Cetywayo and his White Neighbours | Page 8

assent of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, "standing
in the place of Cetywayo's father, and so representing the nation,"
enunciated the four following articles, with a view to putting an end to
the continual slaughter that darkens the history of Zululand:--
1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land.
2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public
examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a right
to appeal to the king.
3. That no Zulu's life shall be taken without the previous knowledge
and consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the right of
appeal has been allowed to be exercised.
4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall be
substituted for the punishment of death.
Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they
were received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But
there is no doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a sacrifice

to his desire to please "his father Sompseu" (Mr. Shepstone) and the
Natal Government, with both of which he was particularly anxious to
be on good terms. He has never adhered to these coronation regulations,
or promises, as they have been called, and the probability is that he
never intended to adhere to them. However this may be, I must say that
personally I have been unable to share the views of those who see in
the breach of these so-called promises a justification of the Zulu war.
After all, what do they amount to, and what guarantee was there for
their fulfilment? They merely represent a very laudable attempt on the
part of the Natal Government to keep a restraining hand on Zulu cruelty,
and to draw the bonds of friendship as tight as the idiosyncrasies of a
savage state would allow. The Government of Natal had no right to
dictate the terms to a Zulu king on which he was to hold his throne. The
Zulu nation was an independent nation, and had never been conquered
or annexed by Natal. If the Government of that colony was able by
friendly negotiation to put a stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for
congratulation on humanitarian grounds; but it is difficult to follow the
argument that because it was not able, or was only partially able, to do
so, therefore England was justified in making war on the Zulus. On the
other hand, it is perfectly ludicrous to observe the way in which
Cetywayo's advocates overshoot the mark in arguing this and similar
points; especially his lady advocates, whose writings upon these
subjects bear about the same resemblance to the truth that the speech to
the jury by the counsel for the defence in a hopeless murder case does
to the summing up of the judge. Having demonstrated that the
engagements entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, they will
proceed to show that, even if they did, cold-blooded murder, when
perpetrated by a black paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a
great offence. In the mouths of these gentle apologists for slaughter,
massacre masquerades under the name of "executions," and is excused
on the plea of being, "after all," only the enforcement of "an old
custom." Again, the employment of such phrases, in a solemn answer
to a remonstrance from the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as "I do kill;
but do not consider that I have done anything yet in the way of
killing. . . . I have not yet begun; I have yet to kill," are shown to mean
nothing at all, and to be "nothing more than the mere irritation of the
moment."[*] Perhaps those of Cetywayo's subjects who suffered on

account of this mere momentary irritation took a more serious view of
it. It is but fair to the particular authority from whom I quote (Miss
Colenso's "History of the Zulu War," pp. 230-231) to state that she
considers this reply from the "usually courteous and respectful king" as
"no doubt petulant and wanting in due respect." Considering that the
message in question (which can be read in the footnote) was a
point-blank defiance of Sir Henry Bulwer, admitting that there had
been slaughter, but that it was nothing compared to what was coming,
most people will not think Miss Colenso's description of it too strong.
[*] The following is the text of the message:--
"Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell the white
people that I made such an arrangement? Because if he did he has
deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider that I have done anything
yet in the way of killing. Why do the white