respect to the natives.
"2. The strained relations which exist between the colonist and
the native are the outcome of employing, as a rule, magistrates
lacking in tact, sympathy, and capacity to deal with the natives,
in the Government not supervising the action of these
magistrates, and in condoning their conduct, while acknowledging
those faults which come to their cognisance.
"3. The Colonial Government act in the nomination of native
magistrates as if their duties were such as any one could
fulfil, instead of being, as they are, duties requiring the
greatest tact and judgment. There can be no doubt but that in a
great measure, indeed one may say entirely, disturbances among
the natives are caused by the lack of judgment, or of honesty, or
of tact, on the part of the magistrates in the native
territories. There may be here and there good magistrates, but
the defects of the bad ones re-act on the good ones. Revolt is
contagious and spreads rapidly among the natives.
"4. One may say no supervision, in the full sense of the term,
exists over the actions of magistrates in native territories.
They report to headquarters what suits them, but unless some very
flagrant injustice is brought to light, which is often condoned,
the Government know nothing. The consequence is that a continual
series of petty injustices rankle in the minds of the natives,
eventually breaking out into a revolt, in the midst of which
Government does not trouble to investigate the causes of such
revolt, but is occupied in its suppression. The history of the
South African wars is essentially, as Sir G. Cathcart puts it,
"Wars undertaken in support of unjustifiable acts." Sir Harry
Smith was recalled for supporting an inefficient official of the
now Free State Territory. Any one who chooses can investigate the
causes of the late wars, and will find out that they arose in a
great measure from the ignorance of the Government, their support
of incapable officials, and their weakness in not investigating
causes before they proceeded to coercion.
"5. Government by coercion is essentially rotten. The Duke of
Wellington said that any fool could govern by that means. And it
is still more rotten when Government governs by the rule of
coercion without the power of coerci
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