THE ZULU WAR.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 92, 24 February 1879, Page 3

THE ZULU WAR.

(Pall Mall Gazette, December 20.) Natal contains a native population call-, ■ mated at 300,000 of Zulu nationality, 11 whilo its European and Coolie inhabitants number together some 40,000 On (lie' : south, in its immediate neighborhood, are w the Basutos, who sro British subjects liv- y inj; under the jurisdiction of a chief ma- . gistrate appointed by the Cape Government. Between them and the sea .on the Nr.tal boundary the country belongs to the numerous Amapondo tribe, for the present friendly, but believed to be in communication with the disaffected natives, and watching the course of events. To the north, adjoining the colonial boundary for nearly 200 miles, is the Zulu countryJTho Zulus arc the most warlike tribo witWrliich we aro likely to havo any '"" encounter in South Africa. They aro subject to a military depotism as grinding in its tyrany as any existing in Europe, g "| They aro a nation of soldiers, and from tho time each man becomes capable of bearing arms until disqualified by old age, their lives aro ruled by military considerations, To work is beneath a warrior's 'J dignity, unless it be in furtherance of a warlike object. Tho fields arc cultivated by their women; tho occupation of the men, when not engaged in drill, is hunting. Cetewayo, the Zulu King, can, it i 3 1 said, put into the field from 40,000 to 60,000 warriors, armed more or less with guns, organised in regiments, and accus- E tonied to execute concerted movements. The organisation itself, due to the skill and genius of Chaka, the prescct King's de- < ceased uncle, and founder of the nation, i was necessary to prevent tliei r nnnih ilat ions, whilo yet a young nation, by the neigh- \ bouring tribes, whom thcyalterwards con- ; quered one by one. But now, the necessity which called it into operation having - passed away, it is simply a machine for thD generation of power, whose energy, , now long pent up by the presence of the ] British, has had no outlet, and therefore threatens to force the King into war or subject his country to a revolution, j Cetewayo is a really formidable potentate; ■ and if the war breaks out, as it probably will, tho skill of Lord Chelmsford will be ■ severely taxed to enable the small forces at' his disposal, scattered as they are over a large extent of country, to withstand tho Zulu onset. Secocoei, Cetewayo's vassal, who in 1870 proved too • powerful for the late Boer Republic, has for some time been engaged in hostilities against us in the Transvaal, and has kept tho troops and volunteers available there fully employed. On one occasion, with tho aid of superior numbers, he even succeeded in driving back the Colonial forces. But for the great part he has co.ifined himself to night-attacks and cattle-lifting; whilo with the 10,000 warriors he can command, he has entrenched himself 011 one of the inaccessible mountains which abound in the south-eastern part of tho Transvaal. His retreat is upon certain largo caves situated in a steep mountain, the sides of which are defended by parallel stone walls, increasing in strength as the top is approached. To storm the position is impossible without a greater loss of life than with small forces is advisable. To starve him out will bo tedious, as he is reported to be well supplied with food and water. The commander-in-chief is said to have lately suspended all operations against Secocoeni until he has settled the impending Zulu difficulty. VThe danger, howc/er, does not lie exclusively in the amount of damage Cetewayo may be ablo to inflict, great as that is. The Soutli African native worships visible power, and the greater cause for anxiety is that a combination of all the disaffected tribes maybe formed under Zulu leadership. Such a combination has been hitherto impossible by petty tribal jealousies, and many have affected to disbelieve its possibility. But the better informed men of the colony have considered that the danger might becomo a reality in the event of somo occurrence that would deeply stir native feeling. They have observed that a great chango has come over native opinion—that the collapse of the Transvaal Republic first broke tho spell which tho invariable victories of the colonists had established, A notion, moreover, lias got abroad among the natives that their inferiority was simply duo to their -want of guns and ammunition. Hence for many years they hwe been accumulating firearms; and not only have they acquired them, but a fair understanding of their use. These far from unintelligent savages saw, too, that much of their weakness arose from one tribe being played off against another. For some years, therefore, they have been and are now attempting to bring about an alliance of tho native races. Messengers liaye been and are constantly passing between Cetewayo and other chiefs with the hardly concealed object of bringing about a combination hostile to the supremacy of white men, Events are being watched by all the disaffected tribes, and one serious disaster may bring about the conflagration, to avoid which every sacrifice ought to bo made, On the other hand, if tho impending struggle isonce successfully ended, it may by the execution of a firm and fearlessly just native policy, lead to the final establishment of our power and the beginning of a prosperous era for all South Africa.