Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/123

 1878] Retire7nent of the Molteno Ministry. 103 tration, which ministers entirely agree with his Excellency in deprecating. They would observe that the government of the country being by the constitution vested in a governor and a responsible ministry, to hand over the control of the colonial forces and the conduct of military operations within or adjacent to the colony to an officer not accountable to the government of the country, and not in any way controlled by them, would be giving practical effect to dual government of the worst kind." At the governor's instance the opinion of Mr. Stock- enstrom, the attorney-general, had been asked for, but as he was in Capetown it could not be given until the 4th of February, when it was too late to be of any use except for historical purposes. It was as follows : "In my opinion governor's commission as commander- in-chief places under his control all her Majesty's troops stationed in this colony, but does not give him any power as commander-in-chief over the frontier armed and mounted police, the volunteers, or burghers. Over these colonial forces he has no greater authority than is vested in him by the various acts of parliament under which they are embodied ; and the powers so vested in him by these acts he cannot now constitutionally exercise, except with the concurrence and under the advice of his ministers. Consequently the governor cannot, except with the consent of the latter, embody the colonial forces with those of her Majesty. ... In my opinion, the appointment of a commandant-general to direct the action of volunteers and police engaged in the colony in the suppression of rebellion is not illegal," At the meeting of the executive council on the 2nd of February, as Mr. Molteno maintained the views em- bodied in the minute quoted above, the governor informed him that he would accept his resignation. He had tendered it some days previously, when he realised that harmonious action was no longer possible, but the