§ MR. GUY DAWNAYasked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, Whether his attention has been called to a letter from the secretary of the Abori- 539 gines' Protection Society, published in The Daily News of June 9th, which contains an extract from a letter of Cetewayo to the Bishop of Natal, dated April 15th, in which Cetewayo announces his intention of summoning his people to arms, and requests permission from the Lieutenant Governor of Natal to allow him also to obtain assistance from the Zulus in the reserved territory; and, whether, having regard to the fact that in the same letter Cetewayo himself expresses his opinion that under the present scheme of restoration "Blood will never cease," and that "the country is going to ruin," and having regard also to the statement made by Sir Henry Bulwer, in his official report of February 15th, that Cetewayo "had scarcely landed in Zululand before he began to break the conditions" under which ho was restored, the Government will re - consider the advisability of placing the whole country and its present chieftains, including Cetewayo, under the supreme authority of a British Resident, by extending to the whole of Zululand the efficient and self-supporting system of Government now adopted in the Zulu Native Reserve? The hon. Member had a second Question on the Paper, referring to the charges of misrepresentation made by Sir Henry Bulwer against the Natal Correspondent of The Daily News, the asking of which he postponed, understanding that that Correspondent had addressed some communication to the Colonial Office in reply to Sir Henry Bulwer's charges.
§ MR. EVELYN ASHLEYWith reference to the remarks just made by the hon. Member, I must offer a correction. The communication to which he refers has not yet been received at the Colonial Office; but we have been informed that it will arrive. If the hon. Member will allow me to say it, I would point out that his Question is somewhat unusual, as being an argumentative statement of what are his views as to the policy which the Government ought to pursue, rather than a question as to facts. However, I will say, in. reply, that "the system of government adopted for the Zulu Native Reserve," was devised in order to enable the Government to keep faith by securing a place of refuge for any Chiefs or people who might be unwilling to come again under Cetewayo, but this consideration would not apply to the rest of Zululand; and, as we have never ac- 540 knowledged, or assumed, any Protectorate over that country, the Government are not at present prepared to adopt the views advocated by the hon. Member.