cuap, mi] THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA 941 
to South Africa and the unexpected appearance of Lord 
Carnarvon’s proposal for federation in 1875.1 
It is clear that the whole procedure in 1875 was from first 
to last unfortunate. In any case, it is probable that an 
attempt at union was premature. The Orange Free State 
and the Transvaal were by no means prepared to surrender 
so much of their independence as would have been involved 
in the acceptance of federation. The Cape of Good Hope, 
which had but recently obtained self-government, could not 
reasonably be expected to surrender the autonomy which it 
had so recently secured. Natal was not yet in possession of 
responsible government, and there was naturally feeling in 
the Cape against being put on a level with Natal. 
But the fatal mistake which was made by Lord Carnarvon 
was in attempting to ignore the Cape Government. Appar- 
ently Mr. Froude, who had visited South Africa as a pre- 
liminary to the confederation dispatch of 1875, had realized 
that the Cape was likely to cause difficulty, and, at any rate 
in his dispatch of May 4, 1875,2 Lord Carnarvon committed 
the fatal error of suggesting that the Cape should be repre- 
sented by Mr. Molteno, acting for the western province, and 
by Mr. Paterson for the eastern province. The Government 
of the Cape could not be expected to feel other than indignant 
at this step, which seemed to perpetuate the differentiation 
between the two parts of the Cape, and to hold out a prospect 
of the carrying out of the step refused in 1872, when the 
Imperial Government had definitely declined to accede to the 
petition of the eastern province of the Cape for separation 
from the western province. To add to the indignation on 
this head there was also the consideration that Natal and 
Griqualand West, both under the control of the Imperial 
Government, were to be represented at the Conference, thus 
reducing the position of Mr. Molteno to that of marked in- 
feriority. The Cape Ministry at once showed their indignation. 
! Bee Parl. Pap., C. 1244 (1875); C. 1399 (1876); H. L. 40, C. 1632 
(1877); C. 1980 (1878). Froude discussed the question at length in his 
book on his visit, and alludes to it in Oceana. For the other side, see 
P. A. Molteno, Sir John Molteno, i. 329 seq. ; ii. 1 seq. tC. 1244, p. 2.