What are these good folks at the Cape at? Perhaps
Sir Frederick Rogers, in the interval which must elapse before he has forced all the Colonies to join the United States, will inquire. According to the news received by the last mail they propose to pass a master-and-servant law which re-establishes a mitigated slavery. If the servant disobeys orders, he is to be liable to flog- ging, imprisonment with hard labour, spare diet, and solitary confinement ; while, if the master ill-treats him, he is only liable to be fined. The law applies to Europeans, and they were going to resist, but were comforted on being told that it wee applic- able to all, but would only be applied to Kaffirs,—that is, the law is not only unjust in itself, but will be worked unjustly. As the Cape is not under responsible government, the law can be rejected, and the Administration censured ; and the House of Commons being what it is, we think we may guarantee that if that is not done, the Colonial Office will have an unpleasant quarter-of-an- hour. Just imagine that the men who will not care a straw about this are the men who declared Maories ill-used !
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