Glanville, member for Grahamstown, to join him, an invitation which, as we have seen, the latter gentleman was unable to accept, being on the point of departure for England. Mr. Molteno was strongly of opinion that one at least of the Ministers should always be a member of the Legislative Council, and he accordingly requested Dr. White, M.L.C., a staunch advocate of responsible government for many years, to become Treasurer-General. The burden of the Treasurer's work, however, fell on the Premier, who himself made the annual Budget speeches in the Assembly, and generally kept a keen eye on the finances of the Colony. One of the strongest objections which had been urged against responsible government was that it would lead to a native war by unsettling the minds of the natives who were supposed to prefer direct Imperial control to the rule of colonial politicians. In order to satisfy the natives that a change in the form of government would not involve a change of policy towards them, Mr. Molteno selected as his first Secretary for Native Affairs a man who enjoyed the complete confidence of the native tribes generally. Mr. Brownlee had from his childhood lived amongst the natives; he understood their habits and customs, and his appointment had the very best effect on them. Mr. Brownlee had been born in the Colony, and in his appointment Mr. Molteno made good what he had always averred-that there was ability and talent in the Colony which was available for its government if only it were allowed the opportunity of rising to high office. It was, however, in the appointment of his AttorneyGeneral that Mr. Molteno gave the strongest example of his clear insight into character. John Henry De Villiers was of colonial birth and parentage; he had represented, since 1867, the western constituency of Worcester, and in this short time he had displayed considerable political aptitude. He had supported responsible government, but had not by any means been a constant supporter of Mr. Molteno, who nevertheless recognised his powers of mind and character, and selected him as his first AttorneyGeneral. His subsequent career has justified in the fullest manner his selection, and on the retirement of Sir Sydney Bell, Mr. Molteno raised him to the post of Chief Justice, a position which he has filled with an ever-growing reputation of the highest character for independence, high legal ability, and irreproachable impartiality; a reputation which is as great among the members of the Privy Council, before whom his judgments have come by appeal from time to time, as it is among those who are in constant practice before him. The fact that he represented a south-western district was also an advantage, as it gave that part of the country its due share in the highest administrative body of the Government. It was hoped and believed that at last South Africa was to be entrusted with the management of its own affairs, and was to be allowed to work out its own destiny without that unwise and ill-informed interference from outside, which had been so fatal in times past. The Secretary of State had been most unreserved in the manner in which he desired to entrust all the affairs of the Colony to colonial hands, and when the Governor suggested that the question of native affairs on the borders of the Colony should be reserved for Imperial control, the Secretary of State, Lord Kimberley, pointed out that he would not draw such a distinction, and all must be entrusted to colonial hands, who must be held responsible for the defence of their own borders." Had this remedy of responsible government been fairly tried, it would have been a solution of all the troubles of South Africa. The matter was being keenly watched by Sir Henry De Villiers is now (1899) an unpaid member of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. 2 I. P., C-459, p. 66. Earl Kimberley to Sir H. Barkly, the 17th of November, 1870. the neighbouring states, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The latter had officially declared that it would contemplate reunion with the Colony if responsible government were granted and accepted, but not otherwise. The President of the Transvaal had written to congratulate Mr. Molteno on the inauguration of responsible government, and had specially mentioned the union of South Africa as a result to be eventually looked for from the development of that principle. Government House, Pretoria: December 27, 1872. SIR, I cannot refrain from conveying to you and the new Ministry of the Cape Colony the kindest congratulations of myself personally as well as of my Executive and Government on your and their auspicious assumption of the reins of the Government as the first responsible Cabinet. I feel assured that the change brought about in this respect by the united action of her Majesty's representatives and the representatives of the people of the Cape Colony, will tend to the good of South Africa at large as well as the Cape Colony in particular; while at the same time I am confident that it will direct the spirit of the nation in that proper channel which will ultimately lead to a closer union between the different colonies and states of South Africa. Accept the assurance, Sir, that nothing will give me greater pleasure than to see an intimate and friendly relationship maintained between our respective Governments. With best wishes for the prosperity of the Cape Colony and the success of your Ministry, I have the honour to remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, The Hon. J. C. Molteno, THOS. BURGERS, President S. A. Republic. Mr. Molteno now believing that the Cape was to work out its own destiny, began to direct its career. With the energy which always characterised him he set to work at once to devise measures for the advancement and development of the country. He took up the thread of policy which had been inaugurated in South Africa by Sir George Grey, but which had been interrupted since his departure from African shores. An interruption due to the natural difficulties caused by a succession of bad years when drought and other curses afflicted the country. But above all to a form of government in which the people had no confidence, and which the Parliament had refused to entrust with the requisite sums of money on the ground that the administration of the smaller funds for the ordinary purposes of Government had been of a most unsatisfactory character. Mr. Molteno, as we have seen, consistently led the opposition to entrusting the then Administration with any funds which were not absolutely necessary for carrying on the Government of the country. Sir George Grey had inaugurated a policy which, by looking to the development of the material resources of the Colony, tended to make the European races unquestionably the superiors of the uncivilised black races; until this was done, there would be constant and sanguinary struggles between the two, as had been the case before his arrival in the country, a state of things most disastrous to both white and black. He further regarded it as of the utmost importance that the white races being pressed upon by barbarism on all sides, should have all those aids for maintaining their efficiency and their civilisation at a high level, and with this in view, he attached the greatest importance to education. He saw that those far away on the frontier could not send their sons back to Cape Town, but must have an easier means of access to learning for their children; for this purpose he founded the Grey College at Bloemfontein, and nobly has it been carried out. In that wide spirit of liberal and wise policy he saw that the black races, though inferior, must have justice meted out to them, and as far as possible must be raised to a higher level and made of use to themselves and to the community, and with this in view, he founded those educational and industrial establishments of which Lovedale is the chief, where no mere mental veneer of book learning was to be acquired, but a knowledge of useful manual arts, in which the natives were utterly deficient, but which when acquired once would be of service to themselves and to the community, and would offer a secure basis for further mental and social advance. own. When Sir George Grey had attempted this policy, Mr. Molteno had been one of those who actively entered into and supported his views, which largely coincided with his We find him taking up all these threads in the earliest days of his Ministry. As soon as he took office, he appointed a commission to examine into and report upon a scheme for the establishment of a university. He perceived that it was a vital question for the inhabitants of the Cape Colony that they should have the benefits of education as fully and freely as it was possible to give them. The rural population spread over wide areas, and living in isolation, was so situated as to necessarily lose the greater part of that knowledge and mental training derived from the mere fact of being brought up in a more populous neighbourhood and with other individuals, a fact exemplified in every European country when we regard the superior intelligence and quickness of perception of the town population compared with that of the country, and extending even to the entirely uneducated, as may be proved by the ready wit and repartee of the neglected gamin or street arab of the towns. That education, then, which the European takes in unconsciously with his mother's milk, is wanting in the rural population of South Africa, and we must look to direct education to correct this and compensate for the absence of other influences. It may be said that this is not possible, but we may derive great encouragement and hope from the example of America, where the population is very scattered, and yet the system of education has been such that it is now the newly arrived emigrant from Europe who is the ignorant man, and the |