We regret to notice the death of Sir Bartle Frere.
We do not, it is true, believe in his statesmanship, his great powers being- impaired by immoderateness, by optimism, and by inability to understand that an official should obey and not thwart his chiefs. His administration of Scinde was marked by bad finance ; as Governor of Bombay he was completely carried away by the mania consequent on the price of cotton ; and in South Africa he insisted on his right to create a black empire up to the Zambesi. He was, however,. unlike most Indian civilians, a man of large views and definite opinions, who could get out of his groove, and who sincerely wished the benefit of all mankind. Like all Freres, he was a scholar, a penman, and a man of fascinating manner, and had his lot lain in Europe he would probably have risen high in Parliament. Considering that Anglo-Indians are the only men who fail in Parliament,. Joseph Hume being the solitary exception, this is high praise.
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