In 1875 he committed the Colonial Office, and even the Cabinet, to his own personal opinions, which were not in favour of Parliamentary Government as understood either by Englishmen or by Africanders.

He was accused of getting up a popular agitation on behalf of the Imperial authorities against the Governor of the Colony, his Ministers, and the Legislative Assembly of the Cape.

He did in fact, under a strong sense of duty, urge Carnarvon to recall Barkly, and to substitute for him Sir Garnet Wolseley, who had temporarily taken over the administration of Natal.
Sir Garnet, however, had no such ambition.

Soldiering was the business of his life, and he had had quite enough of constitutionalism in Natal.

Barkly was for the present maintained, and Froude regarded his maintenance as fatal to Federation.