§ MR. O'DONNELL, who had upon the Paper a Motion to the following effect:—
That, in the opinion of this House, no encouragement ought to be given to any projects for rewarding assailants of the Basuto people by the confiscation of land and cattle,said, he had intended to move his Motion with regard to the very dangerous crisis in Basutoland; but he was prevented by the Forms of the House from doing so. Any remarks that he would venture to address to the House would be very brief indeed; but he did not think that he ought to lose altogether the opportunity of calling the earliest possible attention of the House to a matter with which he believed it was deeply interested. He complained of the action of Her Majesty's Government with regard to the Basutos as being dangerous in the extreme, for the reason, above all others, that it was uncertain and vague. He need do no more than remind the House of the disasters which followed in the Transvaal from the uncertain character of the policy pursued by Her Majesty's Government. If the Government had been then held to the doctrine of putting down the rising in the Transvaal, or if they had held to the doctrine that the annexation was unlawful, the country would have been saved from the wretched fiascoand deplorable bloodshed of Majuba Hill and Laing's Nek. What was it, as far as could be gathered from the most recent Blue Books which had issued from the Cabinet, the Liberal Government was engaged in but a sequel to the 816 policy of Sir Bartle Frere in Basutoland? If there was one policy which was condemned by the Resolutions of the Liberal Party it was the policy of Sir Bartle Frere. The original quarrel with the Basutos was of Sir Bartle Frere's seeking. His policy was that of land speculators on the one hand, and of exaggerated and unscrupulous Imperialism on the other. The Basutos were made use of to support that policy; they were encouraged to acquire arms and to assume a warlike attitude; they were loyal in the extreme, and as a reward for their loyalty they were required, in the most offensive and threatening manner, according to their view, to deliver themselves helplessly into the hands of Sir Bartle Frere. It was quite natural for them to readily believe that the intention was to make slaves of their women and children, many of whom had been reduced to a condition which was practically one of slavery by being indentured out to compulsory servitude. A Circular issued by the Cape Secretary refused permission to Native prisoners of war on their release to visit their families, who wore held has indentured servants by Colonial farmers. After that we could easily understand the apprehension with which the Natives would receive a demand that they should give up their arms. The House was aware that the Basutos successfully defended their freedom; their mistake was that they trusted the British Government as distinct from the Cape Government. They imagined that the British Government would give them a just and equitable award, which would free them from the Cape Government. It was admitted by the magistrates and the Secretary for Native Affairs of the Cape Colony in the Correspondence before the House that the fines placed upon the Basutos were exorbitant, and, as regarded Masupha, the ringleader, that he had eaten up his own people in order to pay the fine, and that even by depriving them of nearly all their cattle he would hardly be able to do so. He would ask the House to bear those facts in mind in connection with another fact—that it was purely upon the ground of their defalcation in paying the fines that the goods and cattle of the Basuto nation were to be confiscated. While the original aggression of the Basutos was unjustifiable, yet the fine placed upon them was ex- 817 orbitant, and active agents had been set to work to prevent any settlement. Had it not been for the intrigues of persons in Cape Colony interested in promoting a renewal of hostilities a settlement would have been effected. The Cape Colony had admitted that it could not put down the Basutos by the ordinary measures of warfare. Perhaps the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies might say the Government had not authorized in express terms a confiscation of Basutoland; but Lord Kimberley had sent a number of messages which might mean the wholesale confiscation of Basutoland. He wished the Government to say whether or not they would allow Basutoland to be confiscated. The same policy that had characterized the English rule in Ireland had characterized that rule in the Cape Colony. All the terrors of the English law were to be called in aid against the unhappy Natives; but none of the rights of English citizens were extended towards them. If this policy were to be continued a large number of Native fugitives would be driven across the border, who would go to swell the growing mass of hate for British rule. Nothing could be better than that we should take the control of Basutoland into our own hands, and protect the unhappy Natives from the land speculators, the lower class of politicians, and from the brutalities of the so-called Volunteers, who thirsted for the lands and cattle of the Natives, in order that they might spend their property in the rum shops that always accompanied a Volunteer expedition. He ventured to point out to Her Majesty's Government that in the condition of things which now prevailed, when the vast majority of the White population of South Africa held on to British rule by a more than doubtful allegiance, it was high time for Her Majesty's Government to go back on the policy which they seemed to have had for a short time of being the independent and loyal protectors of the Native races. This was desirable even from the point of view of Manchester. The Basutos were eminently susceptible of civilization; they stood in need of better buildings, better food and clothing; and he said that, from the point of view of commerce alone, the attempt should be made to secure them as the best customers of British manufacturers 818 in South Africa. He reminded the House that the party of Whites—the Dutch element in the population—was bitterly hostile to British trade, and that special arrangements had been, and were being made, to "Boycott" British trade in South Africa through the great export houses of Holland. If fair justice had been dealt out in Zululand and the Transvaal, the South African wars would not have taken place; and if justice were dealt out to the Basutos, he said there was still a locus penetentiœ for the British Government. He said if Her Majesty's Government fairly and honestly took up the defence of the Natives a permanent settlement might be arrived at; but if they failed to discharge the great responsibilities of the situation, and sought to escape from the difficulty which presented itself, by leaving the matter to be dealt with by the Cape Government, then there could be no satisfactory termination to the disturbances now prevalent in Basutoland; and he called upon every Member of that House to set his face against the confiscation of the country. It was the riffraff of Colonial society, the desperadoes of Natal, who would swell the ranks of the Volunteers, and they alone would be benefited by the heartless despoliation of the Basuto people.
§ MR. COURTNEYsaid, he very much regretted that the hon. Member for Dungarvan was unable to put to the House the Motion which stood in his name upon the Notice Paper, because it seemed to him that had he been able to do so, he would have been confronted with the question which he had not dealt with in the course of his speech. The hon. Member appeared to have forgotten that they had given to the Cape Colony the privileges and responsibilities of self-government; and he had altogether omitted to consider in what way, and in what degree, they could interfere with the Cape Government or the Cape Parliament within the limits of the Colony. That was really the question that had to be dealt with, and unless the hon. Member was able to give a solution of it, he confessed that the contribution he might make towards the settlement of the present difficulty was a very small one.
§ MR. O'DONNELLwished to point out that the Cape Government itself admitted that the ordinary kind of war- 819 fare would not be sufficient in Basutoland. He suggested that Her Majesty's veto should be exercised against the Colonial policy.
§ MR. COURTNEYsaid, this was a domestic question within the limits of the Cape Colony; and it was no answer to that to say that the Cape Government were only to solve the difficulty in the way which might commend itself to Members of that House. The question being a Cape question, he would ask ton. Members who called upon the Imperial Government to interfere in its solution to consider what were the limits of action which they were disposed to advocate in interfering with the self-government that had been conceded to the Cape Colony, and the responsibility which had been thrown upon it. That was a question to which the hon. Member for Dungarvan had not given that attention which he (Mr. Courtney) should have thought the hon. Member would have paid to it. The hon. Member called upon the Imperial Government to supersede the action of the Cape Government in this matter. But the Cape Government were in this difficulty—namely, that after considerable delay; after referring the disputes between themselves and the Basutos to arbitration, an award had been delivered. The hon. Member for Dungarvan said that the conditions of the award were exorbitant. But he could not assent to that statement. Hard and heavy they might be, but that they were exorbitant he could not admit; and he did not think there was any phrase used within the scope of the award which would justify that expression. Although the conditions were hard and heavy, it must be remembered that they had been and were still accepted by the great majority of the Basuto Chiefs. He could not too strongly praise the action of the Cape Government in endeavouring to secure the execution of the award, which had only been resisted by a small minority. They had, undoubtedly, been resisted by a small minority of the Basuto Chiefs, and that resistance was still continuing. Under those circumstances the Cape Government stated their difficulty to the Imperial Government, and the reply which they received was with respect to a limited portion of the Basuto territory. The Imperial Government said with re- 820 gard to those who resisted the award that they would not consider as inadmissible the action of the Cape Government, in the form of confiscation if necessary. If the Government were to interfere with the Cape Government in carrying out the measures which they deemed necessary to securing the execution of the award, they would raise the very difficult question of the extent to which they were to revise or amend the action of the Colonial Government. He was glad, with regard to the case now before them, in the interest of the Basutos, that the responsibility for its actions rested with the Cape Parliament, and for long past history had shown them that any attempt to control Colonial institutions from home was injurious to the Native people. [A laugh.] The hon. Member laughed at this. He did not know to what extent the hon. Member was versed in the history of South Africa, but if he was acquainted with it, instead of laughing at the statement just made, with regard to the effect of Home interference in Native affairs, he would agree that it was simply and literally true. The hon. Member had complained of the vagueness of the answer made to the telegram sent from the Cape; and he seemed to think that Lord Kimberley ought to have assumed to himself the responsibility of dictating the course of action to be followed by the Cape Parliament. But what had Lord Kimberley done in this matter? He said he would have no solution of this question by Proclamation; that whatever was done would be done by the action of the Cape Legislature; but with respect to that he very properly refused beforehand to say he would advise Her Majesty to accept that action. The hon. Member had spoken of what was in prospect as the result of the action, which would be taken by the off-scourings of the different parts of South Africa—the desperadoes of Natal and the lawless Boers of the Transvaal. But what was done would not be the action of these men, it would be the action of the Cape Parliament—as respectable and honourable a body of gentlemen as might be wished for in any Colony, and with regard to whose proceedings Her Majesty's Government were not disposed to anticipate any evil. They had dealt with this difficult matter in a spirit of the greatest conciliation. It was not of their creation; it was their 821 inheritance, and they had been reluctant to take any steps whatever towards coercion of the Basutos. He believed that those who had watched with sympathy and intelligence the action taken in this matter were of opinion that Her Majesty's Government had adopted the only possible course in refusing to pledge themselves beforehand to object to the action of the Cape Government.
MR. E. N. FOWLERsaid, he had listened with considerable regret to the opening remarks of the hon. Gentleman the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which he deprecated the discussion of this subject at the present time. Considering the grave importance of the question, involving as it did the lives and property of a large portion of Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa, and in view of the fact that unless it was discussed then it would be left over until after Easter, he certainly thought the hon. Member for Dungarvan had done good service to the country and to the cause of humanity by calling attention to the position of affairs at the Cape with regard to the Basutos on that occasion. He was well aware that there was a large amount of urgent Business with which the House had to deal; but he also regarded this question as one of so urgent a character that it was due to the House and the people of the country that its discussion should not be put aside. Having listened to the speech of the hon. Member for Dungarvan with great interest, it appeared to him that, by the case as put by the hon. Member, three courses were open with regard to the affairs of Basutoland. There was the course of leaving the matter to be dealt with by the Cape Parliament; there was the course of Her Majesty's Government dealing with it themselves; and, finally, there was the course of abandoning the country altogether, which meant, practically, handing it over to the authority of the Free State. He reminded the House that 12 years ago, or rather more, when the Basutos were threatened by the Government of the Free State, Moshesh, at that time the paramount Chief in Basutoland, urged upon the Representative of the Queen to take over the government of the country. That course was approved in the House of Commons by many Members, who at that time took an interest in South 822 African affairs. It was approved and strongly urged upon the acceptance of the House by one Gentleman who, although not a Member of the Government of the Prime Minister, was a Colleague of the right hon. Gentleman in a former Government—the late Mr. Charles Gilpin. Well, Basutoland was taken over by the Government, at the head of which, he believed, was the present Prime Minister; and in consequence of that circumstance this country had contracted certain obligations towards the Basutos. Those obligations having been contracted, he certainly thought this country was bound in honour not to allow the Basutos to be oppressed. He thought it was the duty of the British Government to take an interest in the affairs of Basutoland. With regard to the question whether it was for the Queen's Government or the Cape Government to deal with this matter, the Under Secretary to the Colonial Office seemed to throw some doubts upon the capabilities of his Department to administer the affairs of Basutoland. But he (Mr. R. N. Fowler) could not but remember that the Colonial Office was now presided over by Lord Kimberley, a very able statesman; it was represented in that House by the hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Courtney); and it had the advantage of being represented at the Cape by one of the ablest Colonial statesmen that this country had ever possessed—Sir Hercules Robinson, who, he learned with great pleasure from a statement made by the Prime Minister some weeks ago, Her Majesty had been recommended to place among the Members of the Privy Council. The Under Secretary for the Colonies went on to say that he had the utmost confidence in the Government of the Cape Colony. He (Mr. R. N. Fowler) was not there to say one word against the Government of that Colony. On the contrary, he believed that the statesmen at the Cape were as anxious to do their duty to their Sovereign and to the country, and to act in the cause of humanity, as any statesmen in the world. He had great confidence in Mr. Scanlan, the present Premier at the Cape; but hon. Members would remember that he succeeded a gentleman whose policy was strongly deprecated in that House and by this country at large. He believed there was a general consensus of opinion that 823 the policy of disarming the Basutos was a very great mistake, and that was the policy which had undoubtedly led to the present difficulties. The question was this—Were those difficulties likely to be best adjusted by the Queen's Government or by the Colonial Government? It appeared to him that the course which was most likely to produce peace would be that Her Majesty's Government should authorize Sir Hercules Robinson, as Chief Commissioner of Native Tribes, to administer the affairs of the country; and in saying that he did not overlook the fact that, in case of interference with any award he might make, they must be prepared to support him with Her Majesty's Forces. But it appeared that the Government had arrived at the conclusion not to allow any interference on the part of the Commander-in-Chief at the Cape, while the Cape Government were to follow whatever course they pleased. In the language of the hon. Member for Dungarvan, they were about to permit an army composed of the riffraff of the Cape population to despoil the Basutos. The language of his hon. Friend (Mr. O'Donnell) might be too strong; but, at any rate, Her Majesty's Government were going to allow an army to be levied, which would, of course, include in its ranks all the more fiery spirits to be found at the Cape, and who would certainly not look upon the unfortunate Natives with feelings of humanity; and this army was to invade and conquer the country of the Basutos in any way they thought proper. The result of this would be a cruel and bloody war. War, under any circumstances, was a terrible calamity; but he regarded it as less terrible when carried on by civilized troops under a civilized commander like General Smyth. That would not be the case with a war carried on by the Volunteers at the Cape, who would number in their ranks the worst characters to be found in South Africa. A war so conducted would, indeed, be an unmitigated evil. For the reasons he had stated, he regretted to hear that Her Majesty's Government had determined to hand over this question to the decision of the Cape Government; and he strongly believed it would have been better had they faced the responsibility of settling the difficulty themselves.