queen's dominions they will be attacked by troops, whether they are on the spot or not, and are not likely to seek battle-fields outside their own territory. We might as well fill Canada with troops in expec- tation of attack from the United States, or station 10,000 men in Hong Kong lest China should attack it, as keep an army in Natal out of fear of the Boers.
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