As we understand the most recent advices from the Cape,
Zululand, beyond the frontier of the Reserve, is now a Boer Republic, with President jonbert at its head, claiming inde- pendence, but in subordinate alliance with the Transvaal. The Tories are furious, but with little reason. The Boers are a harsh and unprogressive race ; but if we are not to annex—and we have too much of South Africa already—it is far better that the Boers should reach the sea, and stretch themselves across the path of any further native emigration from the North. They declare themselves entirely opposed to any inva- sion of the Reserve ; and weak and scattered as they are, cannot afford to oppress the Zulus beyond a certain point, while any Zulu can escape into British territory. In a military point of view, the annexation weakens the Boers, as, if we are ever com- pelled to chastise them, we can strike the first blow from the Reserve, without entering the great plateau. The worst of the affair is that the steady expansion of the Boers' authority re- awakens Dutch feeling in the Cape Colony itself ; and if the British Government is ever compelled to act, it may be obliged to use 20,000 men, and to seal up South Africa for a time. Every day renders us more convinced that the appoint- ment of a Viceroy to wield the powers of the British Government on the spot, is indispensable to the maintenance of a large and steady policy.
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