§ MR. ANDERSONI wish to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies a Question without Notice. I wish to know—Whether his attention has been called to the following statement which appears in to-day's Pall Mall Gazette:—
Captain Macleod has been commissioned to stir up the Swazies to aggression on the Zulus, stimulated by the price of 5,000 cattle placed on Cetewayo's head. Leigh has been deputed to the Amatongas, to kindle among them a mercenary friendship and constitute them our king-catchers. Colonel George Villiers goes to Utrecht as political' agent with Oham, who is offered 5,000 cattle as a reward for his fraternal act of catching for us his brother?The thing hardly sounds very credible; but the names of the three officers being given attaches a sort of credibility to it, and I wish to ask the right hon. Gentleman—Whether the Government know anything about the matter; and, whether it is the sort of warfare of which they approve? If not, I wish to know whether they will take any steps to ascertain the truth of the statement, and to put a stop to such a state of things?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHSir, I know nothing of any commission that has been issued for any such purpose to Colonel Villiers; but with regard to Captain M'Leod and Lieutenant Leigh, Captain M'Leod has been for some time past stationed as a resident with the Swazies, and Lieutenant Leigh has visited the Amatongas; 67 but they have been employed, not in stirring up the people against the Zulus, but in doing their best to prevent those Tribes from joining the Zulus.
§ MR. ANDERSONDoes the Government know anything about the 5,000 head of cattle offered for catching Cetewayo?
§ SIR MICHAEL HICKS-BEACHI know nothing whatever about that.