Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/120

This page needs to be proofread.

lOO History of the Cape Colony. [1878 who remained at Ibeka until the last week in January. On the 9th of January Mr. Molteno arrived in King- Williarastown, and soon afterwards the di£ferences between him and the governor came to an issue. The conflicting views regarding this matter are here given in the words of the governor and the minister. On the 26th of January Sir Bartle Frere drew up a memo- randum on the subject, of which the following paragraphs are extracts : "The governor's commission recites, the constitution of the office of governor and commander-in-chief, with authority over ' all forts and garrisons, erected or estab- lished, or which shall be erected or established within our said Colony,' that his powers and authorities will be as specified in royal commissions, letters patent, and instructions under various forms from a secretary of state, and ' such laws as are or hereafter shall be in force in our said colony.' " It appears to me clear that the intention of the constitution was and is that there should be one person, the governor and commander-in-chief, in chief command of all military forces of every kind, colonial as well as imperial, performing all executive duties through a com- mander of the forces, whose commission gives him power to command her Majesty's troops, and who may be empowered by the governor and commander-in-chief to command colonial forces formally declared to be in the field of his operations. Such power to command colonial forces was formally given to his Excellency Sir Arthur (junynghame by authority of the governor and com- mander-in-chief of the colony, and has been exercised by him since our first meeting of four members of the executive council, after receiving the news of the first outbreak. His Excellency's powers in this respect have never been revoked by me. "Mr. Molteno now proposes to invest an office, to be created by himself, unknown as yet to parliament and