The Cape Parliament was opened on Friday by Sir Alfred
Milner, and the Bill for appointing special tribunals to try the rebels will be at once presented. It is believed that it will be passed without any great difficulty. In spite of the extreme violence with which the disfranchisement proposals are being opposed, public opinion here is, we believe, entirely iu their favour, and will heartily support Sir Alfred Milner and the Cape Ministers in their perfectly legitimate scheme for dealing with the men who, after all, have disfranchised themselves by deliberately throwing off their allegiance, by firing on the flag, and by making themselves citizens and soldiers of States at war with the Empire. People here do not want blood shed or to wreak a cruel vengeance of any kind upon the rebels, but they rightly reject as nonsense the allegation that it is "cruel," " tyrannical," " despotic," "bloodthirsty," "revengeful," and what not to say that a man who has been in arms against the Empire shall not be allowed to vote during the next five years,—for that is all the disfranchisement proposal comes to.
Previous page
