Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/119

 1 8 78] Retirernent of the Molteno Ministry. 99 troops was the proper person, under whose control all volunteers and colonial forces of every kind should be placed. This was necessary, he maintained, in order to prevent confusion and to secure that cooperation which was essential for speedy success. He was unwilling that the general should have supreme control beyond the Kei and a colonial officer have similar authority west of that river, because it was impossible to make a distinction in this instance between foreign and civil war, and because King-Williamstown being the base of operations, it was necessary to keep open the line of communication with the Transkei by posts garrisoned by regular troops at Kei Road and Komgha, which could not be placed under colonial control. The volunteers and all other forces should be provided for by the imperial commissariat, to keep down the expense which competition would increase, and a strict account could be kept, so that the colony might know exactly what its expenses were. Mr. Molteno on the other hand maintained that the rebellion was a matter with which the colony alone had to deal, that imperial troops were not needed for the purpose, that their employment might produce complica- tions in the final settlement, that being placed under the control of a military officer prevented volunteers from commg forward, and that as the colony was required to pay for the soldiers there was no saving in expense. He objected in particular to the general commanding her Majesty's troops being entrusted with the control of operations against the rebels, which were really of the nature of police duties, and which a colony possessing responsible government should be left unfettered to deal with in its own way. In accordance with these views, Mr. Merriman, com- missioner of crown lands and public works, who repre- sented the prime minister on the frontier, had for some time been issuing instructions to the colonial comman- dants without any reference to General Cunynghame,