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Leader (1850-1860), 11th September 1852, Edition Country of 2, Page 2, Si R HARRY SMITH AND THE MILITIA Sin, Ha...

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      E Ngii^D Remains Quiesce; The Movements ...

      the nation , giddy , apathetic , inconstant , violent , and slavish : a type , too , of that centralization which enmeshes , and of that functionarism which degrades . The Ministers are found disputing the perilous privilege of waiting _Upoii their _master ; and the Generals , who did the _jbfoody work in December , and staked their heads pn the success of the crime , are plotting a _^ iti fmvirate to succeed the President—in case of _events .

      The Empire is for the next 2 nd of December , barring accidents . We have always said that the worst thing that could happen for the cause of liberty in France would be an abrupt termination of M . Louis Bonaparte ' s career . France is not yet ripe for freedom ; nor does she deserve it : sick of disorder , but not of servitude , her purgation is not yet complete .

      Louis Bonaparte has found a ready mimic in his nigger prototype , Emperor Soulouque , who , through his Consul at Hamburgh , has solemnly warned the European Press , and threatened caricaturists with reprisals . Soulouque will be making an international insult of the " African Opera Company" in the Strand , and demandin g the " Bones" of Pell from our Lord Chamberlain Ethiopian serenaders , beware !

      Sir Harry Smith is well out of the Cape troubles , and appears more in his element reviewing the militia of the Channel Islands with soldierly encouragement . The declarations of a veteran , as to the power inherent in a citizen soldiery , may carry that conviction into quarters where the truest history from a civilian pen would fail . The British politician would do well to compare the pathetic appeals made by Sir Harry Smith ' s successor , to the citizen soldiery at the Cape—his own mercenaries insufficient for their task—with the career

      of conquest in which the citizen soldiery of America is advancing unchecked . There is indeed a citizen soldiery in our own country , which is making its conquests against greater odds than Indian or Mexican can offer . The Sanitary Reformers , though coldly supported by the public hitherto , and betrayed by officials who pretended to help them , are gradually bringing town after town under their rule , and have now , at Tottenham , taken an outpost of the metropolis

      itself . The works for drainage and water suppl y in that suburb have been officially inspected by the Board of Health , and are pronouncetl to be good ! In the midst of reaction or stagnation , other movements , of the quiet order , are proceeding . As the Sanitary Reformers are establishing themselves in Tottenham , while furious bullocks are ranging Clare-market ; so , while stupid audiences are gaiiing at the ascent of Monsieur Poitevin on his

      dangling pony , Lord Rosse is explaining to the British Association how lie polishes his great telescope , or Mr . Locke is telling how Ireland is regenerated ; and while the miracle protectionists of Ipswich are pursuing their Lapntan investigation into the phu'iioinena of Elizabeth Squirrell , the agricultural Protectionists , no longer clamouriug for seventy shillings a quarter , are vigorously testing the capacities of reaping machines , by practical experiment .

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      Affair Of Tiik Loitoh Islands. Pluihl'i-...

      AFFAIR OF TIIK LOItOH ISLANDS . PlUiHl ' _i- ' HNT _Fiiii . MOlU' . lias communicated the correspondence which has passed between Mr . Osnia , the Peruvian Minister at Washington , und Mr . Webster , to Congress . Tbe dates of the letters are from August , the _lird to tbo a 1 st . On the part of his Government Mr . Osinu assorts the

      right of Peru to all the hobos Islands , on the ground that she has always exercised authority over them ; tbat they belong to I _' eru , iih they formerly belonged to Spain ; and that from time immemorial tbo Peruvian . Indians have been in tho habit oi * visiting them for the purpose of catching seals , killing birds , and gathering eggs , and that this exclusive right to the islands by Peru has never been doubted or disputed .

      Mr . _Websler states that be does not rely on the " supposed discovery of Captain . Morrell , as founding au exclusive right to the Lobos Islands on the part ol tho United States . It was only mentioned as a fact lit to be considered in common with other facts and

      Affair Of Tiik Loitoh Islands. Pluihl'i-...

      occurrences . The fouth _afcpe _& _ep to be that Captain Morrell was on a Vfjyage of discovery , and he did in fact discover , or was _tajjposed to have discovered , guano on _fhese islands . " "In reply ty the allegations of Iff ? . Osujjj , Mr . Webster puts in a prior claim on l _^ ehalf of the United _Slates , on _tfye . ground that American fishermen have long used the islands .

      " _fisheries , and tp . e pursuit of amphibious animals , 'especially the _adaj , ha _^ e long been _3 arrie (| oh around their shores , and eveii on ihose _shores _fchfems _& lves , since it is w _$ _li known that seals are usually taken and killed upon the land . In these pursuits and in this use of the islands , citizens of the United States were engaged for half a century before any actual interruption took place b _y the Peruvian Government or anybody else ; their visits to them having commenced at least as early as 1793 . All this is well known to the commercial world . "

      And he further contends that seal fishing was as much an invasion as the taking of guano . " _Nevertheless , no complaint was made of this course of things , nor any interruption attempted or threatened , until September , 1833 , in which month , as it would now appear , a decree was issued by the Peruvian Government , prohibiting foreigners from fishing for seals and amphibious RniTTmla on the shores and islands of Peru , and declaring that the captains of foreign vessels who evaded the order should be considered as smugglers . It is important to observe that this decree was issued after the publication of Captain Morrell ' s narrative . "

      Against this decree the Charge d'Affaires at Lima protested . '' Without formally denying the original right of Peru , he requested a reconsideration of the decree , or that it might be so far modified as to permit to the citizens of the United States the pursuit of an occupation which they had been allowed quietly to follow for a number of years . " Mr . Webster then asks , " Can Mr . Osma ' s averment therefore be maintained , in which he asserts the universal and ¦ absolute sovereignty of Peru never to have been denied or questioned by any Government ?"

      Mr . Webster gets rid of the decision of the English Government by asserting that the two cases are widely different ; and that Lord Palmerston gave in to the Peruvian claim because the English had not the ground which the United States have , of " long and uninterrupted usage . " But he has another reason , expressed as follows : — " Mr . Osma refers to a decision of the English Government , and observes that , as both the mercantile and agricultural classes in the British empire have a strong interest adverse to the claim of Peru , if the British Government has decided in favour of that claim , that decision must be ascribed to considerations sufficient to outweigh a regard for the interests of British farmers and shipowners . "

      Mr . Webster disputes the authority of Alcedo , the great Spanish geographer , who describes the Lobos as Spanish possession )? , because Alcedo was a Spaniard , speaking geographically , and not on political rights ! " In this case , therefore , the authority of Alcedo cannot be regarded as decisive . In order that it should be so considered , the undersigned must bo informed what acts of jurisdiction his Catholic Majesty exercised over those islands . Tho occasional visits of Indians from tho neighbouring continent , to which Mr . Osma refers , cannot bo said to havo imparted to tho sovereign of Spain , or tho

      Government of Peru even , as good a title to those islands as the habitual resort thither of the vessels of the United States , so long and uninterruptedly continued , for the purpose of capturing seals on their shore and whales in tbo adjacent ocean , would givo to the United States . Tho use of theso islands by tho Peruvian Indians for tho last halfcentury has no doubt boon vastly less than by the citizens of tbe United States ; and , upon tho ground of Mr . Osma ' s argument , a bettor title could bo assorted by possession on tbo part of tho United StateB than could be maintained by Peru . "

      The last paragraph is important : — " Under all tho circumstances , tho President , tbinks it most advisable that full instructions on this subject Hliould bo despatched to the charge" d ' affaires of tho United States at Lima , and that proper orders should bo given to tbe niival forces of tbo United States in that quarter to prevent collision until furthor examination of tho ease . No countenance will bo given to tbo authors of such enterprise )! ., claiming to bo citizens of tbo United States , wlio may undertake to defend themselves or thoir vessels by force in tho prosecution of any commercial enterprises to these islands . Such acts would bo acts of private war , and their authors would thereby justly forfeit the protection of their own Government . "

      We might infer from this that the Government bad not made up its mind ; or is it only a Whig show of impartiality and forbearance .

      Tiik Kafir War. Accounts Were Received F...

      TIIK KAFIR WAR . Accounts were received from the Capo of Good Hope , up to tbo 3 rd of August , by tbe _Jlellesqumt Since our last , no alteration has taken place in tho state of a Hairs . Depredations , ( _tattle _lilTbings , military forays , and the usual incidents with which the public havo been so long familiar , form tbe staple of tbe news . The Kafirs and Hottentots still bold possession of parts of tbe AmntobiH and tbo Waterkloof ; thoy are still as daring im ever within the frontier . Tho files of Cape papers givo tho usual _accounts of cuttle lilting by com-

      Tiik Kafir War. Accounts Were Received F...

      famed Hottentot _^ tod _ttjfa , and of reprisals b y the regular _forces and _fehW The only attack worthv of notice Was one _fliade on the Waterkloof bv r _«„ i \ BuUer , of _theBk _& _oij the 24 th of _sl y _^ l _^ Kafirs were lured from _tfceir stronghold by a feiJuS retreat , and were thus exposed to the foil fire of th Artillery and _ftlfles , suffering a loss of more than loo while only three of Colonel Butter ' s _foreo _« . ' wounded . ' _^ _were Perhaps the most important news is that , on the lRt of July , General Cathcart issued a proclamation , callin for the assistance of every man capable of bearing arm and on the 20 th his Excellency issued an explanato _^ circular , in which it is stated that all he required _waa _^ deputation of all the fighting men who can reall y come to represent the district , and for those who cannot

      come to assist those who can . The Governor insist on this help . The mother country has sacrificed much life and treasure , while its only real advantage was the possession of the seaport of Simon ' s Bay . The protection of certain colonists who settled on the frontier thirty years since might be considered an obli gation but such obligations have their limits . This must probably be the last Kafir war carried on at the cost of the British Government . The object of General Cathcarfs intended expedition was twofold first to test the willingness of the colonists ; and secondly if they came forward , to demonstrate to the Kafirs that independently of the Imperial force , there was sufficient

      strength m the colony to chastise the enemy should he again attack the frontier . If the General found the colonists unwilling , he had ample force to cross the Kei and vindicate the national honour ; but this would convince the world that the colonists were deficient in their former energy , and their chief opponent Kreli would ever after hold them in contempt . After returning from the expedition beyond the Kei , the Governor says it will be his duty to report to the Home Government if the colonists had not rendered him

      proper support ; in that case , he will probably be ordered to withdraw bis army , when his parting recommendation to them would be to keep less sheep and oxen , and more shepherds and herdsmen , for wild men and wild beasts would soon recover their ancient sovereignty in the Fish River and Zuurberg , and the colonists will not be able to drive them out as their fathers did in the olden time . Such were the views of the Commander-in-Chief on the present and future .

      Under date of tbe 2 nd of August , Lieutenant-Governor Darling has addressed a circular to the Civil Commissioners of the western districts , in which , after referring to General Cathcarfs letter of tbe 20 th of July to the eastern provinces , be says that , by the last newspaper accounts from Graham ' s Town and Port Elizabeth , the Governor ' s views had been promptly responded to , and that considerable contributions had

      been cheerfully rendered towards equipping the contingent from the eastern districts . Lieutenant-Governor Darling then gives instructions to tbe Commissioners to make known through the field cornets that tbey are ready to receive contributions in money or kind towards the equipment of the eastern volunteers , to be forwarded to the Treasurer-General in Cape Town , and sending at the same timo to the Governor ' s secretary accurate lists of the names of the contributors . Prom the Orange Sovereignty , Natal , and tbe Trans Vaal ltepublic , the news is of the most satisfactory kind-

      Si R Harry Smith And The Militia Sin, Ha...

      Si R HARRY SMITH AND THE MILITIA Sin , _Haiiby Smith reviewed a portion of the Guernsey Militia , on Thursday week , on the New Ground , fhe troops selected for tho purpose consisted of the artillery , under Colonel _Giffard ; the 1 st regiment of infantry , commanded by Colonel Harvoy ; and the rifle companies of tho four regiments , brigaded under Lieutenan - Colonel Palla _, numbering , _idtogetber , about 1 , 000 men . After the troops had passed m review , the whole were formed in square , and the generals and staff having en tered , Sir Harry Smith addressed the men . ' B > b _' _^ often wo get such strong testimony to tbe i »« n a citizen soldiery . " Royal and loyal Militia of Guernsey , —You r X _'"^

      tenant-Governor , feir John JJoll , bus kindly P . " _^ () nftl to express my opinion of you ; and I esteem H _» P , H 1 y compliment to myself tbat you havo turned out i _^ j especial gratification . I bad board of you , but » u "' _< in j was prepossessed in your favour , I did not oxpoc e _„ B . such military skill and military appearance as y I s 0 Now a word to you , Comrades ! Never lias an . _™ _* much cause of dread as when opjwaed to armeti ¦ j ft History is full of _oxamplos . look to tb _« P '' jr foil „ d _Vendue , where tbo armed pooplo so _succoHflluuj' _^ Napoloon ' s veteran armies . Look to Algeria , foun d _Franco ' s four hundred and fifty thousand men . J" upl > full emnloviiiont . _durinir _rrianv _voars of _territorial ,. // ,.

      tion , without bringing tho pooplo to ( subjection . . Circassia , Which still withstands llussia fl * l 0 Bt " _^ _rfy nundrod thousand . I myself hav 6 never been « _Jj ( lV 0 foiled as when ojyposed to the armed _peasantry- _^ tr Just roturnod from a long and fatiguing war in *

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Sept. 11, 1852, page 2, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_11091852/page/2/