We note with concern a Reuter telegram from Durban which
appeared in the Times and Daily Telegraph of Saturday last. It is to the effect that an Ethiopian preacher has been sentenced to six months' imprisonment and twenty-five lashes for offering prayers of a seditious character in a native kraal. "The prayers were to the effect that the natives should be given strength to drive the whites across the sea." We have never attempted to minimise the dangers of Ethiopianism, and have always deprecated any attempt on the part of the Home Government to interfere with the internal policy of self- governing Colonies. The sentence of imprisonment may have been, and doubtless was, fully justified ; but in the absence of full details we are inclined to regard the additional penalty of flogging as impolitic in the present case, even though warranted by the provisions of the native Criminal Code which relate to sedition. The incident has created a dis- quieting impression, and the Natal Government will not, we trust, resent the request for information which the Colonial Office will doubtless prefer.
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