-, A »^Vu8cik' 'iioiss^^wwra a£A/va 5>j >.»>?» mm AFFfCANA, A EECOEDS OF THE CAPE COLONY. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/recordsofcapecol00thea_12 RECORDS OF THE CAPE COLONY From MAY 1809 to MARCH 1811. COPIED FOR THE CAPE GOVERNMENT, FROM THE MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENTS IN THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON, BY GEORGE MCCALL THEAL, D.Lit., LL.D., COLONIAL HISTORIOGRAPHER. VOL. VII. PRINTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CAPE COLONY. 1900 LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. CONTENTS. DATE 1809. 31 May. 5 June. 99 8 June. 19 June. 23 June. 99 25 June. 30 June. )) 7 July. 99 99 9 July. 28 July. 6 Aug. 1 Aug. 99 PAGE Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole ......... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Strangford 99 99 99 Letter from G. Cooke, Esqre., to the Honourable C. B. Agar. Letter from the Landdrost of Uitenhage to Lieutenant Colonel Collins ......... Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... 99 99 ..... Letter from George Bex, Esqre., to Lieutenant Colonel Collins Remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Collins upon the Places situated between the Rivers Goukama and Traketekou . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Charles Arbuthnot, Esqre., to Edward Cooke, Esqre. ......... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole ......... Government Advertisement concerning Salt Pans Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh 99 99 99 Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole Government Advertisement concerning Liquor Licenses Journal of a Tour made by Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the North-Eastern Boundary, the Orange River, and the Storm Mountains ....... Supplement to the Relation of a Journey into the Country of the Bosjesmen and Caffre People .... Continuation of Lieutenant Colonel Collins’ Journal, being notes made on a Journey to the southern branches of the Rivers T’ky and through Kaffraria .... Report of Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from F. Robinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon 99 99 99 99 99 99 1 3 4 6 7 9 11 12 14 15 15 1(3 17 18 18 19 20 33 56 98 139 140 140 23 Aug. VI Contents. PATE 1809. 26 Aug. 29 Aug. 2 Sept. 17 Sept. 18 Sept. 22 Sept. 29 Sept. 6 Oct. 9 Oct. 10 Oct. 11 Oct. 12 Oct. 15 Oct. 16 Oct. 99 99 17 Oct. 17 Oct. 19 Oct. 99 99 99 20 Oct. 22 Oct. 24 Oct. 26 Oct. 1 Nov. 2 Nov. 3 Nov. 14 Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 99 18 Nov. 99 PAGE Letter from E. Cooke, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . 99 99 99 Report of Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole 99 99 99 Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the Earl of Caledon Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon .... Letter from Captain Josias Rowley to Vice Admiral Bertie . Letter from E. Cooke, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Colonial Prefect at Mauritius to the Minister of Marine and the Colonies of France .... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to E. Cooke, Esqre. Notice of the Earl of Liverpool’s appointment as Secretary of State ......... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Tariff of Tythes ........ Tariff of Import and Export Duties ..... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Vice Admiral Bertie Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Vice Admiral Bertie 99 99 99 Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole Letter from the Earl of Caledon to John Pringle, Esqre. Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon Government Advertisement concerning Sale of Liquor . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh 99 99 99 Orders for the licensed Bakers ....... Regulations for the licensed Butchers .... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole ......... 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh >> » » 140 141 141 148 150 151 152 153 156 159 160 161 163 163 168 170 175 176 197 197 199 200 201 202 203 206 206 207 208 209 211 211 217 217 219 222 225 225 225 226 228 228 Contents. DATE 1809. 18 Nov. 21 Nov. 24 Nov. 27 Nov. I Dec. 7 Dec. 9 Dec. 22 Dec. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh 11 11 11 Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh Government Advertisement concerning Port Officers . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon .... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castiereagn Letter from Cecil Jenkinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Census Returns of 1809 ...... Agricultural Returns of 1809 ..... Revenue and Expenditure Returns of 1809 . 1810. 1 Jan. Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W Pole ........ „ Advertisement concerning Appointments . 3 Jan. Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon 11 r> 11 r> 13 Jan. Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. „ Letter from Charles Blair, Esqre., to Viscount Casthreagh 20 Jan. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh 22 Jan. Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon „ Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. 11 11 11 11 • • 25 Jan. Advertisement concerning an Appointment 5 Feb. Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon . . i . 8 Feb. „ „ „ Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon 12 Feb. Letter from Cecil Jenkinson, E>qre., to the Earl of Caledon „ Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon 16 Feb. Advertisement concerning Counterfeit Paper Money ' „ Advertisement concerning the Post .... 25 Feb. Letter from the Rev. J. Scholtz to the Earl of Liverpool 26 Feb. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 11 11 11 it 27 Feb. Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon .... 3 March. Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon 5 March. Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon 8 March. List of Ships of War on the Station .... „ Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. 20 March. Letter from W. Merry, Esqre., to Lieutenant Colonel Bunbury ....... 21 March. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 26 March. Letter from Lord Minto to Commodore Rowley . vii PAGE 230 232 233 235 235 236 236 238 239 240 241 243 244 245 245 245 246 246 247 247 249 252 252 252 252 253 253 254 254 258 258 259 260 260 263 264 264 264 265 267 267 269 Contents. viii DATE 1810. 26 March. 30 March. 4 April. 10 April. 19 April. 24 April. 27 April. 28 April. 30 April. >» 1 May. 8 May. 12 May. 14 May. 15 May. 18 May. 1 June. 5 June. 7 June. 10 June. 14 June. Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. J5 »> Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Memorial of the Reverend Dr. Halloran .... Enclosure : — Presentation to the Reverend Dr. Halloran .... Letter from the Commissary General to George Harrison, Esqre. ......... Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Graham to Lieutenant General Grey ........ Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . 5 i » ” Letter from the Chairman of the East India Company to the Right Honourable Robert Dundas .... Letter from Lord Minto to Vice Admiral Bertie . » » Letter from Lord Minto to Commodore Rowley . Letter from Sir David Baird to the Earl of Liverpool . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from George Harrison, Esqre., to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson ........ Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to Lieutenant General Grey ......... Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Mr. Dundas to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson . Enclosure : — Resolution concerning Trade between the Cape and New South Wales ........ Letter from the Honourable C. B. Agar to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson ....... Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson to the Earl of Caledon ......... Appointment of Assessors to the Court of Appeal in Criminal Cases ......... Letter from Sir David Baird to the Earl of Liverpool . Enclosures : — A. Receipt for Prize Money ...... B. Debtor aud Creditor Account of Prize Money. C. Schedule of Property captured ..... Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from the Colonial Secretary to the President of the Lombard Bank ...... PAGE 270 271 271 271 273 274 275 277 277 277 278 279 280 281 283 283 284 284 285 285 286 286 287 287 288 288 289 290 291 292 Contents , ix DATE 1810. 23 June. 30 June. 1 July. 99 99 2 July. 3 July. 4 July. 6 July. 7 July. 99 8 July. 99 9 July. 99 99 99 99 10 July. 19 » 99 99 99 11 July. 12 July. 99 » 18 July. 22 July. 99 27 July. 30 July. 31 July. 99 Letter from John Rennie, Esqre., to John Barrow, Esqre. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 99 99 99 Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon List of Ships of War on the Cape Station .... List of French Men of War at Mauritius .... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Cox ......... Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Report of Deputy Adjutant General Sorrell Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Cox to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Cox to Lieutenant General Grey Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Memorandum by the Earl of Caledon .... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. 99 99 99 Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant Colonel Cox . After General Orders ....... Letter from George Harrison, Esqre., to Robert Peel, Esqre. . Productions of the Reverend Dr. Halloran .... Letter from Captain Josias Rowley to Vice Admiral Bertie . Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 99 99 99 Letter from Tice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Letter from Captain Josias Rowley to Vice Admiral Bertie . Letter from the Rev. Dr. Halloran to Lieutenant General Grey ......... Advertisement concerning the Sale of the Liquor License Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from R. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Fiscal . VOL. VII. PAGE 293 296 303 304 304 305 305 306 307 307 308 308 310 311 312 313 315 317 317 318 318 319 320 320 320 321 322 322 323 323 330 333 333 335 336 337 338 339 346 347 348 349 349 b X Contents. DATE 1810. 2 Aug. 12 Aug. 19 Aug. 25 Aug. 99 26 Aug. 99 27 Aug. »> 30 Aug. 1 Sept. 5 Sept. 6 Sept. 7 Sept. 99 12 Sept. 17 Sept. 20 Sept. 99 21 Sept. 25 Sept. 4 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 13 Oct. 15 Oct. 20 Oct. 25 Oct. 99 Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Sir David Baird to B. Peel, Esqre. . Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey . Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. 99 99 99 • Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 99 99 99 • Letter from R. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to Rear Admiral Drury . Letter from R. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from R. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Liverpool. Advertisement concerning Office Hours .... Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Torrens to Robert Peel, Esqre. Enclosure : Extract of a Letter from Lieutenant General Grey Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Torrens to Robert Peel, Esqre. ......... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool 99 99 99 * 99 99 99 99 99 99 • Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to Lieutenant General Grey Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to Landdrost Cuyler Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Letter from the Rev. Dr. Halloran to the Earl of Liverpool . Enclosures in the above : — 1. Political Article by the Rev. Dr. Halloran 2. Ode for His Majesty’s Birthday ..... Letter from Rear Admiral Stopford to J. W. Croker, Esqre. . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Henry Brougham, Esqre., to the Earl of Liverpool ........ Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Letter from Landdrost Cuyler to the Earl of Caledon . Enclosures : Evidence of various persons concerning charges made by Rev. Mr. Read , Return of Troops at the Cape of Good Hope PAGE 350 350 352 352 353 354 354 355 357 360 363 364 366 366 367 368 368 369 369 372 372 373 375 375 376 379 380 386 388 389 389 392 396 396 396 400 414 DATE 1810. 27 Oct. 30 Oct. 1 Nov. 55 55 2 Nov. 14 Nov. 55 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 19 Nov. 20 Nov. 23 Nov. 27 Nov. 28 Nov. Contents. Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Letter from E. Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon » n )j • • Return of Ships of War on the Station .... Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Torrens ......... Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Letter from Major Bird to the Honourable C. B. Agar . Letter from Major Bird to J. Rennie, Esqre. Letter from M. C. Gie, Esqre., to Deputy Secretary Bird Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to J. A. Truter, Esqre. . Letter from Sir David Dundas to the Earl of Liverpool Enclosures in the above : — A. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Torrens ....'.. B. Memorandum of a Conversation at Government House C. Letter from W. Huskisson, Esqre., to Colonel Brownrigg . E. Extract of a letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon ..... F. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey ......... G. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon ......... H. Letter from the Commander in Chief to Lieutenant General Grey ......... I. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon ....... J. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon ......... K. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey L. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon ......... M. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey ......... N. Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon ......... O. Letter from the Commander in Chief to Yiscount Castle- reagh ......... xi PAGE 414 414 417 417 418 418 419 419 419 421 421 424 425 427 428 434 435 437 439 440 441 442 443 445 446 447 447 448 448 450 451 Contents. xii DATE 1810. 5 Dec. 6 Dec. 6 Dec. 11 Dec. 12 Dec. 20 Dec. 21 Dec. 27 Dec. 27 Dec. 1811 15 Jan. 16 Jan. 17 Jan. 19 Jan. 5 J 25 Jan. 1 Feb. 13 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 28 Feb. P. Letter from Viscount Castlereagb to the Commander in Chief Q. Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Gordon to Lieutenant General Grey ........ R. Extract of a letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieu- tenant Colonel Gordon ...... S. Letter from the Commander in Chief to Lieutenant General Grey ........ T. Letter from the Commander in Chief to Sir David Baird . Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. List of Ships of War that assisted in the capture of the Isle of France ......... Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Letter from Rear Admiral Stopford to J. W. Croker, Esqre. . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to J. A. Truter, Esqre. Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Liverpool Revenue Returns for 1810 ...... Expenditure Returns for 1810 ...... Population and Cattle Returns for 1810 .... Agricultural Returns for 1810 . . . . . . Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon . Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool >> >> Letter from Rear Admiral Stopford to J. W. Croker, Esqre. . » » Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool Advertisement concerning an appointment Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon ..... Letter from Sir David Dundas to the Earl of Liverpool Advertisement concerning an appointment Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon » ;> » » >> » Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to Landdrost Cuyler Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to J. A. Truter, Esqre. Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon .... Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon >> » j > Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool PAGE 452 454 455 456 457 460 461 464 464 465 465 466 467 471 472 473 474 477 478 479 480 480 481 481 482 490 490 491 491 492 492 493 496 500 501 501 501 502 1 March. RECORDS OF THE CAPE COLONY. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Raisonable, Simon’s Bat, 31sf May 1809. Sir, — I have the honor to communicate to you for the informa- tion of their Lordships that His Majesty’s Ships Clorinde and Iphigenia anchored in Table Bay on the 18th ultimo. The former having been detained here until the 5th instant in consequence of its being discovered that in the Gale she encountered in the Channel, one of the anchors having given way, had nearly worked through two of the planks in the Bows, underneath the Copper, which required her being brought by the Stern and lightened, in order to their being shifted. This repair being completed, she sailed under Orders, a Copy of which is sent herewith, and which I deemed it expedient to give Captain Briggs, from the reasons therein stated. Captain Lambert sailed on the 3rd instant in the Iphigenia to take the command of the detachment of the Squadron stationed off the Isle of Bourbon. The Sirius arrived here on the 7th instant, and sailed again on the 15th under Orders, a Copy of which is also herewith transmitted. On her passage out she captured a French Government Schooner bound from Nantes to Senegal, and also recaptured a Portuguese Brazil Ship which had been taken by the French frigate Bellona, by which vessels Captain Pym received the Intelligence, the particulars of which accompany this. The only information I have received from the Mauritius subsequent to the Ships of the Squadron resuming the Blockade has been by the Racehorse (which Vessel was obliged to return into port, her Foremast and Main Yard having been very badly sprung VII. ' li 2 Records of the Cape Colony. in the hurricane she experienced with the Nereide), the substance of which is herewith transmitted, and previously by a small prize sent in by the Racehorse, the prisoners from which report the Hurricane not to have reached them ; that the harvest of Indian corn had been productive, and that one Ship had arrived from Batavia laden with Kice. They are however very exact relative to the arrival of the Venus from France, a frigate quite new, of the first class, commanded by M. Ameline, who formerly com- manded the Naturaliste ; that strong reinforcements in frigates and smaller vessels were daily expected, and which is so fully corroborated by the information obtained from the vessels captured by the Bellona as to be reduced to a certainty. The prize to the Racehorse sailed from the Isle of Bourbon on the 8th April, and was captured on the 10th. At that time I have reason to believe T 7 the British Force off the Isle of France to have been Leopard , Sapphire, as per margin. Otter, From the foregoing statements it appears that the Oharwell, Enemy’s strength in this quarter must be computed at Racehorse seven Frigates, besides smaller Vessels of war, without including those said to have sailed from the Loire. To execute their Lordships’ Orders and to prevent all intercourse with the Isle of France and Bourbon, the force I have cannot be kept collected, but must in point of situation be placed according to the motions of the Enemy ; nor to fulfil their Lordships’ intentions, and execute their Commands, is it possible to relieve the Ships in a regular routine, as some must necessarily be returning from casual circumstances ; but I hope by sending up provisions, stores, vegetables, and particularly Lime juice, which I am taking every means to procure, the Squadron will thus be enabled to remain to the commencement of the hurricane months, by which time I hope to know their Lordships’ further pleasure, and am particularly to request they will be pleased to signify to me in what manner they would have the squadron disposed of during that season. The risk of keeping the ships on their cruising station is certainly great, at the same time it is during these months they chiefly send supplies and reinforcements. I transmit herewith a copy of a Letter from His Excellency the Governor of Mozambique to the Earl of Caledon, sent to me by the latter; also a Copy of a Letter from Bear Admiral Sir Sidney Smith addressed to me, by which it appears the Portuguese Records of the Cape Colony. 3 Government have given instructions in their African Settlements to the interdicting all intercourse with the French Islands. A Frigate and Sloop are absolutely requisite in the Mozambique and at Zanzibar to prevent the Enemy from destroying their Settle- ments, which I am convinced they will attempt as soon as they are apprized of this interdiction, and I more than ever suspect they are increasing their intercourse on the Mozambique since we have so narrowly watched the Eastern side of Madagascar. To gain information, and for other purposes, I have sent Captain Tomkinson in the Caledon under Orders, a Copy of which is hereby transmitted, which will fully explain to their Lordships my motives for the Instructions given to him. I am to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, that the Boadicea arrived yesterday. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Strangford. Castle of Good Hope, June 5th 1809. My Lord, — Mr. Musgrave, who will have the honor of delivering to your Excellency this dispatch, was the hearer of a letter from the Commandant of Monte Video to my address soliciting (as your Excellency will perceive by the enclosure) the assistance of this Government in a supply of two or three thousand stand of arms. When I inform your Excellency that I have not been instructed from home with the line of policy which His Majesty has been pleased to adopt towards the Spanish settlements on the Paver Plate, I need scarcely add that I have felt considerable embarrass- ment as to the part which I should take whether of acceding to or rejecting the proposal of General Elio, but as I feel confident that in any assistance His Majesty may be pleased to extend he will have maturely weighed the interests and connection between the Portuguese and Spanish powers and have acquainted your Excellency with his royal pleasure, I have deemed it most prudent to adopt the precautionary measure of submitting this point for your Excellency’s decision, and under such circumstances have B 2 4 Records of the Cape Colony. delivered to Mr. Musgrave 2000 stand of arms, for which, he has made a deposit in specie in the Colonial Treasury equal in amount to their estimated value, and has entered into double security that he shall in the first instance sail to Bio de Janeiro, there to abide by the instructions which he may receive. I hope my Lord by thus endeavouring to consult the interests of Great Britain and those of her faithful ally I may not have imposed upon your Excellency the necessity of declining to assist those who declare themselves disposed to resist the attacks of the common enemy, but rather that the more pleasing office be afforded your Excellency of accelerating the much wished for succour. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Strangford. Castle op Good Hope, June 5th 1809. My Lord ! — I sincerely hope that I may not have transfer’d to you any share of the embarrassment which I felt on the receipt of Genl. Elio’s dispatch, but, as I observed in my official letter that I am totally unapprized of the intentions of Great Britain as to the Spanish settlements on the Biver Plate, and as your Lordship is doubtless informed upon this subject, as also upon the degree oi amity actually existing between the Portuguese and Spanish powers in South America, it appeared to me on every account preferable that the delivering or refusal of the arms should be the result of your Lordship’s determination. If the former (and that your Lordship approves of the mode) may I beg that Mr. Musgrave be permitted to continue his voyage, and that the letter to Genl. Elio’s address be entrusted to his care. If the latter, your Excellency will then I hope be pleased to order Mr. Musgrave to deliver the arms to any person to whom you shall think fit, and in that case if Mr. Musgrave be permitted to prosecute his voyage, that your Excellency will be pleased to transmit or suppress the letter as you may judge best, and if suppressing it, that you will have the goodness to communicate with Genl. Elio upon the subject. Records of the Cape Colony. 5 Exclusive of other matter, your Lordship will pardon the liberty I take of suggesting the consideration of how far it may be judicious under the relative connections of Monte Video and Buenos Ayres to grant arms to the former, as affording to the rival city a pretext for the sequestration or non admittance of British property, for sacred as our attachment must be to our allies yet the interests of Great Britain naturally claim a primary attention. In this transaction your Excellency will I trust be convinced that I have shown a just and lively anxiety for the welfare of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, considering it a duty incum- bent on me, as well from sentiments of public as of private respect, to consult His Royal Highness’s interest through your Lord- ship, previous to my taking any decisive step upon my own authority. To give your Lordship’s discretion the freeest scope I have directed Mr. Musgrave not to make an entry of the arms at the Custom House of Rio de Janeiro until he becomes acquainted with your Lordship’s commands. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from G. Cooke, Esqre., to the Honourable C. B. Agar. Downing Street, 8th June, 1809. Sir, — The Adjutant General having transmitted to me a Memorandum making a Requisition for certain Articles for the use of the Colonial Corps at the Cape of Good Hope, I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to desire you will state to Major General Calvert that this Corps having been raised for limited Service within the Colony, and the expence thereof defrayed out of the Colonial Revenues, cannot be considered as on the Establishment of the Army, and that all requisitions for Articles to be appro- priated to the use of the Regiment must be made through the Governor of the Settlement. I have &c. (Signed) G. Cooke. 6 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from the Landdrost of Uitenhage to Lieutenant Colonel Collins. Drostdy of Uitenhage, June 19 th 1809. Sir, — In obedience to your commands contained in your letter of the 21st ultimo, I have personally investigated the direction of the Road pointed out, in order to facilitate the orders of Govern- ment and the communications of the Inhabitants to and from the Cape, the result of my investigation having in part proved satis- factory, viz. that a good and sufficient road not only for horses, but also for waggons, could be made to cross Van Staden’s River in almost a direct line from the house of J. S. van Niekerk towards this town, saving a very considerable distance. This road, I am happy to say, has already been passed with a waggon, and which in its direct line will save the crossing of the mouth of the Gamtoos River, the ford of this new road passing that river between the mouth of the Little Gamtoos and the Lourie River. With respect to that part of the country between the left bank of the Kromme River and the right bank of the Kougha I am sorry to report did not appear eligible from the numerous kloofs, six of which we were obliged to dismount and walk down and up, and which would have caused too much labour from the poor settlers in that neighbourhood to have made any way tolerable. In consequence of finding this part of the intended road not to answer, I was induced to explore the country on the south side of the Kougha Mountains, between said mountains and the Kromme River, and have directed that a horse road should be made on this line, between the place occupied by Ignatius L. Rautenbach and Piet Ferreira on the Lange Kloof. Having measured the several distances both going and coming on this road by time, I beg to subjoin a statement, viz. H. M. From Piet Ferreira’s in the Long Kloof to the Heemraad I. L. Rautenbach . .... 4 15 From said Rautenbach’s to the place of Jan Meyer . 5 0 From said Jan Meyer’s to the place of J. S. van Niekerk 5 30 From said Van Niekerk’s to the town of Uitenhage . 3 0 Hours 17 45 Records of the Cape Colony. 7 And have to inform yon that I have this day sent off the Eegulations to the several persons occupying the stations where the new posts are to be fixed, for their guidance, leaving that part of the Instruction blank which speaks of the rate per hour, as you have directed in a subsequent letter, at the same time most humbly beg leave to state that from the result of my enquiries and experience for three years I cannot say otherwise than that the Post Boers should be paid at the rate of Three Eixdollars per hour per month. The Government expect prompt and speedy convey- ance of their orders, which they have a right to demand when its servants are fully compensated for their labour, but on the contrary when an inadequate pay is given we cannot expect nor compel with justice an individual to injure himself. The last post hence Cape wards was despatched on the first Thursday after the first Monday in the month, and I trust that all succeeding posts will be despatched agreeably to this order, if possible. I have &c. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Whereas it has been represented to me that there are at this time wandering about the country several Eunaway Slaves, who might be induced to return to their duty upon a promise of Pardon being held out to them ; and that such an instance of clemency would have a due influence upon their future behaviour. I do therefore hereby declare that all such Eunaway Slaves who shall either surrender themselves to their respective Masters, to His Majesty’s Piscal, or to the Landdrost of the District in which they may be, or in which it is most convenient to them to give themselves up within the time herein after mentioned, shall receive a full pardon, and not be liable to any punishment what- ever, domestic or otherwise, in consequence of their having deserted their Masters or Mistresses : Cape Town, Cape District, Stellen- bosch, two Months from the date of this Proclamation ; Tulbagh, Zwellendam, three months ; Graaff-Eeinet and Uitenhage, four Months. And in order to enforce a compliance with this injunction of 8 Records of the Cape Colony. pardon from domestic punishment from such proprietors of Slaves as might not otherwise feel the interest they have in paying due attention to the same, it is my further command that every owner of a Slave who shall have surrendered himself within the time prescribed shall give immediate notice thereof in writing, if in Cape Town to His Majesty’s Fiscal, or if in the Country Districts to the Landdrost of the District, in order that the name of such Slave may be entered into a Register to be kept for that purpose, a failure of compliance with which will subject the said owner to a fine of 50 Rixdollars. But inasmuch as many Runaway slaves may have been guilty of capital crimes, subjecting the offender to Transportation or Death, it is to be clearly understood that this my proclamation of Pardon in no way extends to those who have so transgressed, but solely to those who have absented themselves from their respective Proprietors for Domestic offences or other petty mis- demeanours. And if it shall be proved that any of the Slaves so surrendering shall be subsequently beaten by their Masters, or by their Masters’ order, or otherwise punished on account of the crime of desertion, then upon legal proof thereof being adduced (as in other cases of the ill-treatment of Slaves) such Slaves shall be taken from their Proprietors and disposed of under the direction of the Court of Justice, so that they may not again come into the service of their former Master, or of any member of his Family. And in order to give the fullest publicity to this my intention and command, besides the usual means of making the same known, I do hereby direct each and every Wardmaster of this Town to appoint and assemble one Slave from every House in the Respective Wards, and each Field Cornet of the several Country Divisions, one Slave from each house in such Division, as early as possible after their receipt of this proclamation, and to explain in the Dutch and Portuguese languages the full meaning thereof ; and I do further direct the Wardmasters and Field Cornets afore- said to report to His Majesty’s Fiscal, and to their respective Landdrosts, then- having complied with this Instruction, as they shall answer the contrary at their peril. Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 23rd day of June 1809. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 9 [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Whereas it has been represented to me that accidents frequently happen, and that great danger is incurred, especially in the night time, from the negligence or misconduct of the Drivers of Car- riages, and particularly of Bullock Waggons passing backwards and forwards from and to the Country and the Cape Town ; Now, in order to provide for the Safety of the Traveller, as well by night as by day, and that proper order and regularity may be observed, not only in the Streets and Lanes in this Town, but likewise throughout all the different parts of the Colony, I do hereby order and command, and it is hereby ordered and commanded, that from and after the date and publication of these presents the following Regulations shall be strictly observed. 1. All persons whosoever residing in Cape Town, or in the District of the Cape, or possessing either Cart or Waggon, to wit, those residing in Cape Town or District, Simon’s Town included, and also those residing in the Environs of the Drostdy of Stellenbosch to 3 hours distance, shall, within the space of one month from the date hereof, and the remainder of the said inhabitants before the end of the month of August, give in to the Eiscal, or the Landdrosts of their respective Districts, their names, and likewise how many Carts or Waggons they possess, in order that the same may be registered, and that they may receive a certificate upon a Stamp of Six Stivers for each Waggon, that the orders herein contained have been duly complied with, in default of which a fine of 20 Rixdollars shall be levied on the offender. The same Regulation is to be observed by the Inhabi- tants of the Districts of Zwellendam, Graaff-Reinet, Uitenhage, and Tulbagh, with this difference only, that the time for giving in the Return of their Carts and Waggons, together with their names, is extended to four months. 2. And in order that the utmost regularity may be observed by the Drivers of all such Carts and Waggons, and likewise by those of all sorts of Carriages whatsoever, I do hereby command and direct that henceforth all Carriages of every denomination, whether drawn by Horses or by Oxen, shall keep on the left hand side of the Road or Street, giving always the right hand to the Carriages they meet ; and should any damage be done to 10 Records of the Cape Colony. either Carriage, Cart, or Waggon, whilst on its proper side of the road, by another out of its place, then and in that case the owner of such Carriage, Cart, or Waggon shall not only repair and make good the injury sustained, but likewise in case of refusal be obliged to pay a fine of 20 Rixdollars for having offended against the Law. 3. And for the better and more easily distinguishing who the proprietor of each Cart or Waggon is, I do further command that at the same time they receive their Certificates from the Fiscal or their respective Landdrosts, they shall also receive a Number, which Number the Proprietor of such Waggon or Cart shall cause to be painted in white figures of at least one inch and a half in length, on a black board one foot square, together with the owner’s name, and the name of the District in which he resides, which board shall be placed on the right side of each Cart or Waggon, and any Cart or Waggon appearing on the highways of this Colony, or in the streets of this Town, after the time herein specified, without such public mark upon it, the owner thereof shall be liable to a fine of 50 Rixdollars. 4. And as every man is supposed to have the power of com- manding his Servant or Slave, so is he here considered responsible for their conduct, and likewise for their paying due attention and obedience to the orders and regulations herein contained, he should therefore give strict injunctions to them to be careful not to offend, as he himself will be liable to the penalty incurred by their neglect. 5. In order to prevent any accidents happening to those returning to Town after sunset, from the number of Bullock Waggons that begin their journey about that hour, I do strictly order and command that all Waggons drawn by Bullocks shall pass through the Castle on their leaving Town, and pursue the Road called the Summer or Lower Road ; and any such Bullock Waggon that shall be found on the Upper Road on this side of Roode Bloem, when on their way to the country, the owner thereof shall pay a fine of 20 Rixdollars. And I do strictly prohibit and forbid any waggon drawn by oxen from appearing in the Streets of this Town, or within two miles thereof, without having a person leading the foremost pair, as has always been an established Regulation in this Colony, under the penalty thereunto affixed. The penalty shall also be j Records of the Cape Colony. 11 strictly levied upon all carters who shall crack their Whips in passing through the Town, contrary to the former orders. And it is hereby directed that this proclamation shall be pub- lished and affixed in the usual manner. Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 23rd day of June 1809. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from George Eex, Esqre., to Lieutenant Colonel Collins. Melk Hout Keaal, 25 June 1809. Dear Sir, — My neighbour Petrus Terblans being to ride to Cape Town tomorrow, in order to dispose of his slave Damon there, gives me an opportunity to acknowledge your favour from Gourits Eiver, since the receipt of which I have seen Mr. Meeding and also the provisional veld kornet Yan Eooyen ; the latter has proposed to carry the mail from Plettenberg’s Bay as far as the Palmiet Eiver’s drift, but coming to speak as to the terms he mentioned certain conditions (Grant of Land, &c.) which, as he informed me, he had sent them in writing to you at the Cape, I shall not trouble you with here. Speaking to him as to the more equally dividing the post duty between the Bay and the Lange Kloof according to your directions, he says the middle three hour stage between the first station at the foot of the mountain on this side and the Palmiet Eiver’s drift on the other side is a continua- tion of Eock both up and down, that there is no intermediate space of ground sufficient for a horse to graze, and that the re- quired half way house (or four hour station) would be at, or near, the summit of that stony hill. With respect to Vrienckes and Spoorbek, the two persons pro- posed in the letter of the veld cornet Eademeyer for the station next the Lange Kloof, the former it appears has dechned, and the latter was already gone to Town to deliver his proposal to you in person, so that we shall rather wait his return before anything is determined on. Mr. Meeding, I believe, is willing to under- take the carriage of the bag the whole way, until the division is 12 Records of the Cape Colony. made and a proper person can be found ; he knows Spoorbek, and thinks him a person not to be depended on for punctuality. In any event you may, dear Sir, rest assured of the mail being de- spatched from the Melk Hout Kraal to the Lange Kloof, even should the new direction of the post take place immediately. I remain &c. (Signed) G. Rex. [Copy.] Remarks by Lieutenant Colonel Collins upon the Places situated between the Rivers Goukama and Traketekou. 1. Ganze Kraal. Wessel Yosloo, Senior. Extends from the Sea to the Lands of Adam Barnard, who has two places above it : one called Jager’s Kraal, the other Olievenhout Kraal. Ganze Kraal is favourable for cattle, but not for corn, sheep, or horses. 2. Jager’s Kraal is tolerably good for cattle, better than Olieven- hout Kraal, but is bad for horses, sheep, and com. 3. Olievenhout Kraal is not good for cattle, but is favourable for sheep, corn, and horses. A small stream issuing from the adjoining mountains can be brought over the land. 4. Rugte Vallei. Mr. Meeding. This place takes its name from a stream which becomes a lake near the sea. It is good for horses and cattle, but bad for corn and sheep. 5. Zwarte River. Johannes Wyers. Favourable for horses and cattle, indifferent for corn, and bad for sheep. The river which has given its name to this place joins the Rugte Yallei. 6. Geelhout Boom. Hendrik Barnard. It is situated between the places called Zwarte River and Rugte Yallei and the moun- tains. Good for corn and sheep, bad for horses and cattle. The stream called the Rugte Yallei is the supposed boundary between Hendrik Barnard’s two places. The Zwarte River separates him from Wessel Vosloo, Junior, whose place is supposed to extend as far as Wolve River. 7. Kleine Hooge Kraal. Wessel Vosloo, Junior. Above the place called Zwarte River, and west of that stream. Is good for corn and sheep, tolerable for horses, but bad for cattle. 8. A lot of ungranted land, which is known by the name of Records of the Cape Colony. 13 Deep Eiver. It is situated between the two last mentioned places and those of Stofifel Zelie and Solomon Yermaak. Two fine streamlets called Wolve and Deep Rivers flow through it, at the distance of above a mile from each other, and discharge them- selves into the Rugte Yallei. It extends from the mountains to the sea. It is generally considered as a half place, for which reason it has not hitherto been granted in loan, but I think that on a measurement a considerable portion of the land claimed by the farmers of the adjoining places would appear to belong to it. The upper part of this lot consists of sour grasses, the lower of sweet. It is said to be favourable for corn, cattle, horses, and sheep. This place is situated about midway between Plettenberg and Mossel Bays. The Duyvel’s Kop, the road over which is used by most waggons proceeding from the Lange Kloof or the Karoo to this part of the coast, is not above two or three miles from it. 9. Melkhout Kraal leggende aan de Drie Yallei, to distinguish it from the place of the same name lying on the Knysna. Stoffel Zelie. Borders on the lake formed by the junction of the Rugte Yallei, the Zwarte, Deep, and Wolve Rivers, on that called the Ronde Yallei, formed mostly by rain water, and on the sheet of water formed by the mouth of Traketekou, called the Lange Yallei. This last is brackish when the mouth is shut. The Melkhout Kraal and the Government Land adjoining to it can be overflown by Deep River. This place is one of the best for horses, corn, and cattle on this part of the coast. Some sheep may also be kept there, but in mentioning the fitness of any place in this district for those animals, it can only be considered as with relation to a neighbouring one, for the whole tract between Plet- tenberg Bay and Outeniqua Land would not perhaps maintain as many as one good farm in the district of Graaff-Reinet. This place is now for sale for the sum of 5,000 Rixdollars. 10. Hooge Kraal leggende aan Kleine Keurbooms River. Solomon Yermaak. Is between the last mentioned and the moun- tains. Good for corn, horses, and sheep, but not for cattle. Kleine Keurbooms River falls into the mouth of Traketekou or Lange YaRei. This place can be overflown with less difficulty than any of the others. 11. Klip Krans. Johannes Yivier. Good for cattle and horses, but bad for corn and sheep. The last have always been par- ticularly unhealthy there. 14 Records of the Cape Colony. 12. Avontuur. Belonging to the same. Situated between, the last and the mountains. Traketekou is the boundary of it on the west, and Little Keurbooms Biver separates it from Vermaak’s place on the east. The places numbered 7, 10, 11, and 12 could, I believe, be pro- cured altogether for a less sum than is demanded by Zelie for that numbered 9. If these five places were united with the ungranted land numbered 8, they would form one of the most delightful estates in the universe. Enclosed between the sea and majestic mountains, adorned with beautiful lakes and woods, abounding in excellent fish, fowl, and in almost every description of animal from the diminutive blue buck to the towering elephant. Cape of Good Hope, June 1809. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Inasmuch as it appears from the representation of the Board of Landdrost and Heemraden of the Cape District that it would tend to accelerate the proceedings of that Board in its capacity of the Court for determining petty Lawsuits, if it were empowered to administer Oaths to the parties in certain cases : I do, by virtue of the Power and Authority in me vested, hereby authorize the said Court of Landdrost and Heemraden to administer Oaths in such cases of petty Lawsuits, in which it may appear to the Court necessary to have such solemn deposition from the Witnesses, or in such cases in which the Court or the parties interested may require it. But the Court is not hereby empowered to administer the Oaths which are sometimes required by their Sentence, of the Parties themselves. And it is hereby directed that this Proclamation shall be pub- lished and affixed in the usual manner. Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 30th day of June 1809. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 15 [Original.] Letter from Charles Arbuthnot, Esqre., to Edward Cooke, Esqre. Treasury Chambers, 30 June 1809. Sir, — Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury your Letter of the 1st ultimo on one from Mr. Blair dated Cape of Good Hope the 21 January last relative to his appointment as Collector of the Customs there, and trans- mitting Copy of a Letter and its Enclosures from Lord Caledon, whereby it appears that his Lordship wished by issuing his warrant to Mr. Blair to obviate any legal Doubt upon the Ques- tion which might possibly arise on the Power of Mr. Blair’s Commission, and had no wish to claim any Bight of Appointment in himself as Governor; I am commanded by their Lordships to acquaint you for the Information of Lord Castlereagh that they conceive it is not within the Province of the Governor of any of His Majesty’s Colonies Abroad to interfere with the Appointments of Bevenue Officers or with legal Emoluments arising out of those Appointments without the Sanction of this Board or unless called upon by the personal Misconduct of the Officers themselves. I am &c. (Signed) Chs. Arbuthnot. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Racehorse, Simon’s Bay, 1th July 1809. Sir, — By my several Letters herewith accompanying I have had the honor to acknowledge the dispatches received by the Sylvia Cutter, which vessel arrived here the 7th June, and sailed again on the 11th in pursuance of her further Orders from their Lord- ships. Adverting to the Letter I had the honor to receive by the Sylvia, whereby their Lordships have been pleased to repeat their directions that the Raisonable should be sent to England, I have the honor to acquaint you that at the moment of the Sylvia’s 16 Records of the Cape Colony. arrival the Raisonable was on the point of sailing with Stores and refreshments absolutely indispensable to the Blockading Squadron, and at the same time to enable the Leopard on the arrival of the former to proceed to Bombay, it having been judged expedient she should be docked to repair the defects of her stem, Captain Bowley having orders on the return of the Leopard to the cruizing ground to proceed here for the purpose of being sent to England in obedience to their Lordships’ direction. Subsequent to my letter of the 31st May, communicating to you the proceedings of the Squadron, no vessel has arrived with the exception of the Staunch, which Vessel it has been found necessary to heave out and new copper ; but from the very reduced means of this Naval Yard, I am concerned to state the progress has been very slow, and that both her, the Racehorse, and Olympia, which are the only vessels here, are now incomplete in their Sails. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that in compliance with the suggestion of the President and Members of the Burgher Senate, and in consequence of the Farmer of the Salt pans not having brought into Store a sufficient quantity of Salt for the exigencies of this Town, it is hereby permitted to all persons to bring Salt into Cape Town until further notice, duty free, and without paying any compensation to the Farmer of the Pans ; and to sell the same either in large or small proportions, as may suit their convenience. Castle of Good Hope, 7th July 1809. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Hy. Alexander, Secretary. Records of the Ccvpe Colony. 17 [Original.] Letter from the Earl of CxVLEdon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, July Itli 1809. My Lord ! — Mr. Musgrave (relative to whose application for arms for the Government of Monte Video I had the honour to address your Lordship on the 21st of May last) having lodged in the Colonial Treasury the sum of 600 doubloons, being the estimated value of 2000 stand of arms, and having enter’d into security that he would in the first instance touch at Eio de Janeiro there to receive the orders of His Majesty’s Ambassador for their disposal, I directed the arms to be accordingly given to him, with which he sailed from hence on the 10th of June. To put your Lordship in entire possession of the part I have taken upon this occasion I beg to refer to Nos. 1 & 2, being the Letters I addressed to Lord Strangford, who will no doubt communicate to His Majesty’s Ministers the measures he has in consequence thought fit to adopt. His Majesty’s cutter Sylvia arrived in Table Bay on the 8th of June, when Lieut. Drury delivered to me your Lordship’s dispatch of the 17th March (No. 23) containing the copy of a secret dispatch addressed to the Governor General in Council at Fort William in Bengal. I have no intelligence at present to offer to your Lordship upon the subject to which it relates. According to your Lordship’s commands I submitted a report on the 1st of July 1808 upon the Memorial of Mrs. Sarah Batt to the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council, shortly after which period Mrs. Batt without any permission from His Majesty’s Government at home made her appearance here. As her husband had previously applied for a passport to leave the colony I permitted her to land, and she is still resident. Now my Lord the case of Mrs. Batt, in itself of little consequence, is producing a great effect upon the public mind, and renders it necessary for me to receive your instructions whether I must give weight to the colonial institutions and permit the constituted authorities to send persons out of this colony whom the Dutch Laws would have excluded upon a policy I consider generally useful and which my experience informs me is almost essential to the police of this settlement. VII. c 18 Records of the Cape Colony. It has been the custom of this settlement that timber, cut in the Govt, forests for the use of His Majesty’s Navy has not been charged to the naval department, I therefore beg your Lordship’s sanction for making it in future a charge against that department, by which arrangement the naval expences and colonial produce may be more justly estimated. An almost unprecedented continuance of fine weather at this season of the year and an unusual quantity of land under tillage promises every probability of abundance, and I have the sincere pleasure of assuring your Lordship that the Colony bears evident proof of encreasing wealth and internal tranquillity. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, 7th July 1809. My Lord ! — Together with the Accounts of the Receiver General for the Months of March, April and May, I have the honor to transmit the several Proclamations and Government Advertise- ments issued between the 24th April and 30th June last. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Racehorse, Simons Bat, 9th July 1809. Sir, — Referring to my letter of the 17th January last, wherein I had the honor to acquaint you for the information of their Lordships, that Mr. Cassels, the Officiating Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court, died on the 7th of that Month : I am now to Records of the Cape Colony. 19 represent to you that the business of the Court has been since that period at a stand, and that there is now captured Property to a considerable amount, undoubtedly French, and for which no claims have been made, awaiting the Sentence of a Judge before distribution can be made. Under these circumstances I have the honor to solicit their Lordships’ interference on behalf of the Officers, Seamen, and Marines of the Squadron ; that measures may be adopted for their relief in this embarrassment. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint a Commission consisting of the following Gentlemen, with power to put up to Auction, and Farm out to the highest Bidder, the Wine, Brandy, and Foreign Liquor Licences for the ensuing twelve months, commencing from the first of September. The particulars of the Contract may be seen both at the Colonial Secretary’s and at the Fiscal’s Offices. Names of the Committee : J. A. Truter, Esqre., His Majesty’s Fiscal, F. Dashwood, Esqre., Receiver General, C. Brand, Esqre., Collector of Tythes, and J. P. Baumgardt, Esqre., Receiver General of Land Revenue. The Auction will be at the Burgher Senate House, on Monday the 14th of August next, at 9 o’clock in the Forenoon. Castle of Good Hope, 28th July 1809. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Hy. Alexander, Secretary. 20 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Journal of a Tour made by Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Collins to the North-Eastern Boundary, the Orange River, and the Storm Mountains. On the 23rd January (1809) I left the drostdy of Graaff- Remet, and accompanied by Mr. Cowdery and Mr. Stockenstrom, son of the landdrost, proceeded to Yoor Sneeuwberg. This country is favour- able for the breed of sheep and horned cattle, especially of the former ; but although therefore desirable for the farmer, it is little interesting to the traveller. It consists mostly of rugged mountains, occasionally interrupted by Karroo plains. There are some good farmhouses in this part of the colony ; but the most opulent land- holders reside in Great Sneeuwberg, north-west of this division. After leaving Yoor Sneeuwberg, we entered the division of Rhinoceros Berg, and on the evening of the 25th arrived at the Wolve Kop, the residence of the veld commandant Johannes van der Walt, situated on the borders of the districts of Rhinoceros Berg and Sea Cow River, and included in the latter. The landdrost had kindly written to Mr. Yan der Walt to apprise him of our approach, and to desire that the necessary preparations might be made for our journey to the borders. It was my wish to proceed with as few attendants as possible ; but although the farmers here were then on friendly terms with the Bosjesmen near them, they were apprehensive that some kraals which yet continued ill-disposed might be induced by our weak- ness to attempt to steal our oxen in the night. The commandant had therefore ordered 30 armed inhabitants as an escort; and although much indisposed, he insisted upon attending us. We left the Wolve Kop on the 27th of January, and taking the house of the commandant’s son, who is a veld cornet, in our way, we arrived, after travelling about 15 miles, at a place called Carolus Poort. We found there a Bosjesman who had a short time before fled to the farmer from his kraal near Zuurberg, in consequence, as he stated, of his wife and children having been murdered by the people belonging to it. He seemed, however, to be perfectly consoled for his misfortunes by the acquisition of another wife of his own nation, who had been taken when a child by a commando. Records of the Cape Colony. 21 The country about Rhinoceros Berg abounds with fine pasturage and good water ; but this and the neighbouring districts are destitute of wood, and the inhabitants are obliged to use cow dung for fuel. On the morning of the 28th we proceeded on our journey, and after a ride of two hours stopped to breakfast at a farmer’s, named Venter. Having understood that some Bosjesmen were in the neighbourhood, they were sent for, and a party of 13, mostly women, arrived. They differed in size, some being as small and ugly as those living near Zak River, others as tall as the colonial Hottentots, well made, and with countenances rather prepossess- ing. We gave them a few presents, and assured them of the protection of government as long as they remained peaceable. Continuing our route, we passed a piece of land which was shortly to be occupied by a farmer named Joubert, and is the last that can be granted on that side within the boundary. It is within half an hour’s ride of Governor Van Plettenberg’s baaken, a stone which yet contains part of the inscription made on it in the year 1778. The Commandant told us that he had been with the Governor’s party, and that they had killed thirty sea cows in the river of that name, which is close to the baaken. Many were found in it for years afterwards, but they are now seldom met with, except near its junction with the Great River. We found none, but saw a prodigious quantity of game, particularly of spring bucks, on its banks. Governor Van Plettenberg was ignorant of the existence of the Great River, although at so short a distance, the view of it being intercepted by intervening hills. We crossed the country from the baaken, and in less than three hours arrived at the house of a farmer named Van den Berg, which we left soon enough to get before dark to the place of a family called Van Zyl, who had come to this neighbourhood from the Hantam about two years before, and seemed to be much pleased with their change. After travelling a couple of hours in the morning of the 29th, we arrived at Groote Pontein. This is a very fine spot, having two large springs of excellent water within a mile or two of each other. It seems extremely well adapted for a missionary institu- tion. We were met here by three Bosjesmen, whose kraal was said to be in the neighbourhood, and we gave them a few trifles. We passed the boundary in the evening, and encamped on a 22 Records of the Cape Colony. plain two miles beyond it. Here we saw great numbers of antelopes ; but our attention was particularly attracted to several troops of gnoos. Three of these animals were shot, but were found much inferior to the representations we had seen of them. The following evening we halted about four or five miles from the Great (Orange) Eiver, near a stream that runs into it from Zuurberg, a mountain a few miles south-east of Groote Fontein. We this day passed a kraal of about 20 Bosjesmen. They seemed much rejoiced at seeing us, and pleased at a few presents which we made them. Many of them followed us, and took charge of our sheep and spare teams, a trust often reposed in that people by the farmers, and which they have never been known to abuse. They made a hearty supper on gnoo’s flesh, which tastes like beef. We had had some rain during the night of the 29th, but it scarcely ceased during that of the 30th, and continued so late in the morning of the 31st that we did not decamp until near midday. The country was so much moistened that the waggons proceeded very slowly, and we contented ourselves this day with reaching Orange Eiver. It is here about 250 or 300 yards in breadth. Its banks are lined with willows and mimosas, the first of which are extremely useful as rafters, &c. to the neighbouring farmers, whom the Landdrost occasionally indulges with permission to cut them. The rains continued during the night of the 31st. On the 1st of February we proceeded on our journey up the river, amusing ourselves in shooting at hippopotami, of which we saw a great number. The stream was, however, too deep, and those animals kept at too great a distance to afford us any favourable shots. After about five hours’ march we encamped near a small stream called Brakkepoort Eiver, which has its source near Bamboos Berg, and here falls into Orange Eiver. In the night we had another very heavy fall of rain, and learned with concern that this time is the rainy season here, as the intelligence made us aware of the difficulty of proceeding with waggons over a soil so rich as that on the banks of Orange Eiver, and would consequently prevent our seeing as much of this fine country as we expected. The morning of the 2nd brought us a little sunshine ; a party of Bosjesmen came to us from the northern bank, attracted by the sight of our waggons and the hope of obtaining the flesh of a sea cow from our party. The great number of these animals Records of the Cape Colony. 23 found here sufficiently evinces the little expertness of the Bos- jesmen in destroying them. Indeed they have much difficulty in obtaining any kind of game ; and their joy is proportionably great on the arrival of a shooting party from the colony, certain of procuring a considerable share of the spoil. The precarious subsistence of these poor people reduces them sometimes to the utmost distress. About five or six years since the country was almost totally unprovided with the roots that compose their usual food, in consequence of the want of rain for several successive seasons. Many of them were then saved from perishing by the supplies of sheep and game which they received from the farmers. The family of Van der Walt had removed to the neighbourhood of the Governor’s haalcen for a change of pasturage, and these supplied the Bosjesmen in the course of three months with 142 head of large game. They deserve the greatest credit for their kind treatment of that people, having been the first to bring about a reconciliation with them, both in that part of the country where they now reside and at the Tarka. The latter district they were obliged to quit in consequence of the resentment of the revolted Boers on their refusal to join them during the disturbances; and the remaining inhabitants being destitute of their firmness and of their zeal and talents for conciliation, were forced shortly afterwards by the Bosjesmen to abandon their places. The valour of the Yan der Walts has not been less conspicuous than their humanity and loyalty ; four of them have fallen in defence of the colony. In the evening we moved a little way up the river. The heavens here presented an appearance more beautiful than any I had before seen in this climate, and reminded me of the varied and delightful tints which we usually beheld on the fall of day when approaching the tropic in the North Atlantic Ocean. This pleasing variety was, however, not again observed, and had been probably occasioned by the change of weather, but the sky at sunset seemed always very beautiful near Orange River. On the 3rd we resumed our journey, and in a few hours perceived a stream of about two-thirds the volume of Orange River, discharging itself into it. It comes from the north, and we were told from a considerable distance. The accounts we received respecting it were however far from being satisfactory ; and if it had been possible for us to cross Orange River, which was at that 24 Records of the Cape Colony. time much swollen, we should have endeavoured to ascertain its course for a few miles at least. It falls into Orange River at about 30 miles east-south- east of the junction of that river with the Zuurberg stream. The farmers told us that it had yet received no name, and we took the liberty to give it that of Caledon. A chain of small mountains, with a passage scarcely large enough for the united streams, crosses Orange River im- mediately below their junction. Between these mountains and the confluence we perceived a Bosjesman kraal, which we hailed from the southern bank. The people declined our invitation to come for tobacco, &c., saying that the passage had been rendered dangerous by the late rains ; but it was supposed that their refusal proceeded from apprehension of another nature, for with the assistance of a log of wood they might have crossed the stream as easily as some of their countrymen had done the day before. Some horses were perceived in their kraal, and they no doubt conceived that we had come for the purpose of taking them and of punishing the thieves. The practice of stealing horses, which is as yet unknown among the Bosjesmen of the Kareeberg and the neighbourhood of Zak River, has for some years prevailed among those in the vicinity of Bamboos Berg and Zuurberg. They are indeed a much more valuable prize than cattle, as their possession insures them a subsistence, enabling them to overtake the eland and other wild animals. We left this place on the 4th, and having sent the waggons in the shortest direction, rode on horseback along the banks of the river, as near to it as we were enabled by the nature of the country, which continued hilly for a few miles. Towards the close of day we stopped at a very fine fountain, near which the river, after several windings, descends from the usual point of east-south- east. We expected that, not having yet received the tribute of the Caledon’s waters, its size would be considerably diminished, and we were therefore surprised not to perceive any material alteration in its appearance. We consequently began to lose the hope we had previously indulged, of being enabled to ascertain the position of its sources before the conclusion of our journey, conceiving our time too limited to allow us to go to a distance so considerable as the greatness of the stream seemed to render necessary for that purpose. On the 5th we arrived at a place where a periodical stream, 25 Records of the Cape Colony. which issues from the Storm Mountains to the south, and is called after them, falls into Orange Eiver. It had now a considerable volume of water, but a ford was discovered after ascending its banks four or five miles. In a cave close to the river were some drawings made by Bosjesmen. We found there representations of most of the neighbouring animals, but of no strange one. They were executed in a grotesque manner with ochre. Some attempts at resemblances of their own persons were made by those people, but they produced images the most ridiculous that can be con- ceived, more like apes than human beings. We stopped on the 6th at the passage discovered through the Storm Berg stream, where we employed ourselves the remaining part of the day in making preparations to proceed farther to the eastward, which we determined to do on horseback, in consequence of the difficulty we had experienced in moving with waggons. We crossed the stream on the 7th, being in all 12 armed persons, and proceeded north-east to Orange Paver. On arriving there we perceived several Hippopotami, occasion- ally snorting and showing their heads ; but we were not more successful in shooting them than before. We were unexpectedly stopped in the evening by a river. Having left the banks of Orange Eiver, in order to go the shortest way to a point where we observed it take a turn, we were more than a mile from it at the moment we fell in with the new stream, and consequently did not see their junction. As no colonist had been here before, and the country was destitute of inhabitants from whom we could learn the name of the river, if it had any,' we honoured it with that of Grey’s Eiver. It may be about 30 miles east-south-east of the Caledon. The clearness of its waters, and its banks being uncovered to the depth of 20 or 30 feet, convinced us that it was now at its lowest. We however could discover no ford at this place, and therefore determined to ascend its left bank in the hope of finding one. After proceeding about half an hour we found the remains of a Bosjesmen’s kraal, which, although it had evidently been deserted some months, still showed the marks of horses. Having continued to ascend the river until near sun-set without finding a place to cross it, we mounted a height to observe the surrounding country. We perceived that the Orange, before it receives the Grey, comes from 26 Records of the Cape Colony. the north of east instead of the south of east, which latter is its general course afterwards, as already observed. In the afternoon of the 8th we arrived at the foot of Storm Mountains. Keeping on the hanks of the river, we entered the kloof through which it issues from the mountains, and which we supposed to be about 20 miles south-east of its mouth, and about 70 east of the boundary of the colony. After proceeding several hours with considerable difficulty we halted on an open spot where the river receives a branch from the south-west, and from the observations we had made on the appearance of the tops of the mountains before entering the kloof, we found that, while in it, we had not gained half a mile in a straight line. On the 9th we forded the branch, and proceeded up the river. About five or six miles farther we found another branch, also flowing into its left bank, where we stopped to refresh ourselves. In the evening we continued our journey, and crossed another rivulet coming from our right. Having, after two or three hours’ march, come to a place where it would have been extremely difficult to proceed with horses, we ascended a mountain of the height, we supposed, of nearly 2,000 feet, to observe the country. The edge of the mountains near where we had entered them, bore west about 10 miles. We could see due east and southwest, to the distance of about 20 miles ; but discovered nothing except immense ridges succeeding each other. Those over which we saw to the south-west ran in the direction of nearly west and east. Those we perceived in the direction of east trended considerably more to the north, probably following the direction of the coast. We could not see Grey’s Kiver much higher than where we were; but as far as we could discover, it comes from the south-east, and probably has its source in the Tambookie mountains. We observed it joined by a fourth branch from the westward. On the summit of the mountain which we ascended were found calcedonies, agates, and other curious fossils. The rains which had covered the bed of Orange Eiver had perhaps prevented our discovering in it many of those minerals with which it is said to abound ; but we found some along its banks, as well as on those of Grey’s Eiver. To the lovers of the sublime, and the students of nature, a tour to the sources of the Orange Eiver, and through the Storm Mountains must be highly interesting ; but they must be also hardy pedestrians who could limit their conveniences to Records of the Cape Colony. 27 the loading of a pack ox, and who are formed to brave all the vicissitudes of seasons. We slept below the mountain at a place which bore marks of having been once the residence of Bosjesmen. On the morning of the 10th we set out on our return ; and after refreshing ourselves at the spot where we had halted on the night of the 8th, we got out of the mountains by going directly over them, which saved us a tedious march of some hours through the kloof. Looking back, we perceived smoke at the distance of not more than a mile from where we had just dined, and consequently concluded that there must be Bosjesmen there. Some of the party supposed that the smoke, which was very thick, was a signal to other kraals of strangers being near. We were extremely anxious to speak to those people, from whom we hoped to receive some information respecting the country ; it was, however, evident that they did not wish to communicate with us, which was imagined to proceed from their having horses in their possession, for we continually observed traces of those animals, and no colonist had before been in this part of the country. All hopes of conversing with them were, however, put an end to by a violent thunder storm, which lasted several hours, and the small quantity of provisions we were enabled to bring with us being exhausted. The latter cause, added to the horses being fatigued, and the majority of our party much disinclined to proceed farther, prevented our returning to the mouth of Grey’s Biver. It would have been interesting to know how much smaller Orange Biver is previous to receiving this stream. I am, however, inclined to think, from the little obvious increase made by the addition of Caledon’s Biver, that the junction of Grey’s Biver can add but little to its breadth ; and from its appearing to come afterwards more from the north, thereby still avoiding the Storm Mountains, which also take the same direction, it may be presumed that its sources are yet very distant. On the 11th we joined our waggons, which I had requested the commandant to bring nearer to the Storm Mountains, in order that they might be so much farther on their way, and that he might have the greater chance of finding some Bosjesmen before our return. He had been in the place where we found him two days, during which he had sent out small parties in different directions in the mountains in search of those people, but in vain. They 28 Records of the Cape Colony. conceived, no doubt, that we had come aa enemies, and we had do mode of convincing them of the contrary. The Bosjesmen, who had accompanied us from the neighbourhood of the Great River, could not be prevailed on to go in search of the others, who they said were their enemies. Their refusal, however, might have proceeded from indolence. A kraal had decamped from the spot where we joined our waggons, just before their arrival there, and had retreated with so much precipitation as to abandon a horse alive. Having learnt that some very curious and well executed paintings had been seen a few years before on rocks in the vicinity, a few of us went there on horseback, while the waggons proceeded by the shortest route towards Tarka. We were not, however, so fortunate as to find any of the finely finished figures that we had flattered ourselves with the hope of seeing. Indeed, very fewT remained well or ill executed, and what we saw gave us no very high idea of those that had been obliterated. The boors killed several elands this day. They drove these animals separately, as far as they would go in the direction of the waggons, and when the poor animals were so tired as to be no longer able to move, they shot them. On the 13th we proceeded on our return to the boundary. The Bosjesmen here separated from us, in order to feast on such parts of the eland’s flesh as the farmers left to them, which was so considerable a quantity as to induce them to send for their families to assist in the consumption. We encamped after a march of half a dozen hours. Soon afterwards a tiger was surprised by the party : but although severely wounded, he escaped. It rained very heavily in the evening, and during great part of the night. I have been rather particular in mentioning the rains that fell during this tour, in order to show the difference between the climate at the Cape and near the north-eastern boundary at this period of the year. We entered the colony on the 14th, through a very indifferent pass, called Doom Hoek, which separates, in a little degree, Bamboos Berg from the range that proceeds north to Zuurberg. A party of farmers from Agter Sneeuwberg and Tarka had been waiting for us since the preceding day under Bamboos Berg. One of them immediately claimed the horse before mentioned to have been found at an abandoned Bosjesman’s kraal, which he told Records of the Cape Colony. 29 ns had been stolen, with several others, in the month of December preceding. The country we had just visited is one of the finest I had ever seen. It is bounded on the west by the colony and the Zuurberg stream, on the north by Orange River, on the east by Grey River, and on the south by the Storm Mountains. That part of it lying west of Storm Berg stream is, in general, flat, and composed of a rich vegetable mould, producing what the farmers call sweet grass in the utmost luxuriance. That part to the eastward is rather hilly and a lighter soil ; but the occasional elevation of the land, and the mixture of sour with sweet grass, render it more healthy for horses. The country beyond Orange and Grey Rivers, as far as we could see, is not inferior to that on this side of them. The Storm Mountains grow out of Bamboos Berg, running in a direction nearly east until watered by Grey River, when they trend gradually towards the north as already mentioned, and are said to continue nearly to Rio de la Goa. They make several projections directly north, of which the first may be considered the range from Bamboos Berg to Zuurberg inclusive. The second runs out at nearly 40 miles east of the first, and edges the Storm Berg stream to the eastward, until within a few miles of Orange River. The third projects a few miles beyond Grey River. The Storm Mountains separate the country we had just visited from that through which Mr. Stockenstrom had passed in his journey to the River Zomo. As far as we could observe, it is impossible to communicate from the one to the other through the mountains by waggons, and must be extremely difficult even with horses. Small plains, abounding with fine water and pasturage, are often found among them, and even the grass that covers their summits is of a superior quality. It may be proper here to mention that a very large river is stated to discharge itself into Orange River from the north side, between the Sea Cow River and the road leading from the colony to the Missionary Institution at Klaar Water. The following circumstance affords the probability of its communicating with the Portuguese settlements to the north-east. A missionary named De Kok having ascended its banks to a considerable distance, was informed by a party of the natives that a little farther he would find a settlement of white people, dressed like himself, and residing in large houses. The missionary not having been 30 Records of the Cape Colony. authorized by the colonial government to proceed so far from the boundary, was apprehensive that a communication with Europeans might lead to the discovery of his transgression, and therefore returned. The river produced by the united streams proceeding from the Storm Mountains, is called Black River by the Koranas, and is said to be of less magnitude than the other, which they call Great River, and which may therefore dispute with it the name of Orange River; thus confirming the supposition of Mon- sieur Le Vaillant, although afterwards, I believe, controverted by Mr. Barrow. The Commandant Van der Walt and his party took leave of us at Bamboos Berg, and the escort provided being still deemed considerably greater than was necessary, the Sneeuwberg farmers were dismissed, and we proceeded on the 15 th with the veld cornet Potgieter and 10 inhabitants of Tarka as far as an uninhabited place called Vlakke Poort. On the 16th we arrived at a periodical stream called Eland’s River; and on the 17th we reached Schaap Kraal, the first house that we had seen during three weeks, and the last on that side of the colony. The want of inhabitants between Doom Hoek and Schaap Kraal is occasioned by the deficiency of water at most seasons. In other respects it is a desirable spot for settlements, and the neighbouring farmers often take their cattle to browse upon the rich pasturage it affords. It abounds with almost every species of game. At Schaap Kraal we had three Bosjesman kraals, consisting altogether of about 70 persons, introduced to us. Two of them had been some months in the neighbourhood, but the third had come in only a few days before. After giving them a few trifles, we endeavoured to prevail on them to go to serve the inhabitants farther in the colony ; their numbers being too great for one place. Although they feel much aversion to divide themselves into small parties, or to reside at places where they are unacquainted, yet some of them promised to do as we requested. A few were also prevailed on to proceed in search of a kraal in the neighbouring mountains, the people of which had done considerable injury to the inhabitants, and with whom it was desirable to effect a reconciliation. Having learned from La Boscagne, the farmer at Schaap Kraal, that there would be no difficulty in moving waggons through the Records of the Cape Colony. 31 country between the river Zwarte t’Ky and the Kaffer mountains, I determined to proceed by that route to Kafferland, and gave directions for assembling the necessary escort as soon as possible. Winter Berg being at no greater distance than about 20 miles from Schaap Kraal, and no traveller having visited it, we embraced this opportunity to see it. On the 19th we passed the Twee Tafel Bergen, which are about four miles south-east of Schaap Kraal, and here form the boundary ; and we encamped a little beyond them. On the 20th we left the waggons, and ascended Winter Berg, which is to the southward of Twee Tafel Bergen, instead of being north of them, as laid down by Mr. Barrow. The day was unfortunately foggy, and just as we arrived at the summit, a heavy fall of rain with thunder came on, and continued till night. We were consequently disappointed in the view we had expected of a vast tract of country, in which it is said that Sneeuwberg, Zuurveld, and a considerable part of Kaffreland are included. The top of the mountain is almost surrounded by a rampart of granite, in which are openings like embrasures, and occasionally presenting pillars of great height, composed of huge rocks piled on each other with as much order as if it were the work of art. The ensemble has a very imposing appearance. Winter Berg is said to be at most times buried in clouds, and is therefore subject to a temperature as cold as its name implies. It is destitute of trees and every species of wood adapted for fuel ; but a few bamboos were growing on its summit. None of the fossils that abound in the Storm Mountains are found there. It gives rise to the principal source of the Konaba or Kaapna, and to one of those of the Tarka and Zwarte t’Ky rivers. The Kat Biver rises a few miles to the eastward of it, in a mountain, which, together with all those that divide the plains near the Zwarte t’Ky from those of Caffraria may be regarded as a con- tinuation of Winter Berg, the most elevated point in this part of Africa. There is a great quantity and variety of game in this neighbourhood, which is said to be also much frequented by lions. As a week had yet to elapse before the farmers could be assembled, I determined to employ the intervening time in a visit to Zwagers Hoek and Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, where circumstances also required my presence. In travelling through Tarka we were agreeably surprised by the good description of inhabitants that had lately ventured on a residence in this twice deserted district. 32 Records of the Cape Colony. Although only a few months there, they were already comfortably settled and provided with good gardens. The soil here is well adapted for fattening sheep and cattle. The former increase very rapidly, though subject to a fatal disorder. We found two Bosjesmen chiefs, named Lynx and Frolic, at a farm on the road. They had established themselves there a short time before, and had about 200 of their people at this and a neighbouring farm. Lynx had been one of the most noted depredators, and he and his people now relate with exultation to the farmers their former exploits against them. We gave them a few trifles, and prevailed on Lynx to go with a few more to live with a farmer residing more inwards. We reached the house of the veld cornet of Zwagers Hoek after a smart ride of 12 hours from Schaap Kraal. Although this quarter is considerably more elevated than most of the ad- joining country, it abounds with excellent pasturage, and the cattle bred there bear as high a price as any in the colony. Its proximity to Kaffreland, which has subjected this and the neighbouring districts to so many misfortunes, prevents the building of good houses ; but some of the habitations, particularly those situated on the Little Fish Biver, are provided with gardens well stocked with fruits and vegetables. After remaining there two days, we made a tour round Bosch Berg to Baviaan’s Biver. These mountains abound with excellent timber, which supplies most of the materials used in building by the inhabitants of the vicinity and of the northern parts of Graaff-Beinet. The rich and beautiful plains of Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, planted with mimosa trees then in their golden bloom, did not fail to arrest our attention. We hoped on our return to Schaap Kraal, to find an increase made to our Bosjesmen friends there, but were disappointed. The messengers who had been despatched to the mountains had returned without finding the kraal they had gone in search of; but the farmers promised that their exertions should be un- remitting to prevail on those people to reside among them. Stellenbosch, July, 1809. Records of the Cape Colony. 33 Supplement to the Relation of a Journey into the Country of the Bosjesmen and Caffre People. As the foregoing sketches were drawn merely for the use of Government, I have not touched on any subject that has been satisfactorily treated either in publications or reports that have come to my knowledge, and which are equally open to all those whom these matters may concern. For mineralogy and the other branches of natural history, I beg to refer to such notes as may have been made by my companion Mr. Cowdery, who undertook and persevered in the investigation of these interesting objects in a way that does him great honor. The manners and customs of the Caffre people have been so much dwelt upon by various writers, that I could have said little on these points which was not already known. They do not, besides, appear to me to be of equal importance with others that seem to have been hitherto either totally disregarded or superficially treated. Those gentlemen who have written accounts of travels, either for the instruction or entertainment of the public, have perhaps very properly been generally more solicitous to remount to the origin of a people, than to relate events of a more recent date. But the case is widely different with one who has no pretensions to literary attainments, and who is totally unambitious to appear before the public in the light of an author. My province is not to wield the pen. I have taken it up only at the desire of my superiors, and shall employ it only in considering the particular subjects referred to my investigation. I have been led to think that a great portion of the miseries that have fallen to the lot both of the aborigines and the colonists of Southern Africa since they have had relations with each other, have proceeded from the ignorance of government with respect both to the events that have occurred in the remote districts, and to the existing state of them. When the several governors have wished to make inquiries upon these heads, they have been neces- sarily obliged to apply either to persons who might suppose them- selves qualified to answer, because born at the Cape, although they had perhaps never been within many hundred miles of the possi- bility of acquiring local knowledge, or else to those who had held situations which must have afforded them opportunities of making VII. d 34 Records of the Cape Colony. personal observations, but who might be led to give erroneous accounts either from that bias which self-interest, connections or enmities will so frequently produce, or from circumstances con- nected with the measures that they had adopted when in office, and the development of which might place their own conduct in no very favourable point of view. The person best calculated to give a candid and impartial view of these subjects would naturally be one who has not the most distant expectation of having any personal interest in the matter which he details, and who has not to fear that the success of another may tarnish his own reputation. On these foundations I think I may, without arrogance, presume to offer this statement. There is not the slightest cause to suppose that I shall ever enter- tain any feelings with regard to the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, except such as I ought to cherish for every possession of his Majesty ; and, as far as I have been connected in the administration of its concerns, the road I had to follow was easy. I had only to obey the orders which I had received, and they were not of a nature difficult to execute. It may by some be supposed that there are other requisites to perform this important task, such as, perhaps, the talents necessary to draw just inferences from knowledge acquired, and not only to trace the cause of misfortune, but to point out the means of success. If such reasoning be admitted, I write to no purpose. But I cannot help thinking, that if I am so fortunate as to convey truth to those who it is most necessary should know it, I shall have done enough. My endeavours will have occasioned much good, without the possibility of causing any mischief. As the opinions which I may venture to advance will not be warped by personal considerations, and as I shall err only from incapacity, there can be no danger of my misleading those whose abilities and judgment qualify them for the highest offices of the state. When a subordinate officer submits a plan, the only thing of consequence is the accuracy of the ground, the general can correct every error in the disposition of the troops, and in the choice of the defences. In the report which I had the honor to make upon the state of the northern frontier, I mentioned all that I had learned of the communications that had taken place between the Bosjesmen in that quarter, and the farmers who had first advanced towards them. The imprudence of. an individual, more than any dislike Records of the Cape Colony. 35 arising from original impressions, seems to have occasioned the animosity that unfortunately arose between them. For the actual commencement of hostility between the aborigines and the colonists of the north-eastern frontier, there does not appear to have been any distinct cause. It is certain that the Bosjesmen were in the undisturbed possession of that part of the country some time after the wars had commenced between their brethren near Zak Biver and the neighbouring farmers. The knowledge of these transactions must naturally have excited opinions among them unfavourable to the strangers ; and perhaps this accounts for the mistrust which they are said to have manifested towards them from the moment of their approach. It is to be feared that the persons who were first obliged to seek a residence in such a country as Camdeboo were destitute of the qualifications necessary to remove these unfavourable impressions. Had government been enabled at that period to acquire the information necessary to decide upon the best measures to be adopted, the horrors which have since disgraced the name of Christian in those parts might have been prevented. But persons of the probable description of the then inhabitants could not be expected to give any other accounts of their new acquaintance than such as might be dictated by their prejudices or supposed interests. An attempt to draw them into their service having proved unsuccessful, and some losses having been occasioned by their disposition to theft, a people not inferior in natural endow- ments to any upon the face of the globe were represented to the colonial government as unfit to live. A journey from the Cape was supposed at that time to be too great an undertaking for the purpose of ascertaining any point which concerned only so distant a quarter. The reports received were implicitly believed, and orders were given for unlimited commandos. The original population of the north-eastern frontier must have been very considerable, if any credit can be attached to the accounts given by the old inhabitants of the exploits of their younger days. I have heard one man, who is represented as an estimable character in other respects, declare that within a period of six years, the parties under his orders had either killed or taken 3,200 of these unfortunate creatures. Another has stated to me that the actions in which he had been engaged had caused the D 2 36 Records of the Cape Colony. destruction of 2,700. They had acted thus in compliance with the instructions of a government, which not only violated all the principles of justice and humanity by this indiscriminate massacre, but even acted in direct opposition to the plainest rules of policy and of common sense, by depriving the colony of the benefit which might have been derived from so useful a people. The total extinction of the Bosjesmen race is actually stated to have been at one time confidently hoped for; but, fortunately, even such zealous instruments were not able to effect this bloody purpose. It is but justice to observe that the first attempt to conciliate this injured people was made under the benign influence of Britain. The journey undertaken by Mr. Barrow, at the desire of my Lord Macartney, seems to have opened the eyes of the inhabitants of this district to the criminality of their conduct. They had never before harboured a thought that any government would condemn their proceedings, but, on the contrary, they con- ceived that their exertions in this unjust cause were the most certain means of recommending them to favor. The sentiments which I expressed on a former occasion with regard to the opinions of a celebrated author may perhaps appear to have undergone some change ; they remain however the same. Had that gentleman confined himself to the district of Graaff- Beinet, which I had not then seen, in observing upon the wanton cruelties that had been committed against the Bosjesmen, and had he simply mentioned instances of misconduct, without degrading the inhabitants of a whole country below the lowest of the human race, I should not have ventured to protest against his decrees; but when he included the farmers of the whole frontier in the first class, and those of the remaining districts in the other, I could not allow so unfair a judgment to pass unnoticed. Since the year 1797, several inhabitants of the north-eastern districts appear to have exerted themselves with as much zeal to acquire the friendship of the Bosjesmen, as they had before done to blot them from the creation. They have experienced the most happy results from this line of conduct. While unceasing and indiscriminate warfare existed, no farmer durst venture unarmed from his door; robberies were committed at his very threshold; and his children and servants were murdered in his presence. Records of the Cape Colony. 37 But since the adoption of different measures, they have experienced a degree of tranquillity which they could never before hope for in the neighbourhood of that people. Dr. Van der Kemp is, I believe, the only person who has attempted to give a history of the Caffers. His account is annexed to a journal of occurrences during his residence in their country, and contains also observations on their geography, population, manners and customs ; with a grammar and vocabulary of their language. This work has been communicated to the public through the medium of the London Missionary Society. It contains much information upon these interesting topics ; and as far as my inquiries and observations have extended, it is as correct as could have been expected in respect to most of them. With regard, however, to population, I am disposed to think that he has been misled ; for he rates the number of males in that country at nearly 40,000, which I conceive to be little less than the total amount of all description of inhabitants. The traditions which I have received differ also from those which he has given. I shall beg to submit such accounts as seem to be most generally ad- mitted, and are most probable, without pretending in the least to answer for their accuracy. Some inquiries have, I believe, been made into the origin of the name of Caffree or Kaffer, which has sometimes been applied generally to the inhabitants of the south-eastern coast of Africa, but which has particularly distinguished those residing between Bio Infante or Great Fish Biver, and the river Bashee, comprising an extent of something less than 150 miles by 50. Whether this matter has been satisfactorily explained I am not enabled to recollect, or perhaps to judge ; but I believe that a mistake has been made in endeavouring to restore the original appellation, which I have understood to be Koza instead of Koussie, as I think it has been written. The reluctance which Europeans appear to have felt in preserving the national names of the countries they have discovered, has operated in regard to what are called the Tambookie people, who are known to their neighbours by the names Temboo and Tenjain. As these denominations are now, however, so universally received, it would be absurd in me to dispute their propriety, and I shall adopt the European terms in the following short account. The Kaffer people were undoubtedly the same as the Tambookie, r 38 Records of the Cape Colony. from whom they have been separated probably by some internal commotion, similar to those that have caused the emigrations which we have recently witnessed. The genealogy of their Chiefs has been given to me as follows : — Togow Gonde Tzeeo Palo Mandankee Galeka, Hahabee, Langa Mahota Posterity of Galeka. Khouwta, (Father of Hinsa, Bookoo, &c.) — Odessa. — Welhela, &c. Posterity of Hahabee. Omlao, (Father of Gyka,) Zlambie, Oonooqua, Yaloosa, Tzatla, Sikkoo, Zonie, &c. Posterity of Langa. Malouw or Kyno, Kama, Tolie, Kaza, Galeba, &c. Posterity of Mahota. Jalamba, (Father of Dlodlo,) Olela, Foona, Koba, &c. Kassa, Habana, Gola or Nogola, and most of the other petty independent chiefs are either sons or grandsons of Mahota. Their people are called Mandankees, from the name of their founder. Hinsa’s subjects are, from the same reason, called Galekas, and those of Gyka and Zlambie, Hahabees. It is not so easy to account for the name of Langa’ s people who are called Barrookas, nor for that of the vassals of Tchachoo, who are called Tindees. The last chief is the son of Bangue, and grandson of Kyka, who was probably a son of Tzeeo, but this I did not hear positively asserted, and I understood that it is a doubtful matter among the Kaffers. It is possible that he may be of Ghonaqua origin, for a great portion of his people belong to that nation. His appearance is said to be more that of a Hottentot than of a Kaffer, and he has Hottentot wives. The other chiefs affect to despise Konga, from his not belonging to the chieftain stock. His father Zaka was a cattle holder of Palo, who made him a captain. His people acquired the name of Genookaquas, from some cause which I could not discover. Records of the Cape Colony. 39 From the period of their separation from the Tambookies until the death of Tzeeo, the Kaffers appear to have resided altogether near the Kyba. I have seen a farmer now in his 95th year, who went with some others in the year 1738 from Gaurits Eiver, the most distant part of the colony then settled, on a shooting excursion into Kafferland. Those persons divided into two parties ; one of them was under the direction of a man named Heupenaar, who, in consequence of resisting the attempts of the natives to take the iron from his waggons, was murdered with almost all Jus people. The other party, to which this old man belonged, received no injury from them. There were not then any Kaff'res residing west of the river Kysee, or, according to the most common name amongst the colonists, the Kyskamma ; and some who accompanied the party on their return, took leave of them at that stream, stating it to be the boundary of their country. On the death of Tzeeo, his people were divided between his sons Palo and Mandankee. The former chief repeatedly received visitors from the colony, and has sometimes been mentioned under the name of Pharao. His eldest son, Galeka, inherited the greater part of his vassals, and continued to reside on the banks of the Kyba. He was often engaged in wars with his brother Hahabee, who had proceeded with those vassals that had been bequeathed to Mm by Tzeeo to the country situated between the Zomo and Witte t’Ky rivers. Galeka was always successful in their encounters, and he has left a Mgh opinion of his conduct and intrepidity among his people. One of Hakabee’s sons having been killed on a hunting party by a Tambookie chief, the father attempted to revenge his loss, but was defeated and perished in the waters of the Witte t’Ky. His eldest son, Omlao, having died before him, his second son, Zlambie, assumed the government of his vassals, and the guardian- ship of Gyka, the infant cMld of Omlao. Unable to cope with the Tambookies, he brought his people to the country lying between the Kognie (Buffalo River) and the Kyskamma. Mandankee had removed to tMs neighbourhood shortly after the death of his father, and had been followed some years afterwards by his nephew Langa, who had become possessed of such of Palo’s people as had not been left to Galeka and Hahabee. Mahota had succeeded his father Mandankee before the arrival of Zlambie, and he and Langa, regardless of the misfortunes whicli liad occasioned 40 Records of the Cape Colony. the emigration of their relation, immediately showed their dissatis- faction at his intrusion. They fought him frequently, but with so little success, that Mahota was repeatedly compelled to retire into Zuurveld ; and he was at length killed in an engagement which took place in the year 1780. His son Jalamba, finding his force unequal to a contest with the Hahabees, retired with his people into Agter Bruintjes Hoogte. This district had been settled about 10 years. In the year 1778, Governor Van Plettenberg having called there on the journey which he made at that time through the colony, he sent the justly esteemed and much lamented Colonel Gordon to request an inter- view with some of the Kaffer chiefs. The colonel proceeded in search of them as far as the Kyskamma, from whence he conducted a few to the governor, who entered into an agreement with them that the Great Fish Biver should be considered as the boundary between the two countries. The inhabitants reminded Jalamba of the recent treaty, and required his immediate departure. Their remonstrances having been disregarded, a commando was assembled, by which the intruders were expelled, with the loss of Jalamba and a great number of his followers. His son Dlodloo perished two years afterwards in a similar attempt, which was the last made to fix a kraal in that district. Dlodloo having died without issue, his uncle Olela succeeded to the command of the Mandankees. He retired with them beyond the Konaba Biver, where he continued some years. Soon after Zaka had been promoted to the rank of chief, he proceeded to the neighbourhood of the Beeka Biver. The Zuur- veld was then inhabited by Ghonaqua and other Hottentots, under the command of a Hottentot named Buiter. This man was a native of Boggeveld, from whence he had been forced to fly, in consequence of a murder which he had committed. By address and superior knowledge he acquired an easy ascendency over the minds of this then untutored people ; but he is stated to have afterwards maintained his authority by the most sanguinary measures. His country being well stocked with game of every description, Zaka applied for leave to hunt in it, and at first paid for his permission ; but wishing to remove from the vicinity of his powerful neighbours Zlambie and Langa, he was induced to try to establish himself on the right bank of the Great Fish Records of the Cape Colony. 41 Eiver. As a justification of his conduct, he gave out that he had purchased the Zuurveld. Having understood that his successor founds his claim to that country in a great degree upon this transaction, I thought the subject worth inquiry. The grandchildren of Euiter are still living ; and they declared to me, in common with all the other Hottentots whom I questioned upon this point, that there was not the least truth in the assertion. Incapable of opposing an effectual resistance, Euiter, after some skirmishes and remonstrances, retired by degrees to the Bosjesman Eiver, where he died soon afterwards, foretelling that misfortunes awaited his people. At the same time that Zaka entered the colony from the east- ward, the settlers advanced from the Gamtoos Eiver, which, before the year 1778, had been considered as the boundary of the colony. Having induced the people of Kabeang, a Hottentot chief residing at the Sunday Eiver, to enter their service, and afterwards engaged most of those that had belonged to Euiter, they continued their establishments to the extremity of Zuurveld. The kraals and habitations were mixed, and for some years without inconvenience; but in the year 1786 a difference arose between the Kaffers and the settlers. The latter called- Zlambie to their aid, and he came with nearly 3,000 men. The Genookaquas were defeated, and their chief was slain. As the reward of his assistance Zlambie was presented with the cattle of the vanquished Caffers, who were imprudently permitted to continue in the colony. Deprived of subsistence, the Genookaquas under Konga, the successor of Zaka, were reduced to the necessity of plundering the farmers. This produced a new war, which effected their expulsion. Konga, however, did not remain long beyond the Great Fish Eiver ; and Malouw, Kama and Tolie, the sons of Langa, accom- panied him on his return, in order to avoid the effects of the resentment of Zlambie, one of whose brothers had been killed by a Hottentot in their service. The arrival of these Kaffers was immediately reported to the landdrost, Mr. Woeke, who took no steps whatever to remove them. There is a report still current among the farmers, that a delivery of cattle was made to him by some of those people, as a purchase right to a residence in the district of Zuurveld.. In 42 Records of the Cape Colony. stating this circumstance, upon which I have heard that the Kaffers lay some stress, I cannot allow myself upon such grounds to believe for a moment that a public officer could be guilty of so great a dereliction of his duty. It is, however, certain that by having neglected to notice this invasion, he laid the foundation of all the misfortunes that have since befallen the inhabitants of the eastern districts. Finding their complaints disregarded, the farmers were induced to enter into a trade with the Kaffers, and to receive some of them into their service. Those people at first gave their cattle and labour without knowing its value ; but a little experience having opened their eyes on these points, altercations between them and the farmers were the necessary consequence. These contentions grew into enmities ; and in the year 1792 the Kaffers fell un- expectedly upon the colonists, of whom many were murdered and plundered by them. Eepresentations of these occurrences having been transmitted to the seat of government, the commissioner general, Mr. Sluysken, directed the assembling of a commando of farmers in the year 1793 to march against the Kaffers. It would naturally be supposed that previous to the commence- ment of hostilities, the whole force would have been collected, and some plan of operations arranged between the persons entrusted with the conduct of this campaign. It must therefore appear very extraordinary, that before the arrival of the farmers from Swellen- dam, those under the command of Mr. Maynier, the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, had commenced hostilities. One would be also led to suppose that the principal view of this armament would have been the expulsion of the Kaffers from the colony. This, however, seems to have been regarded only in a secondary point of view. The farmers had lost a great portion of their cattle, and to regain possession of it seems to have been the first object of Mr. Maynier’s attention. Having defeated them in the Zuurveld, from which they appear to have mostly retired, he was induced to follow them four days’ journey beyond the boundary, to the river Kognie, where he attacked the people of Khouwta, mistaking them for those whom he was in search of. Having there received intelligence of the arrival of Mr. Faure, the landdrost of Swellendam, with the party under his orders, he returned from thence to the Great Fish River. Records of the Cape Colony. 43 His force was too inconsiderable to allow of his leaving any detachments to cover the Zuurveld during his absence ; or perhaps it never entered into his contemplation that they would be required. But the hostile Kaffers, who had no inclination for so long a march as that which he had voluntarily imposed upon him- self, having allowed him to pass them, had for the most part returned to their former stations. The whole force having been at length united, the original intention of government was yet to be fulfilled, with the exception of some cattle which had been taken. It may easily be conceived what must have been the opinions and feelings of men brought to such a distance from a country which had no direct connection with the scene or cause of operations, of men whose concerns were necessarily suffering from their absence, whose wives and children were during this waste of time left at the mercy of the Bosjesmen. They had done everything that could have been expected from them. They had driven the enemy beyond the limits. But not satisfied with that, they must be dragged to make war upon a people whom they had never heard of, and who had never done a Christian harm. After all this, they had the mortification to learn that they were not further advanced than on the day of their arrival. It is stated that Langa, the principal chief of the hostile Kaffers, having fallen into the hands of Zlambie, the latter offered to deliver him up to Mr. Maynier, and that this offer was declined. That government had promised a reward of 10 rixdollars for each prisoner that should be taken : that several were captured, but were released without the farmers receiving the reward they had expected. That after some feeble and ineffectual attempts against the enemy, the clothing and other necessaries of the farmers destroyed, their horses and cattle worn out, and their hopes and confidence annihilated, they required with clamour that a captain of the Swellendam militia, named Laurens de Jager, should be invested with the command, and that their demand was haughtily refused by Mr. Maynier, who continued to direct this unfortunate war. At length the landdrosts esteemed themselves fortunate in obtaining a peace, on terms, as they stated themselves, dis- advantageous to the colony. Nothing was mentioned in this treaty about the retreat of the Kaffers, who had no sooner restored 44 Records of the Cape Colony t the stolen cattle than they repented of the act and recommenced their depredations. A report was made to government by Mr. Maynier in the following year (1794), stating the causes of the late war, the best mode of protecting the Colony against the incursions of the Kaffers, and of preserving peace with that people. He observes that “ the excursions of the Farmers into Kafferland for the purpose of hunting, the trade carried on between them and the Kaffers, and the improper treatment which the latter had experienced from the former when in their service, were the principal occasion of the rupture.” He then recommends that “ several Inhabitants should be obliged to keep together in one place ; that a stop should be put to all trade between the Colonists and the Kaffers ; that the former should be prohibited from going into Kafferland to shoot elephants unless provided with a permission from the landdrost ; and that the latter should be forbidden to enter the Colony except when bearing a message from their chiefs to the drostdy, under pain of being considered as traitors, and driven back with force.” Mr. Maynier complained bitterly of the inattention shown to his orders, particularly of the farmers having proceeded without his sanction against the Kaffres. Indeed from this moment the authority of government began to decline in the eastern districts, the inhabitants conceiving that as it had not the power to protect, it was unable to punish. Some evil disposed persons at the Cape, as well as in the country, took advantage of these circumstances to propagate revolutionary principles, and Graaff-Keinet became the theatre of anarchy and revolt. Gyka, although not arrived at manhood, had shown himself in the late war, and he then began to wish for the possession of that power to which he conceived his birth and the nomination of Khouwta, the head of his family, had fully entitled him. Zlambie having refused on his demand to resign the reins of government, in the year 1796 a civil war ensued. Zlambie having been defeated, proceeded to beg assistance from Khouwta, who declined interfering. He then retired to his ancient residence near the Zomo, where he endeavoured to win the Tambookies to his interest, but he was again attacked by Gyka, and taken prisoner. During these disturbances, Yaloosa, a brother of Zlambie, emigrated to Zuurveld, where he waged war against the sons and successors of Langa, and against the Mandankees, who had ■Records of the Cape Colony. 45 likewise proceeded to that quarter. These hostilities were not productive of any material consequences. In the year 1797, Mr. Bresler, the new landdrost, who the preceding year had been refused admittance at his drostdy, having been favourably received under the auspices of Mr. Barrow, pro- ceeded with that gentleman into Zuurveld and Caffraria. The independent chiefs promised, on their intercession with Gyka, to return to their own country, and at the request of those gentle- men that chief sent them messengers of peace. Mr. Bresler also sent to inform them of the success of his application on their behalf, and to require their immediate return to Kaffreland. They all declined going, under various pretences. Konga treated the landdrost’ s messengers in the most insolent manner, and he advanced soon after to the Sunday Biver, where he endeavoured to form the same connexions with the Hottentots that had previously very much strengthened his party, by the accession of a great portion of the Ghonaqua people. One of the Ghonaquas residing with Gyka, and who claims his descent from a chief named Kamakera, gave me the following account of that unfortunate race. As I have heard of no other attempt at their history, I am induced to repeat what was com- municated to me respecting them, although the relation may appear somewhat improbable. They had resided at first much nearer to the Peninsula, and were yet united under their last great chief, Quama, when the Europeans advanced from the Cape to the interior. Unable to prevent their encroachments, and unwilling to acknowledge their superiority, they removed towards the east ; observing that the country improved as they advanced, they continued their route to the territories of Tzeeo. This chief was as much dissatisfied at their approach as they had been at that of the Christians, and unfortunately for them, he had as much the power as the inclina- tion to show his displeasure. After a considerable loss, both of their people and their cattle, they returned to the neighbourhood of the Great Eish Biver. Some settled in the fine plains on both banks of that stream. But the others apprehending that the wrath of Tzeeo might pursue them even that far, resolved to seek a less insecure though a more distant retreat. With that view they proceeded to the north, where the 46 Records of the Cape Colony. Bosjesmen treated them as unkindly as the Kaffres. Driven from the south, the east, and the north, the wanderers bent their last hope on the west. They followed the sun until stopped by the ocean, on whose borders their posterity are known by the name of Namaquas. During the wars that took place among the descendants of Tzeeo, their brethren were plundered by all parties, and were at length obliged to solicit protection from some of those chiefs. They avoided, however, as long as possible, intermarriage with the Kaffres, to whom they are in general by no means attached. My historian assured me that those under Gyka were his best soldiers, that they were always placed in the hottest of the fight, but were neglected and ill-treated when no enemy was to be opposed. He added that they would all have long since left his country, if they had not feared to lose their cattle in the attempt ; that they were, however, determined to avail themselves of the first favourable opportunity to carry their intentions into effect, and that although sometimes not well used in the service of the farmers, with whom they had occasionally lived for short periods, they would rather reside with them than remain with the Kaffres. On being asked about the sentiments of the Ghonaqnas under Konga, he replied that they were more connected with the Kaffres than any of the others residing with that people, and that he did not think they had now any wish to remove from them. I assured the descendant of Kamakera that the Christians felt deeply for the misfortunes of the Ghonaquas, and would be happy to have the power of alleviating their unhappy lot ; that, however, the relations which had so long existed between them and the Kaffres would render it improper to allow them to reside in the districts bordering upon the country of that people ; and that if any of them should remove within the limits of the Colony, it would be necessary for them to proceed to the neighbourhood of the capital. After the death of Ivhouwta, who appears to have always been a pacific chief, his people were engaged in a war with Gyka, in consequence of one of them having been murdered by some persons belonging to the latter ; and an army was sent to the Kyskamma under the orders of Welhela, the uncle of Hinsa, who was then a minor. A person engaged in this service gave me the following account Records of the Cape Colony. 47 of the expedition, by which it would appear that Europeans ought not to give themselves quite so much credit for their improve- ments in tactics as they conceive themselves so generally entitled to. Having proceeded to a certain distance, where they left their wives and children, they continued their march, armed with shields and assagays, and provided only with a few slaughtering cattle. They were headed by an advanced guard, composed of their best troops, and distinguished from the others by bearing on either side of the head a plume of the Numidian crane. Having arrived within sight of the enemy, they advanced in irregular columns or divisions ; but in consequence of an endeavour to take them in flank, they formed, and after a few discharges came to close quarters. Several other movements were made by both parties, either to counteract those of the enemy, to take advantage of circumstances, or to afford support where required. The battle was for a long time obstinately contested, but at length the advantage appeared to lean so decidedly on the side of the Galekas, that Gyka left the field. The Hahabees conceived that the day was lost, when a panic seized the victors, and they fled in their turn. On inquiring the opinion entertained among the Kaffres with regard to courage and military conduct, I was told that these qualities were held in the highest estimation, and that a man whose advice or intrepidity should gain any advantage for his country would obtain applause and rewards from all ranks of people. Conceiving that where valour was so much prized, cowardice must be treated with the utmost severity, I asked how they punished that offence. My surprise was very great when I learnt that among the Galekas no notice whatever is taken of misconduct of that nature ; but I was informed that Gyka has always been very strict on that point, although he has more than once been the first to show the example of pusillanimity. Indeed, his punishments, for every description of crime, are stated to be the most cruel of any used among the Kaffres. Gyka did not fail to take advantage of his unexpected success. He pursued the fugitives, among whom he made a dreadful slaughter, passed the Kyba, seized on the cattle of the inhabitants, and took Hinsa prisoner. Wliat might have been his intention with regard to the young 48 Records of the Cape Colony. chief is not known ; but it must be remembered that when he had Zlambie in his power, under similar circumstances, he generously restored his freedom and possessions. Hinsa was stolen away in the. night by some of his faithful veterans, the companions of the victories of his grandfather. A peace was concluded at the river Juguga, and some of the cattle taken from the chiefs was restored. But this war was a severe blow to the superiority of the Galeka Kaffres. Arrived at the plenitude of power, Gyka became haughty and intractable. It was shortly after these events that Dr. Van der Kemp made an attempt to establish a missionary institution in his territory. The bad success of the endeavours used by that zealous and indefatigable man affords but a faint hope of a more fortunate result from any future undertaking of a similar nature. Sometimes appearing his friend and convert, at others evincing the greatest suspicion at his proceedings, Gyka obliged him continually to change his abode, and he was finally obliged to abandon the project. Mr. Barrow has given so full an account of the arrest of the rebellious boers in the year 1799, of the insurrection of the Hottentots, of the interview of General Vandeleur with Konga at the Sunday River, his promise to retire eastward, the attack subsequently made by him on the Brigadier’s detachment whilst on his march from Agter Bruintjes Hoogte to Algoa Bay and afterwards on his camp near Bosjesmans River, as to render it unnecessary for me to dwell upon these points. Not knowing how to distinguish the disaffected boers from those attached to govern- ment, General Vandeleur was apprehensive of trusting any of them with ammunition, or of availing himself of their services against the enemy. The loss of Lieut. Chumney and most of his party, cut off when detached to the coast, followed by the retreat of the General to the bay, in consequence, as I believe Mr. Barrow states, of his deeming it imprudent to wage an unequal contest with savages, the successful result of which could be favourable to those only who had instigated them to act, were occurrences which were certainly not calculated to inspire any of the con- tending parties with a high opinion of British power. General Dundas conceiving his presence necessary to restore order, set out for Algoa Bay, but having no local knowledge, and being naturally desirous of acquiring the best information, he Records of the Cape Colony. 49 wished to be attended by some person well acquainted with the country. Mr. Maynier was recommended to him, and the General appears to have been entirely guided by his advice. His principal object seems to have been to conciliate the Hottentots, who had been leagued with the Kaffres, and had committed the most dreadful outrages. After some time, a peace, as it was called, having been concluded, he appointed Mr. Maynier commissioner in the district, and returned to the seat of government. No sooner were the troops withdrawn, than the Kaffres and Hottentots pursued their career of blood, fire and plunder. The people of Konga, Olela, Habana, &c., were the principal of the former and the Stuurmans, although not originally from this part of the Colony, together with one Boosac and some other adventurers, led on the latter. Mr. Maynier gave no credit to the reports made to him of these transactions, and affirmed that they had no foundation except the fears of the farmers, whom he threatened to punish with the utmost severity if they dared to leave their habitations. The districts of Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, Zwarte Buggens and Winter Hoek, of Bosjesmans, Sunday and Zwartkops Bivers, were entirely abandoned. Mr. Maynier remained at the drostdy of Graaff- Beinet with the detachment sent for the protection of his district, and he was faintly attacked there by the Boers, who attributed all these disorders to his mal-administration. Intelligence of these transactions having at length reached the Cape, Mr. Maynier was recalled, and General Dundas was on the point of recommencing hostilities when he received intelligence of the preliminary treaty by which the Colony was restored to Holland. Unwilling, however, to leave the country in the dreadful state to which it had been reduced, he directed that a commando of farmers should be formed under the commandant Tjard van der Walt, who seems to have possessed the talents and energy suited to the important trust. Mr. Maynier, whose conduct then occupied the attention of a commission of inquiry, expresses himself in some paragraphs which his patriotism induces him to annex to his defence, in the following terms : “ As I am too much interested in the welfare of the Colony, and am persuaded that by following the plan which seems generally approved, or rather that plan of which every person, whether he VII. E 50 Records of the Cape Colony . is acquainted with the nature of the country or not, is so much in love with, the country will be exposed to total ruin, I there- fore beg leave to offer some reflections on this subject. “The plan of driving the Caffres and Hottentots beyond the Great Fish Eiver, so much favoured by some, I have always dis- approved, and maintain that whoever knows the state of that part of the country where they live and the immense woods and dens which offer a safe retreat to them, will look upon such plan to be unwise, because greatly difficult to be accomplished, and still more so to confine them there ; and cruel on account of the hardships which they must consequently suffer. And I feel the most perfect conviction that peace may be preserved with these creatures by fair means, and with little trouble.” Van der Walt attacked the enemy with vigour. He had inspired confidence into his own people, and terror into their opponents. The Kaffre chiefs held a council of war, and were on the point of retiring, when the commandant was called away to the neighbourhood of the Gamtoos Itiver, where a number of insurgents, principally Hottentots, had overrun the country. There a musket ball struck him when penetrating through the woods, and deprived the colony of his useful services. The veld commandant Botha had been appointed second in command; but although a good and zealous man, he was not looked up to with the same degree of respect as Van der Walt. The other commandants mostly conceived themselves better qualified and more entitled to command; and under various pretences they conducted their parties soon afterwards to their several districts. The Kaffres and Hottentots became more daring by the failure of this expedition. One party under Boosac proceeded to Oliphant’s River, where Botha’s own people, and some from Winter Hoek under the veld cornet Gabriel Stoltz, happened fortunately to be in readiness to receive them. They were driven back with loss. Another division, consisting of several hundreds under David Stuurinan, after making an unsuccessful attempt on a place in the Lange Kloof, which was defended only by a few persons, crossed the mountains to Plettenberg Bay. The veld cornet, one John Terblans, treated the intelligence of their approach with contempt, but shamefully abandoned his post the moment of their arrival. Records of the Cape Colony. 51 The first farmhouse they came to was occupied by a few brave men, who beat them off. They then continued their route, and unfortunately met with some farmers travelling to the Cape, whom they murdered. The wives and children, however, contrary to their practice on some other occasions, they sent away uninjured, after a demand, as their ransom, of the arms and ammunition of the people who had so well defended themselves, had been rejected. A detachment of them, with Stuurman, then advanced, plundering and burning the deserted habitations as far as Outeniqua Land, where the openness of the country deterred them from proceeding. They were met on their return by Botha and Stoltz, on whose appearance they cast away their arms and retired with precipita- tion through the woods. Zlambie for the first time took part against the colonists in this war. He had long been on bad terms with Gyka, and having united his people, he retired through Agter Bruin tjes Hoogte to Zuurveld, where he arrived on the eve of these disturbances, in which he became involved. Notwithstanding the disappointment and displeasure of General Dundas on hearing of the desertion of the commando, he could not, as then circumstanced, adopt any other measures of hostility. As the only means, therefore, of restoring even temporary tran- quillity to the Colony, he directed a commission of veld com- mandants and veld cornets to conclude a peace with the Kaffres and Hottentots. This was done upon no other condition than that each party should retain possession of the cattle that had fallen into its hands ; and this treaty was afterwards confirmed by a similar deputation sent to the Sunday River by the Batavian government. The Kaffres and Hottentots now began to quarrel about their booty, and to rob each other. Boosac was put to death on one of these plundering expeditions by some of Zlambie’s people, not- withstanding the recital of the many services which he had rendered them, and his protestations of his entire devotion to the Kaffre nation. More than 12 of his followers are reported to have avoided sharing in his fate by being mounted or holding on a single horse. Olela, chief of the Mandankees, was deprived, soon after these events, of his authority, with the concurrence of most of the other chiefs, in consequence of his restless and marauding disposition. E 2 52 Records of the Cape Colony. He retired first to the Colony, and from thence to the Orange River. At this period Yaloosa left Zuurveld and joined Gyka, to whose fortunes he has since remained firmly attached. Zlamhie having taken a fancy about the same time to the lands near the Bosjesmans River, occupied by some of the kraals of Konga, and the latter having refused to resign them on his demand, his people were driven from them by force. As soon as General Janssens had made the necessary arrange- ments at the seat of government, he proceeded on a journey to the interior. To remove the inconvenience occasioned by the unsettled state of the Kaffres and Hottentots appears to have been one of the chief motives of this tour. On his arrival at Algoa Bay he sent for Klaas Stuurman, and delivered him a brass gorget, on which was engraved the following inscription, which deserves to be preserved : — Capiteyn Klaas Stuurman Yrecde en Vriendschaap Met de Bataavische Bepubliek Den lste Maart 1803. Not satisfied with having thus, in some manner, acknowledged the independence of a man who had been born the subject of his sovereign, as a reward for the atrocities that he had principally caused, and the recital of which would render these sheets too voluminous and too disgusting, he presented him, for the residence of his family, with a lot of land situated on the Little Gamtoos River, within a few miles of the spot wdiere the brave Van der Walt had been, only the year before, mortally wounded by his people, and which borders on one of the most inaccessible parts of the whole Colony. Klaas had not long taken possession of his new abode when he was killed on a hunting party by his brother David, as the latter states, by accident, but as is strongly suspected, even by some Hottentots, intentionally ; a crime well worthy of a man whose first master died by poison, a few days after this monster had declared publicly that he would not permit him long to live. The governor next proceeded to Sunday River, whence he sent to request an interview with all the Kaffre Chiefs within the limits. After waiting five days they were brought to him with much difficulty by the veld cornet Stoltz. Records of the Cape Colony. 53 His Excellency stated to them the great inconvenience the inhabitants suffered from their intrusion, reminded them of the boundary so long established between the two countries, and signified to them that he expected they would immediately leave the Colony, and that if they would not go peaceably he should be under the necessity of using compulsion. They made the old excuse, “the fear of Gyka.” He assured them that he should remove that difficulty, and they all promised in that event to retire without delay. The Governor wished that Gyka should meet him at the Great Fish Eiver, but he declined coming any farther than Kat Eiver, from whence an officer’s party was sent forward to meet him. He would not at first hear of a reconciliation with the emigrants, but at length he agreed to receive them amicably. Konga, Habana, and some other chiefs, kept their engagements, and removed to the Keiskamma ; but finding that Zlambie remained undisturbed within the boundary, they returned within a few months. The war between Great Britain and Holland was soon after- wards declared, and General Janssens could not spare from the Cape the troops which he deemed necessary for the expulsion of the Kaffres ; but he often declared his intention of having recourse to hostilities as soon as circumstances would permit them. In the expectation that the country would have been evacuated, a proclamation had in the meantime been issued, commanding all persons who had formerly occupied lands in Zuurveld to return to their places, under pain of forfeiture. Some went back in consequence in 1804; but so many murders and robberies were committed that they were forced again to fly in the foUowing year. The same persons have since made two ineffectual attempts to re-establish themselves on their lands. The Kaffres had before seldom ventured to pass the outward places for the purpose of begging, and they used to come even that far in small parties only ; but they now began to advance boldly several days’ journey with that view, and generally came in strong detachments, and the farmers forgetting the misfortunes they had suffered from that people, imprudently received many of them into their service. About a year after the period of the Cape’s reverting to the British government, a tumbee (concubine) of Gyka having gone 54 Records of the Cape Colony. to visit her relations in Zuurveld, was detained by one of Zlambie’s sons. This conduct was highly resented by the former chief, who, to avenge himself, acted in the same manner with one of his uncle’s ladies, who had come to see her friends at the Keiskamma. It would scarcely be expected that a people of such loose morals as the Kaffres would have regarded this step of Gyka with much severity. Scarcely, however, was it known among his subjects than the strongest disapprobation was manifested at his conduct, which they declared that they considered in the light of incest. There is some reason to suppose that his secret enemies had taken hold of this circumstance to inflame the minds of his people, whose affections they had already much alienated by repre- senting his extreme arrogance and his avarice in claiming universal inheritance, which often reduced whole families to the greatest distress. Rebellion was openly declared, and G ok era, an old soldier who had always been distinguished by his master for his conduct and valour, headed the malcontents. These were, however, composed of the most distant and least warlike kraals, and their leader having been killed in the first engagement, they would have been obliged to submit, had not two of Gyka’s uncles, Tzatla and Sikkoo, who were the principal instigators of the insurrection, joined the party with their people. Notwithstanding this accession of strength, the rebels did not yet conceive themselves sufficiently powerful. They sent, there- fore, to demand the assistance of Zlambie in punishing the crime of his nephew. The old chief was sick and unable to proceed, but he sent his sons Gweechee and Kossee, with a large force, to the Keiskamma. After a few movements, in which Gyka is stated to have shown some generalship, but, as usual, little courage, he was driven into the mountains, his kraals were destroyed, and his herds captured. A great number of Gyka’s people who were before undecided, conceiving his fortunes entirely ruined, joined the rebels and auxiliaries, and they proceeded altogether towards the Zuurveld. Their march was, however, observed, and a few cattle were recovered. Noth withstanding this supply, a famine ensued, and most of the young children, even of Gyka, Yaloosa, and the other principal chiefs, were actually starved. A short time previous to this affair Gyka was joined by Foona, Records of the Cape Colony. 55 who had succeeded his brother Olela in the chief command of the Mandankees. After the conclusion of the campaign, Kyno, chief of the Barrookas, also came to him. Zlambie was appre- hensive that their example might be followed by other chiefs, who began to think that Gyka had been too severely punished, and to reflect that they were interested equally with him in the question of inheritance. This consideration, perhaps, prevented the victorious chief from endeavouring to reap all the fruits of his success. No further hostilities of any consequence took place, and a favourable opportunity having offered in about a year afterwards, Gyka sent proposals for peace to his uncle, which were immediately accepted. In the meantime, however, Zonie, a brother of Zlambie, wishing to avoid these contentions, secretly withdrew with about 60 of Zlambie’s men, and proceeded to the river Gamgha. He there attacked and plundered two kraals composed of deserters from various chiefs who had been several years in that neighbourhood, under the command of two brothers named Hendrik and Ogamde, or Jacob, common Kaffres belonging to Zlambie. Hendrik was forced to accompany Zonie to Orange Biver, where he was killed, with about 30 of his people, in an engagement with the Bosjesmen. Some of the emigrants who had returned to Zuurveld and the Keiskamma gave the most favourable accounts of the countries they had visited. Habana and his brother Galata absconded in the year 1808, and several other petty chiefs, both of Zlambie and Gyka’s parties, for the most part Mandankees, only waited a favourable opportunity to follow them. Olela had come from Orange Biver some months before, and had collected a great number of Kaffres from the service of the inhabitants. With these he endeavoured to compel his brothers Gola and Ootzee, who commanded a kraal that had been several years established in the Zwarteberg Mountains, to proceed with him to Orange Biver. Their hostilities attracted the attention of government. Instead of attending to the injunctions given him to remove from the colony, Olela not only persisted in remaining, but became ex- tremely troublesome to the inhabitants and travellers. He was in consequence seized, but escaped to his kraal from the custody of a veld cornet. On the approach however of a force, he retired 56 Records of the Cape Colony. beyond the northern boundary, and he is supposed to have proceeded with about 40 men to join Zonie. An ineffectual attempt having been made to establish some of the other kraals near the Cape, all those remaining in the inhabited part of the colony, together with the Kaffres and Ghonaquas in the service of the farmers, were removed beyond the Sunday Eiver, and all communication with those nations was cut off, except such as might be occasionally required between their chiefs and the officers of government. Not content with the protection granted to his family, David Stuurman took measures to increase his strength and to confirm his independence. He received many Hottentots with whom he had no relationship, and openly resisted the officers of the district in the execution of the orders of the landdrost, with respect to individuals who had broken their contracts. Notwithstanding the prohibition against harbouring Kaffres or Ghonaquas, he permitted a whole kraal to remain on his land. It was discovered also that he had concluded an offensive and defensive alliance with Konga, of which the colony was the object ; and he was on the eve of proceeding to join that chief, who had repeatedly urged him to take this step, when the traitor was arrested, and sent with his brother Boshman and two other leaders of the kraal, and of the former insurgents, to the Cape. The remainder of these Hottentots proceeded either to the neighbouring missionary institution of Bethelsdorp, or to take service with the farmers, according to the option given them, and the lands which they had occupied were appropriated to other purposes. Continuation of Lieutenant Colonel Collins’ Journal, being Notes made on a Journey to the southern branches of the Rivers T’Ky and through Naff? aria. Our party had been agreeably augmented at Zwagers Hoek by the presence of the landdrost Mr. Stockenstrom, and on our return to Schaap Kraal we found nearly thirty farmers from Agter Sneeuw- berg and Tarka, under their veldcornets Yan Eerde and Potgieter, ready to accompany us. Having made the necessary preparations for so long a tour, on the 3rd of March we again passed the boundary, and proceeded about ten miles to a branch of the Records of the Cafe Colony. 57 Zwarte T’Ky, called Bezuidenhout’s Paver, whose source is in Winterberg. The second day’s journey brought us about six miles farther, to a place called Eland’s Kraal, situated near a fountain and periodical stream. On the third day we proceeded about the same distance to Ox Kraal, a spot on the eastern bank of a clear and constant rivulet. These places had acquired their respective names from the missionary Dr. Van der Kemp and his party, who came about seven or eight years since from Gaika’s country to Ox Kraal, where they staid several months. They then went to Schaap Kraal, the neighbourhood of which was at that time uninhabited except by Bosjesmen. From this place Dr. Van der Kemp was brought away, at his solicitation, by a party sent for the purpose from the colony. The others, among whom were Coenraad de Buys, one of the former turbulent characters of the eastern districts, and Coenraad Bezuidenhout, who had fled from the colony for a case of manslaughter, returned to the T’Ky, and some of them proceeded even beyond the country of the Tambookies. With the exception, however, of two persons, a deserter from the British service, and a colonist, they had all returned to the colony on a pardon granted by the Batavian government. The son of Bezuidenhout was our guide, and we hoped by his means to discover the retreat of the exiles, and to induce them to return. On the 6th we passed a rivulet, a mile or two from that where we had slept the preceding night, and which joins it at a short distance. We called it the Granite Paver, from its bed being mostly composed of that stone. This is a constant and fine stream : it rises in the mountain that throws out Kat Eiver in a contrary direction. At the distance of about twelve miles from where we saw this stream, it meets Bezuidenhout’s Eiver and two streams flowing southerly from Storm Mountains. Their junction takes place near a poort, or passage through the mountains, and constitutes the Zwarte T’Ky Eiver, which flows in the direction of E.S.E., directly contrary to the course of Orange Eiver. We encamped at the entrance of a pass about two miles from Granite Eiver, and called it Gnoo’s Poort, from having killed two of those animals there. The country between Schaap Kraal and this place is composed of a mixture of hills and dales, it greatly resembles Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, but is better watered. 58 Records of the Cape Colony. On the 7th we proceeded through Gnoo’s Poort, and having travelled nine hours, rounding the hills, in which time we did not gain above a dozen miles in a straight direction, we stopped at another pass called Prinsloo’s Poort, where we found water and a few mimosas, the first trees we had seen this day. Two bontebucks of the smaller species were killed, and a great number of gnoos, quaghas, and hartebeests were seen. On the 8th we crossed another small stream, called Thorn Eiver, about a mile from where we had encamped the preceding day, and at the end of a winding march of five hours we found a large stream called Thomas Eiver, from an English deserter named Thomas Bentley, one of the party above-mentioned, who had been wounded there by a Bosjesman. These streams fall at no great distance into the Zwarte T’Ky through its southern bank, near the spot where it receives, through the opposite bank, the Witte T’Ky, a stream of magnitude which issues from the Storm Mountains, and whose junction with it forms the T’Ky Eiver. The country we had traversed the last two days consists of smooth hills, thickly covered by a hard sour grass, and is much inferior to that situated between it and the colony ; on our left were the mountains that border the T’Ky ; on our right those that give rise to the Kyskamma and Kognie (Buffalo) Eivers. The country through which Mr. Stockenstrom travelled, and upon which he reported last year, contains the northern branches of the river T’Ky, which are produced by the Bamboos and Storm Mountains. That gentleman proceeded to the distance of a few miles east of the Zomo, which is a more considerable stream than the Witte T’Ky, and which also flows from the Storm Mountains. He informed me that the country is varied like that through which we had just passed, and that the most fertile part of it is near the Witte T’Ky. On the 9th we ascended a high point called Duyvels Kop, having, on our right, one yet higher ; they may be considered as the end of the Kaffer Mountains, properly so called ; and are, I think, about seventy miles in a straight line S.E. of Schaap Kraal. The view from Duyvels Kop to the eastward is very beautiful. Although the soil is inferior to that of the golden plains near Grey, Caledon, and Orange Eivers, yet the variety of grounds, the scattered mimosas that adorn the hills, and the more valuable yellow and other woods that are crowded together in the clefts and glens, 59 Records of the Cape Colony. render this country much more interesting. This day’s journey took seven hours, and we stopped at a spot called Bezuidenhout’s Kraal, at about twenty miles N.E. of which, the Zomo, whose source cannot be distant from that of Grey’s Biver, joins the T’Ky. The united streams flow in a direction nearly south to the sea. The river produced by their junction is still known among the colonists by the name of T’Ky, but is called Kyba by the Kaffers residing on its banks. We were surprised on the following morning by the appearance of six Kaffers. They told us that they were proceeding from Gyka, whom they had left the day before, to Opato, whom they expected to reach the next day. This is the Tambookie Chief whom Mr. Stockenstrom found unexpectedly a few miles east of the Zomo, where it appears that he usually resides. The messengers informed us that the object of their journey was to exchange copper chains for cattle. This barter is conducted in a very gallant manner. The messengers deliver the compliments of their Chief, and throw the chains round the necks of the favorite ladies. They ask nothing in return, but when they choose to terminate their visit, which was this time to last a week or ten days, they are presented with the supposed value of their gifts. The amount seems, however, to be perfectly well understood by both parties ; for they said that they should receive a cow for each chain. Three of these Kaffers were at Opato’s, for the same purpose, at the time of Mr. Stockenstrom’s visit to that Chief about 18 months before. After a march of three hours we passed the Kaboosie. This is a rivulet which flows from the end of the Kaffer Mountains east to the Kyba. It may be regarded as the continuation of the line of demarcation between Kaffraria and the country of the Bosjesmen, of which the part to the west is formed by the moun- tains in which it has its source. We encamped at three hours’ march S.E. of the Kaboosie. The next day we proceeded more eastwardly. Many parts of the country were observed in flames, which had been lighted by the Kaffers to clear the land of the old grass, in order to attract wild animals to the young shoots, which soon succeed. At the end of five hours we stopped at the edge of an immense chasm. Its depth must be nearly two hundred feet, and its sides are lined with fine schistus, and a variety of woods. From the bank on which we 60 Records of the Cape Colony. encamped, a stream of water falls into it, from which circumstance we gave it the name of Water Fall. As we were now within a few miles of the Kyba, on the opposite bank of which the Kaffers live with whom the refugees that we were in search of were said to reside, messengers were, on the 12th, sent forward to Hinsa, their principal chief, to inform him of the ostensible object of our journey, and to request his permission to proceed. In the meantime we moved on eastward to the river, where we arrived after a ride of two hours, at a ford whose bottom was composed of large stones, over which the water rolled with considerable rapidity. The river seemed to be, above and below the ford, about 100 yards in breadth. The heights by which it is bordered are so steep and rugged that it was deemed inadvisable to bring the waggons any farther, more especially as the distance we intended to proceed was inconsiderable. They were con- sequently conducted back to the place where we had slept the preceding night, to which we also returned. Wishing to employ the time necessary to receive Hinsa’s answer in visiting the mouth of the river, we set out for that purpose, but were forced to return before we had lost sight of our waggons, in consequence of Mr. Cowdery’s having unfortunately fallen from his horse and dislocated his shoulder. The messengers returned on the 14th with an invitation from Hinsa to proceed, and with four guides to conduct us to his residence. On the 15th we left our camp on horseback, to the number of twelve persons, and in three hours arrived at a ford, a few miles lower than that we had before seen. The approach to it was exceedingly picturesque. On the opposite bank, between precipices of schistus, almost concealed by trees or shrubs, is an opening where well wooded elevations cross each other and gradually rise in succession. In the midst is seated a Kaffer village, on whose skirts were browsing numbers of cattle, extended to the adjoining hills. A clear rivulet serpentises through them, and joins the Kyba. The weather was as fine as possible, and its calm- ness communicated to the waters had tempted four hippopotami to show their heads above the surface. A shot from one of the farmers’ large muskets interrupted the contemplation of this in- teresting scene. The ball struck one of these huge animals directly on the forehead, at the distance of thirty paces, but it served only Records of the Cape Colony. 61 to alarm him and his companions, and to drive them to a place of security. Having crossed the river and ascended the heights, we perceived below us on the left a small river called the Gooa, which is lost in the Kyba about half a mile above the ford. A little farther it is divided into two streams, forming a charming island of about a mile in circumference, which contained a few huts and some cattle. Con- tinuing our route, we passed through several villages, at one of which we stopped to procure mazee, or curdled milk. We were followed by a multitude of both sexes until our arrival, after three hours’ ride from the ford, at the residence of Bookoo, a brother of Hinsa, and his principal chief. His place consisted of three or four huts, standing near a wood and rivulet, which generally determine the site of kraals. He was seated on a mat, his side towards us, and having a few men also seated before him. After waiting a few minutes, during which he remained motionless, we approached him, and inquired whether Bookoo could be spoken with ? He then rose, and entered into conversation with us, asking the nature of our journey. He appeared to be about twenty-four years of age ; his countenance was rendered interesting by a good-humoured smile and a very fine set of teeth ; his figure was tall and elegant, hut, as well as his face, was rendered more like that of a Hottentot than a Kaffer, by being all over smeared with ochre. He wore no useful article of dress except a kaross made of a leopard skin, which was suspended on his neck and covered one shoulder ; one wrist was surrounded by copper wire, some beads hung from one ear, and others adorned an ancle. We presented him some trifles, which occupied his attention for more than an hour. In the meantime we retired to rest ourselves at a little distance, where we were joined by his two wives, their governante, and two attendants. Their dress consisted of a thin skin tied round the head as a handkerchief, from which projected a copper peak in the form of a comb ; a skin of greater strength was wound about the body with much neatness, but with so much modesty as, by its weight, necessarily to depress the breasts at an early period. Beads and other ornaments were worn by them, much in the same fashion as by the men. The ladies were extremely cheerful, hut on the approach of Bookoo, his wives retired to their huts. The chief stretched himself near us on the grass, and after 62 Records of the Cape Colony. making some observations on the presents, told us that a hut had been prepared for our residence, and that he had ordered a bullock to be killed for our use. We asked him many questions, among which was one inquiring the comparative rank of Hinsa and Gyka. He said that Hinsa was the first of the Aman Kozas (Kaffer people) and added with uplifted hands, “he is so great, that when Gyka, Zlambie, or any of the other chiefs want fat, they send to him for it.” He informed us that he (Bookoo) and Gyka sometimes visited, but that the latter and Hinsa had not yet paid their respects to each other. Some jealousy may perhaps exist about rank between them, for it appears that when there is superiority, there is also an etiquette to be attended to. Hinsa often comes to Bookoo, either to see or to consult him, but the latter never goes to the former, except when sent for. Although very ready to answer our inquiries upon other points, Bookoo declined giving any information upon political matters, which he said were entirely under the direction of Hinsa and his council. We endeavoured to learn his ideas of a supreme being and a future state. It was obvious that he had never before heard any mention of them, and he treated these subjects with so much levity that we immediately discontinued the conversation re- specting them. At night we retired to a hut made in the form of a bee-hive, about 14 feet in diameter, and 7 in height at the centre. It was supported by four posts, and had one aperture just large enough to admit a person stooping. We lighted a fire in the middle of it, and were soon favored with the company of many Kaffers of both sexes, who remained with us to a late hour, devouring the beef which our arrival had fortunately procured for them, and which they did not give us the trouble of tasting. We took leave of Bookoo early in the morning and ascended a hill, where we found one of his half brothers, named Osampa, seated on the ground in front of his hut, with his family standing behind him. He begged something, and having given him a few beads, we left him, and proceeded nearly S.E. through a country rather more rugged than that west of the Kyba, but rendered more pleasing by being inhabited and cultivated. We passed several kraals, at all of which we saw Kaffer or Indian corn, and, at some, plantations of tobacco and pumpkins. The stem of the Kaffer corn is sucked by the natives, in the same manner as the sugar cane by the Negroes of the West India Islands. The juice Records of the Cape Colony. 63 is not much less delicious, and would probably yield tolerable sugar. After a ride of six hours we arrived at Hinsa’ s residence, which, like that of Boolcoo, consisted only of the huts necessary for the accommodation of his family, and a spare one for strangers. That of the chief was larger and neater than any we had yet seen. Hinsa was not at home, but his mother received us with a hearty shake of the hand, a mode of salutation which she acknow- ledged to have learnt from previous visitors. This lady was one of the widows of Khouwta, the father of Hinsa, and sister of Odaba, late chief of the Tambookie nation. We saw two more good- natured looking sister widows, but our attention was most engaged by the young queen, the daughter of Kambouzee, also a Tambookie chief. Her handsome appearance was rendered more interesting by the attention with which she nursed an infant child. If she appears equally amiable in the eyes of her husband, it is perhaps only through custom that a couple of tumbies, the name here given to concubines, are attached to his household. Having taken some milk, which, according to their custom, was first tasted by the person who brought it to us, a few of us set out for the residence of the exiles. The ride to it resembled a progress through the finest English park, which, indeed, was the appearance of all the country we had seen east of the Kyba. This spot was, however, rendered particularly interesting by a view of the sea, to which we were descending. The distance being greater than we had expected, we did not reach the strand until near dark, when we arrived at a collection of huts, some built in the colonial, others in the Kaffer style. The first person that we saw was a white man, whose only covering was a ragged jacket and pair of breeches. He seemed much alarmed, and spoke in Dutch; but his accent soon discovered that he belonged to another country. We told him that we had not come to do him harm, but on the contrary, to offer his Majesty’s pardon to him and the other refugees in Kaffer Land, provided they would return, without delay, to the colony. This declaration restored the use of his mother tongue, and seemed to dispel his fears. He returned thanks, in English, for the favour ; and the history he told us of himself is as follows : — His name is Henry MacDaniel ; he was born in the county of Clare, where his father is an innkeeper, was irregularly enlisted early in last war, embarked for foreign service, was captured, kept G4 Records of the Cape Colony. four years in a French prison, for which time he has not received any pay, was exchanged, and sent out again with some recruits for the Cape, from whence he deserted a few months after his arrival. He evaded telling us his regiment, but added that he had lived some time with the farmers near Zwartkops Eiver, had gone from thence to Kafferland, in the hope of finding a passage to Ireland, had resided several months in Gyka’s territory, and had been nearly a year with one Loghenberg, a young Dutch farmer, and a few Hottentots and slaves, at the place where we found him. He said that Hinsa had treated them with great kindness, and lent them some milch cows, which, with the addition of fish, and a sea cow occasionally shot in the neighbouring rivers, insured them a subsistence. He further informed us that they had had another companion, who was known to them only by the name of Peter, but whom they conceived to be a deserter from the late Batavian garrison ; that he had quarrelled with, and left them, and, by the the last accounts they had received of him, was residing near the Bashee, at the kraal of Welhela, the uncle of Hinsa, from whence he did not think he would be induced to remove, as he wore the kaross and lived in every respect like a Kaffer. The shore here was lined with breakers, upon which the sea dashed with great violence. MacDaniel stated that he was well acquainted with the coast from the colony to the Bashee, in which there is no good landing place except at the Beeka. We supped on the usual fare of these people, which we pressed our Kaffer guide to partake of ; this he however declined, saying that his countrymen never eat any kind of fish, and that they drink the milk only of their own kraal. He, however, took share of our couch, which consisted of straw laid on the floor of the Irishman’s hut, on which the fatigue occasioned by our long ride enabled us to sleep very soundly, notwithstanding the noise of the ocean. The next morning we found, to our no small surprise, that the whole party had decamped. A couple of persons were sent to look for them on the hills, but they returned without finding them. One of the slaves, however, came and told us that they were lurking in the woods, at a short distance, and I sent him with a few lines, written with a pencil, assuring them of what they had been told the preceding evening, stating the obvious pacific nature of our visit, as we were only five persons, and all unarmed, and Records of the Cape Colony. 65 giving them the choice of returning with or after us to the colony. A Kaffer then came from them to say that they wished to see Bezuidenhout'(who had accompanied us) to learn the truth from him. He went, followed by the landdrost, but they found only Loghen- berg, who told them that they had been alarmed by our coming so late, and by their old acquaintance, Bezuidenhout, having never quitted us to speak alone with them. He assured them that he should come to us at Hinsa’s in the course of the day, provided he could find the Irishman, who had gone off with their horses. The Hottentots then came down to us, they were all women, who were living with the whites or slaves, by whom they mostly had children. On our return to Hinsa’s, we were told that he had come home that morning. About fifty men were seated before his hut ; he was not among them, but he soon came out, and approached and spoke to them in a very affable manner; they addressed him without rising, by a salutation, consisting of the words, “ Aan Hinsa,” the Kaffer manner of saluting a chief, the only person with whom they use that ceremony. He then came up to me and took me rather awkwardly by the hand ; I thanked him for having sent us guides, said that I hoped he had no objection to the exiles returning to the colony, requested that he would send to Graaff-Beinet any that might persist in remaining, as well as all others who might hereafter come in a similar manner into his territory, and promised him that the trouble should be amply recompensed. He replied that he must consult his advisers before he could give me an answer. I then retired, and sent him a present in the name, and as a token of the friendship, of the great chief of the Christians ; and he let me know that an ox should be slaughtered for the party. Hinsa has not the slightest natural resemblance to Bookoo, and they are rendered still more unlike by the former’s not using ochre, thereby preserving his dark colour. His person is tall and stout, his eyes are large, but directed to everything except to the person to whom he is speaking, and his whole manner indicated an absent and fidgetty disposition ; his dress did not differ from that of his vassals ; he is younger than Bookoo, but it was settled at his mother’s marriage that her children should succeed to the govern- ment in preference to those of the other wives, a circumstance that in no way disturbs the harmony of the brothers. The number of the ladies had been increased by some visitors since the preceding day ; they all came and sat by us except the VII. F 66 Records of the Cape Colony. young queen, and kept us in conversation until joined by Hinsa.' Half extended on the grass, reclining on one of his veterans and favorites, and holding by a string a dog which seemed to possess an equal share in his regard, the chief desired our interpreter to say that the exiles had come into his country as had been practised by other persons from the colony, to whom his territory was always open. They had pleaded great distress, and he had done every thing in his power to relieve them ; he was not aware that they had left their own country without the permission of their chief, whose wishes on this point he should be happy to attend to in future ; he further promised to send a messenger to them early the next morning, to inform them that he would not object to their return, and to recommend their immediate departure. 1 had been informed by one of the party which had first proceeded (I believe about the year 1780) in search of the people of the Grosvenor, Indiaman, that the dead bodies of several had been found at a place between the Kyba and Bashee rivers, and that circumstances had given strong reason to suppose that these unfortunate people had been murdered by the natives. I, therefore, earnestly requested Hinsa to afford protection to all persons who might hereafter be wrecked upon his coast, and to assist them in proceeding to the colony ; assuring him that such kindness would be liberally rewarded. He immediately assured me that every assistance should be given to such persons, if stranded near his residence ; but that Gyka must be spoken to for whatever might happen near him. The ladies continued present during this conversation, and seemed to take a great interest in it. A broil from the bullock that had just been killed was handed to each of the royal party. The scarcity of such food probably heightened its zest, for they devoured it with a voracity truly plebeian. The delicate hands of the ladies were a little sullied in consequence of the deficiency of table utensils, but their purity was quickly restored by a careful application of cowdung. This repast must be considered as a luncheon. At their regular meals, which are twice in the day, and consist mostly of a mixture of milk and corn, the whole kraal is assembled, but the men and women eat separately ; where there is a chief he has a distinct basket, in which none but those he invites can dip their spoons. We took advantage of this oppor- tunity and of every other afforded during our short stay, to obtain Records of the Cape Colony. 67 as much information as possible respecting these people and their neighbours. Except the interruptions occasioned by their fondness for dress and trifles, we found the greatest attention and readiness on their part to satisfy our curiosity. Although they sometimes gave rise to mirth, not the least dissatisfaction was ever expressed or suspicion evinced at our numerous inquiries ; they would sometimes question us in return, and among the customs that excited their surprise, the ladies seemed to think it most extra- ordinary that in our country women should generally pay for their husbands, instead of men paying for their wives, as is the Kaffer practice. Not many years since, Hinsa’s people resided on the right bank of the Kyba, where traces of his kraals still exist. An unsuccessful war with Gyka forced him to abandon that country, which he now uses only for the purpose of hunting. I asked him whether he would object to Gyka or Zlambie removing to it. He answered without the slightest hesitation that if either should come there, he would risk every thing to drive him back im- mediately, certain that sooner or later a war must be the conse- quence of his vicinity. On making the same inquiry with regard to Konga, he replied that it would afford him great pleasure to have that chief near him, as he was properly one of his own people, and they were on the most friendly terms; but added that he thought the others would not allow him to pass them un- molested. Hinsa, and those about him, seemed particularly to dislike Gyka. The country now occupied by Hinsa’s people is situated near the sea, between the Kyba and the Bashee, rivers of equal magni- tude, and distant about forty miles from each other. In addition to the Gooa, the branch of the Kyba already mentioned, several more small streams serpentise through this fine tract, among which the Koho at a short distance east of Hinsa’s residence, which is situated in the middle of his territory, and the Jujugha, a few miles beyond the Koho, are most deserving of notice. As the Kaffers are themselves unacquainted with their popula- tion, it is impossible for a stranger to know it. We guessed, however, that this tribe might consist altogether of about ten thousand souls. They are all under the absolute controul of Hinsa, but divided among a number of subordinate chiefs. Of these the principal are Bookoo, already noticed ; two uncles of Hinsa, F 2 68 Records of the Cape Colony. named Welhela and Odessa, and his cousins Ootelanie, Osampa, Onoperte, Oorookonie, Oobonie, Ofadana, Oonamba, and Omalacbe. It is not less difficult to form an estimate of the numbers of their cattle, than respecting their population ; I think it however probable that they may exceed twenty thousand. None but oxen had their horns turned in the Kaffer fashion, cattle of the mixed European breed having colonial marks had been observed by us in the different kraals, two horses belonging to Hinsa were also seen with those of the refugees. I mentioned to that chief, that, as his people conducted themselves so properly, he was probably not aware that the Kaffers near the colony acted sometimes very differently, and that I had reason to think that the cattle stolen by them from the farmers were often sent to more distant kraals, to be exchanged for others, in order that the proprietors should not be enabled to discover them. I begged he would therefore direct his people not to receive any but Kaffer cattle in exchange ; this he promised, but as on the one hand he and his people would thereby be deprived of some advantageous bargains, while he has nothing to fear or expect on the other hand, I am apprehensive that this trade, so injurious to the colony, will be continued. Some connoisseurs prefer the Kaffer breed of cattle to the colonial. It is remarkable that the latter should also be excelled by that of the Nam aqua people. The Kaffers, however, prefer the colonial cattle to their own. The attachment of the farmers to the long horned race will protract any improvement in the breed. We had understood that the nearest Tambookie kraal was only a day’s journey from that of Hinsa, and had, therefore, intended to visit it ; but having learnt from him, and others, that it would require two days to reach it, and our horses being much fatigued, we relinquished the idea, the more readily as we were favoured with the following account of that people. Opato, chief of the Tambookie kraal a little east of the Zomo, has already been mentioned. It would appear that he has not been long in that part of the country. He acknowledged to Mr. Stockenstrom, that it does not belong to him, that he had never passed the Zomo, and that he had come so near it only because he had found the place uninhabited ; he, however, confessed at the same time that he was on such bad terms with his king as to render it dangerous for his people to go to his residence ; but offered to provide guides to the next chief. This Records of the Cape Colony. G9 cause might have operated as powerfully as the one he himself assigned for his removal so far westward. The Zomo is said to be about forty miles from the Bashee, and about the same distance from the sea. The kraal which we had intended to visit is com- manded by a chief named Wakyna. It is situated about N.E. and, as already stated, at two short days’ journey from Hinsa’s residence, and is on this side of the Bashee, but close to it. Near it, on the opposite bank of that river, is the residence of Ooroosanee, chief of the Tambookie, or rather, according to their own appella- tion, of the Temboo, or Tengain nation. Being a minor, the government is under the direction of his uncle Ochacho. A few days’ journey farther is the chief Ivamboo- see, whose daughter is married to Hinsa, and whose people are sometimes called Mambookees, and at a considerable distance from him, beyond a great river called the Omsimfooboo, is a tribe called Manduanas, under a chief named Ofooboo. Until far beyond the Bashee, the Tambookies do not live near the sea. Their subjection to one chief is probably more nominal than real, for they are said frequently to make war on each other, and have been repeatedly reconciled through the mediation of Hinsa, and of his father, with whom they have always been at peace, and whose people and theirs often mix on hunting parties, and have otherwise constant intercourse. The Manduanas are represented as the most warlike tribe. The Tambookies are said to be in every respect the same people as the Kaffers, except that they approach rather more to the appearance of the negro, which is probably occasioned by their being farther removed from the Ghonaquas and other Hottentots. Some change is also said to be found in the language, from Kam- boosee’s people inclusive to the northward. It is not more easy to form a judgment of their numbers than of those of the Kaffers. Like the latter their strength has been probably overrated. It is supposed that most of Opato’s people had assembled to see the waggons, as they had never before beheld any, and they did not exceed one hundred and fifty men. The united kraals of the Tambookie people do not probably exceed a few thousand souls. The trade carried on between Gyka and the southern kraals has already been noticed ; those more to the north are said to receive iron and copper from a people beyond them, probably from those of Bio de la Goa, who are occasionally provided with those articles 70 Records of the Cape Colony. by ships of various nations, in exchange for gold dust, ivory, and provisions. Some time after the departure of Hinsa’s messenger to the refugees, Bezuidenhout was again dispatched to know their intentions, and was directed to meet us at our camp. Shortly afterwards the Kaffer sent to them by Hinsa returned, and informed us that he had been at their kraal, from whence they had all gone away, and taken off the cattle and moveables. After presenting the ladies and members of the council with some trifles, on the 18th we took leave of Hinsa; he was kind enough again to provide us with guides, whom we directed to conduct us to the mouth of the Kyba, in the way to the waggons. The country through which we passed on our return was similar to that we had before seen, well wooded, well watered, extremely beautiful and capable of producing most of the conveniences and luxuries of life. Several kraals, consisting of from two to fifteen huts, were seen, from which the people issued on our approach, crying, “ naysela incosee ” (pray give me, Sir) and many of them followed us for miles, repeating these words. Keeping for some time within sight of the sea, we arrived in the evening at a kraal where we found an assemblage of more than two hundred head of cattle, but not a human being ; after waiting some time, a boy of about eight years of age crept out of the bushes, and came up to one of the guides whose voice he had recognized. His master resided at a distance of two or three miles, and this little creature had every night the charge of the herds, which indeed are so well trained in this country as to be capable of taking care of them- selves. This incident is sufficient to show the security of person and property under Hinsa’s government ; it does not, however, proceed from severity in punishing crimes, for no person has ever been condemned by him to suffer capital punishment. We proceeded on early the next morning, and when we thought we should arrive at the mouth of the river, we perceived the village near the ford, which we had crossed some days before, the guides had misunderstood us, or rather, affected to have done so. Thus twice disappointed in this attempt, we gave it up entirely. We found Bezuidenhout on the other side of the ford, which he had been enabled to reach before us by travelling all night. The exiles were preparing to come to see us at Hinsa’s when he arrived at their residence, and although he told them that we Records of the Cape Colony. 71 intended to set off the same morning, they came there immediately in the hope of finding us ; Hinsa told them publicly that the road would be open to them whenever they might wish to return to the colony. His messenger had not, however, gone to their place, and the story of their flight with their cattle and moveables was consequently an invention, if not of the chief, probably of his council. McDaniel and Loghenberg desired Bezuidenhout to assure me that they should return as soon as a Hottentot servant, who was then confined by sickness, was sufficiently recovered to be enabled to undertake the journey ; but the slaves having mentioned that they were apprehensive of again exposing themselves to the cruelty they stated that they had previously experienced from their masters, I wrote a second note, directing that the whole party should report themselves to the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, on their return to the colony, and promising that if any instance of bad treatment could be proved by the slaves against their masters, they should be sold to others ; but limiting the period of their return to six weeks. During our absence from the en- campment, it had been daily visited by Kaffers belonging to Zlambie, Gyka, and Hinsa, who were passing from one country to the other, generally with cattle. The people who had not accompanied us had employed themselves in shooting hippopotami in the Kyba. As these extraordinary creatures are generally found in the deepest parts of rivers, there is seldom an opportunity afforded of shooting them, otherwise than through the head, which it has already appeared is not every where vulnerable ; when mortally wounded, they sink, and sometimes do not appear on the surface for a day or two afterwards. The farmers had killed thirteen, but had got only nine, of which we procured two heads. The skins were manufactured into sambocks, and the flesh was cut off while the animals were in the water, for their immense bulk would have rendered it extremely difficult to draw them out. The meat gave employment for several days to the oxen, not only of the Boers, but likewise of the neighbouring Kaffers, who are as fond of it as the Bosjesmen, and have not less difficulty in procuring it. A small kraal of the latter people, commanded by one Windvogel, came likewise to receive their share ; this man lived formerly nearer to the colony, and committed great depredations on the 72 Records of the Cape Colony. farmers; but Lynx and some more of his associates having deserted him, he retired to a greater distance, and now lives, according to his statement, under the protection of Hinsa, at about midway between the confluence of the Zomo and Kyba rivers and the sea. We left our station at Water Fall on the 20th, and encamped again at that which we had occupied on the 11th. The next morning messengers were dispatched to Gyka, to request per- mission to proceed to his residence, and we proceeded during two hours along the road we had come from Tarka. The Devil’s Head bore N.W., about twenty miles from us, and we could per- ceive the high chain of mountains of which it is the termination, running in a direction of nearly west. A lower range lies between them and the sea, and running for some distance more southwardly, obliged us to turn off to the left, in order to arrive at Gyka residence. After proceeding about three hours longer, we arrived at a place called Buys Kraal, remarkable for a number of woody kloofs meeting there, and producing a stream, which, after run- ning a few miles, receives another, and then under the name of Kahoona, proceeds to the sea. We were employed nearly four hours on the morning of the 21st in crossing a succession of hills and hollows, more wooded than any part of the country we had yet seen. We were repeatedly stopped during a consider- able time to make passages for the waggons ; but this delay was amply compensated by the view of a fine, though deserted country. The road opened afterwards during a couple of hours, but on arriving at the first branch of the Kognie (called by the colonists Buffalo) river, we again came among bushes, very thickly planted, and rendered still more difficult by a quantity of underwood ; having forced our way to the second branch, which is about half a mile from the first, we encamped half a mile farther, near the third branch, and not far from a de- serted kraal. The following morning we crossed the third branch, and a mile farther, a fourth one. Understanding that their junction took place at a little distance, we left the waggons to see it, and after penetrating through the bushes, we found a stream of only a dozen yards in breadth, which, however, is said to widen to thirty or forty before it falls into the sea. Having again got into the waggon track, we continued to proceed about W.S.W. 73 Records of the Cape Colony. along the feet of the lower mountains (which are thickly covered with various kinds of trees) through a country rather open ; but which, from its extreme ruggedness, is exceedingly unpleasant to ride over. On our way we crossed the Guacovi, a small stream, near which we saw another abandoned kraal. Our waggons travelled this day about six hours, exclusive of the necessary halts to prepare passages through the rivulets and kloofs. We stopped for the night at a pass, a little south of which Gyka lived before he was deserted by Zlambie, who, prior to that event, occupied the country we had this day traversed. The messengers that had been sent to Gyka met us here, and informed us that the farmers who had been directed to come from Agter Bruintjes Hoogte and Zwagers Hoek to accompany us to Zuurveld, had been two days waiting near his residence. We continued our route on the 24th, and in order to save a day’s journey, determined to cross part of the mountains. In three hours’ time we arrived at the Kysee, better known to the colonists by the name of Keiskama, here a small stream, but afterwards one of the most considerable in Kafferland. From thence we were obliged to open a way through a country never before passed by waggons ; and in the evening we joined our new party at a place appointed by Gyka for their encampment, and about a mile from his kraal. The next day our former party set out for Baviaan’s River, where they expected to arrive in three days, and from whence it would require as many more to reach their respective homes. Having sent to inform Gyka of our arrival, he let us know that he should wait on us as soon as joined by his uncle Jaloosa, whom he had sent for. About midday his approach was announced. He was in the centre of an irregular line of about a hundred men, who advanced with a slow pace and halted at thirty yards from our encampment. Having gone to meet him, he came forward with his interpreter and another person, whom we afterwards learnt was his brother-in-law. The remainder of his retinue, and those persons who had come to us before his arrival, seated themselves at a respectful distance. Some compliments were exchanged, in which he bore his part without embarrassment or affectation. The presents were then produced, and I delivered them to him as a mark of the friendship and approbation of the great chief of the 74 * Records of the Cape Colony. Christians. His figure is well proportioned, his countenance manly and intelligent. Although without any article whatever of dress, except a tiger skin and a necklace, he had hitherto appeared with dignity, but on perceiving the trifles, the chief was forgotten. He called a few favorites to share in his delight, which was manifested by a loud laugh at every new object that presented itself. Having concluded the inspection, he inquired whether I had not brought him clothes. I told him that I had understood he had received a suit at Major Cuyler’s last visit ; but on his observing that the holes in his kaross pleaded for another, I promised to send him one. We then retired to a tent, w?hich was soon filled by his chiefs and confidential people. He said that he had been long expecting me, had learnt that I had been with Hinsa, and hoped I had brought good news, both from him and from the colony. I replied that the object of my journey to Hinsa was to claim some persons belonging to the colony, and that I had also to request of him that he would give up any persons of that de- scription who might be in his territory, that in addition to the assurance of friendship which I had already conveyed to him, I had to say that it was wished that none of his people should go to the colony, unless sent with a token by him on business ; as the multitudes that had been in the habit of visiting it for the purpose of begging, and sometimes of stealing, had become so great a nuisance to the inhabitants as to be any longer insupportable. He replied that he was not aware of any refugees being in his kraals, but that the veld cornets might make inquiries on that head. He was sorry it had been found necessary to inter- rupt the intercourse of his people with the colonists, but hoped that he himself might be regarded as an exception, and that in consequence of the losses he had sustained in his late war with Zlambie, he had intended to go round the farms to com- plete the number of cattle necessary to pay for a Tambookie wife whom he expected, the daughter of Ochacho. On inquiring the number he required for that purpose, he said twenty ; I then told him that the more elevated his station, the more necessary was it for him to give the example of propriety ; that there would be no objection to his proceeding with a few men to either of the neighbouring landdrosts, or even to the Cape, but Records of the Cape Colony. 75 that he could not be permitted to beg from the inhabitants, that they should, however, receive him with hospitality on his way, and that, as a further mark of the interest my great chief took in his happiness, if his visit were made directly to the landdrost of Graaff-Reinet, he should receive the number of cattle he had stated. I then said that I had been further directed to inform him that as soon as the differences between the Kaffer people were terminated, and they were all peaceably residing as formerly beyond the Great Fish River, it was the intention of the colonial government to give directions for their being annually supplied with such things as they might want, in exchange for cattle and ivory, and I pointed out the great advantage they would derive from afterwards sending those things to more distant countries. Gyka’s whole stock of cattle is said to be reduced to ten cows and a very few oxen. This may account for his receiving my last communication with seeming indifference. He merely observed that if the trade were not opened until the removal of the Kaffers to their own country, unless the colony would under- take the task of expelling them, he was apprehensive that he should not live to enjoy its benefits. I inquired why he had changed his residence from the place where he used to live at the time when he obtained the sovereignty ? He seemed surprised at the question, but answered that the whole country from the Kyba to the colony, as well as the country of the Bosjesmen, belonged to him. He, however, acknowledged Hinsa to be his superior chief. I asked whether Konga belonged to him or to Hinsa ? He replied, to whichsoever he may reside with. I said I had been told that Konga wished to take his people to Hinsa’s country, but was afraid to pass through his (Gyka’s) territory. He assured me that there was not the least truth in the report, as he and Konga had never had the slightest difference.- He remained with us until evening, having received a couple of sheep for himself, and one for each of his chiefs. We also sent him dinner, and complied with his numerous requisitions for wine and brandy. He offered to kill a bullock for our use, which we begged to decline, in consequence of his having so few. We wished to see his residence, and told him that we should return his visit the next morning. He made no objection. 76 Records of the Cajpe Colony . and we were therefore surprised at his appearing with a few attendants in our camp, soon after sunrise. He said his wife would soon follow, and requested that she might also have a present. She came shortly after, with four attendants, two of them Tumbees, and one the wife of Sonslo, a son of Zlambie, who had lately come over with only one attendant. We gave the queen a few presents for herself, and some for Gyka’s mother, who, he said, had some time before gone on a visit to her relations among the Tambookies, but who, as we afterwards learnt, had left him secretly, in consequence of his repeated refusal to permit her to return to her own country. The wife seemed to be on the best terms with the mistresses, although they probably enjoyed the advantages resulting from a superiority in personal charms. Gyka had had two other wives, one of them is dead, and the other having been detected in adultery with a man, who was punished with death by Gyka’s own hand for it, escaped to her family among Hinsa’s people, who were obliged to pay double the number of cattle given for her in marriage, before she was permitted to take another husband. Although adultery is regarded in such a serious light when the honor of a chief is concerned, yet when committed by persons of an inferior station, it is seldom punished otherwise than by fine or the separation of the parties. The crime is only on the side of the female, for a married man is merely expected to avoid intercourse with the wife, or acknowledged mistress, of another. The payment of cattle constitutes marriage. When a man wishes to take a lawful wife, he sends a certain number to the father; if the proposal should be rejected, the cattle are im- mediately returned; but if the parents are favorably disposed towards the suitor, they are received. The bride is seldom given up, however, until the number she is estimated at are delivered, and the lover must send from time to time, until the father’s cupidity is satisfied. This, however, is not suffered to be carried beyond bounds. A chief seldom marries the daughter of a vassal, but generally purchases wives from the Tambookies, for each of which he pays perhaps from thirty to fifty cows ; a common man seldoms pays more than eight or ten, and always marries a fellow subject ; wives in this, as I believe in all uncivilized countries, are treated more like slaves by their husbands. Records of the Cape Colony. 'll Some chiefs send their daughters to procure husbands among the Tambookies, the latter people are said to be not at all anxious to obtain this honor; yet it is considered as a national affair not only to provide a suitable match for such a visitor, but also to oblige the unexpected bridegroom to send a certain number of cattle to the father, in proportion to the greatness of the lady’s suite. Cattle are never given for a Tumbee, but her father or brother is supplied with assagays by her keeper. Chastity is no virtue among the Kaffers ; the wife is often forced to be not only the purveyor, but even the witness of her husband’s pleasures. A girl is scarcely arrived at the age of puberty when her parents may see her torn from their fireside by any ruffian who may happen to take a fancy to her, and who may thrust her the next moment from his door, without any other consequence than in the event of pregnancy, when he must choose between marriage or pecuniary reparation. A young woman generally goes the round of the village before the protection of a husband is afforded her against such embraces as she is unwilling to admit. The daughters only of chiefs are exempted from this rule, and they prostitute themselves only in compliance with their inclinations. We were much surprised by the appearance of several youths whitened with chalk. On inquiring the cause of this extra- ordinary custom, we were told that they had lately been circum- cised, and that they were to be thus distinguished until cured ; they seemed to be about the age of from twelve to fifteen years. The camp was soon crowded with Kaffers, and after some time Gyka requested another conference. He began by saying that as Jaloosa, who had been prevented attending the preceding day, was now present, he would open himself more fully. After inquiring whether my visit had no other motive than what I had mentioned, he said that he was in daily expectation of a renewal of hostilities with his old enemies, and wished to know whether he might hope for co-operation from the colony, in forcing them over the boundary. I replied that government had been informed that those people preferred the country east of the Great Fish River to their present abode, and that they were prevented in returning to it in consequence only of an apprehension of receiving ill-treatment from him. That these 78 Records of the Cape Colony. fears were occasioned by the tyranny which was stated to have caused the desertion of Zlambie, and by his subsequent conduct to Habana and others, who had trusted to the promises he had made to General Janssens of receiving them with kindness. He acknowledged to have taken some of Habana’s cattle after his return to the Keiskama ; but said that it had been done in consequence of his having learnt that that chief had secretly sent a great number of them in small parties to Zuurveld, and that he meant himself shortly to follow. He added that he was unfortunate in being disliked by most of the Kaffers, and enumerated many causes for which he said he was blameless. Among others, he stated that, when a child, the great Khouwta had visited his uncle Zlambie, and had inquired for the son of the late chief Omlao. That having been pointed out, a rich chain was placed around his neck, investing him with the sovereignty of his father’s territories ; that having arrived at manhood, he had been obliged to assert his rights by force of arms ; that he had subdued and captured Zlambie, had un- bound his fetters and restored a great proportion of his vassals ; but that advantage had been taken of this generosity to excite an insurrection among his people, on pretence of his taking posses- sion of the cattle of deceased rich subjects, as had ever been, and still continues the practice of all the Kaffer chiefs, even of Zlambie himself; he concluded by saying that the fear of him was only a pretext, and that the Kaffers would never leave the Colony, unless forced to do so. I inquired whether there was any truth in a report which stated that he intended to retire more to the eastward ? He replied that his enemies wished to drive him there, but that he had been born and appointed to govern the country where he now resided, and that he would rather lose his life than the possession of it. I recommended that he should use every means to regain the affections and confidence of his people, and that he should receive with particular kindness all those who might return to him from the colony, stating my conviction of his shortly experiencing the most beneficial results from such a mode of proceeding. While Gyka was present, he exclusively carried on the con- versation. A servant having come into the tent to say that Records of the Cape Colony. 79 his handkerchief had been found under the kaross of a Kaffer, Gyka went out, but took no other notice of the transaction than desiring the servant to take more care of his things, and ordering his people away from the waggons. While he was absent, Jaloosa asked whether after a couple of years had elapsed, and the Kaffers were quiet, they might not again visit the farmers ? I replied that we should see what could then be done; but I could assure him, at all events, that it was the particular wish of the colonial government to treat all the Kaffers as kindly as possible. On Gyka’s return, I observed I supposed he was aware that authority had been given to shoot such Kaffers as might be detected in the act of stealing, and could not be made prisoners. He said that he was not, and having mentioned the subject to his chiefs, observed it would be better that the culprits should be taken. I assured him that it should be done, if possible, but that otherwise they would be shot. Nothing more was said upon the subject. Gyka was well qualified to give information about his nation ; but he seemed to receive my questions with suspicion, and his people evinced a degree of caution in replying to them very different from what I had experienced from those of Hinsa. On making the same inquiries of different persons relative to then- population, &c., different answers were given, and it was con- sequently found impossible to form any just estimate on those points. I shall, however, give the most probable accounts I received. Gyka’s people now inhabit a few square miles, comprising the sources of the Keiskama, one of which is the Aha, the rivulet where he himself resides. With the exception of this small portion of land, and two or three straggling huts near the Kat Kiver, the whole tract of country from the Kyba to the Great Fish Eiver, containing an area of about one hundred miles by fifty, is said to be totally uninhabited. The number of his vassals was much reduced by the desertion of Zlambie, but suffered a great diminution by another in- surrection of his people, immediately followed by the late war with his uncle, who then acquired a very considerable accession to his strength. In addition to what may be denominated his personal vassals, Gyka was joined about five years ago by 80 Records of the Cape Colony. Jaloosa, and since then by two more principal chiefs, Foona, with his brothers or nephews Botma, Anguela, Diepa, Koni, and Koobashie, who came to Gyka just before the termination of his late war, and Kyno formerly known by the name of Maloo, who has joined him with his brothers Galeba and Kaza, since its termination. I shall submit the statements given to me of the respective strength of these chiefs without answering for their accuracy. Gyka, ......... 900 Jaloosa, (he has a brother named Guibee, residing with him) 200 Kyno, ......... 200 Foona, ......... 70 Under rBotma, ......... 40 Foona, (Anguela, ......... 30 Oovongo, ......... 40 The last chief is a cousin of Gyka, and together with Fezla, the eldest son of Jaloosa, to whom he is much attached, resides at his own kraal. There are many other chieftains under Gyka, some of whom may have from one to ten vassals each, while others have none whatever, except perhaps a servant lent by a relation, from whom they sometimes gain a subsistence by assisting in the care of his cattle. I have heard the names of Bookoo, Anesoa, Boolanie, Onchaba, Shooshoo, Joko, Kozana, Bontzee. Their numbers may complete Gyka’s whole force to about fifteen hundred men. Most of Foona’s cattle had escaped the enemy, but the people of this chief only, and those of Kyno, who is said to be a great marauder, have much cattle. Gyka and Jaloosa were left com- pletely destitute, and several of their children are stated to have perished of want. The latter has since obtained some cattle from the Zuurveld chiefs, according to the custom of the Kaffers on the conclusion of hostilities, but Gyka disdained to relieve his distresses by begging from such bitter enemies, although he is often forced to solicit relief from his own subjects. In the evening my interpreter came to say that Gyka had told him “ he wished to strengthen his friendship with the Christians, and to come nearer to the colony. That the favors which they had almost exclusively bestowed on him had made every Kaffer his enemy. That he could not trust even his Records of the Cape Colony. 81 interpreter, and therefore wished to converse through mine on these subjects.” I desired he should be informed that I was ready to attend to him, and he came shortly afterwards into my tent, but with his own interpreter, and to speak about trifles. On the morning of the 27th, as we were preparing to depart, Gyka came on horseback to ask for a small present which I had promised to give him before we took leave. He was exceedingly importunate for many things that I could not possibly supply him with, among which were horses and fire-arms. It was amusing to observe the earnestness with which he dwelt on a promise that he stated had been made to him by Coenraad de Buys, when an exile in his country, of bestowing his daughter on him in marriage when arrived at maturity. He had already made this circumstance known to me by a messenger whom he had sent to Swager’s Hoek. I told him that it was now impossible that his wishes could be gratified, as I understood the lady had already given her hand to another, an inhabitant of the colony. This in - telligence was very unwelcome to him. He said he had been deceived, that his was a prior claim, that they had been betrothed, and he insinuated that she ought to be compelled to fulfil her first engagement. The veld cornets had recovered some stolen cattle, a few of which had been sent over by the Zuurveld Kaffers ; but they had heard of a lot of fifteen which they had been disappointed in obtaining. Having mentioned this circumstance to Gyka, he said they must settle that business with Jaloosa, in one of whose kraals the cattle were stated to have been seen. His answer having been reported to me, I told him that the Christians had always regarded him as having absolute control over all the chieftains residing near him, and adverting to the event just mentioned, I requested that he would inform me whether we were to apply to Mm or to them on such occasions. He replied that it was not with the Kaffers as with the Christians, that if he should send to a chief on the subject of stolen cattle, it would be supposed that he meant to do him harm, and that it would be better if the veld cornets were themselves to speak to Jaloosa. Having inquired the punishment for theft, and whether it was on all occasions inflicted by his order, he answered that there was no other than fine, and that the penalty VII. G 82 Records of the Cafe Colony. was always levied by the culprit’s own chief. I observed that Zlambie was known to have punished this crime with death ; he calmly asked whether the people of Zlambie’s chieftains had since abstained from stealing ? I admitted that they had not, but mentioned that they had probably stolen less than if such mis- conduct had not been severely noticed. He said I was much mistaken, for that the subordinate chief must feel hurt at such an incident, and would encourage his people to steal the more, without Zlambie being able to prevent it. He, however, promised to use his best endeavours on all occasions for the recovery of cattle stolen by his people from the Christians, and also to collect whatever slaves and Hottentots there might be in his territory, and either to send them to the colony, or to give them over to the first veld cornet that might come to his kraals. Having dispatched a veld cornet to Jaloosa, we took a friendly leave of Gyka, and proceeded on our journey. It had been our intention to proceed to Zuurveld by the mouth of the Great Fish Eiver, and on that account the farmers from Agter Bruin tjes Hoogte had been ordered to meet us at Gyka’s residence. But we now understood that in consequence of long disuse the roads had become bad, and that the journey would be lengthened two days by going that route. By taking the inhabited part of the colony in our way, a chance was also afforded of receiving dispatches that had been long, expected, and which it was supposed might materially concern our future proceedings. In two hours and a half we arrived at the Comee, a branch of the Keiskama. It is an inconsiderable stream, but of such high banks as to delay us a long time, to put double teams to the waggons. While we were waiting for their passage, a Ghonaqua arrived with two Kaffers as messengers from Gyka, they informed us that some Kaffers had come from Zuurveld immediately after our departure, and had stated that Zlambie’s people were getting together, appre- hending an attack from the colony in conjunction with Gyka. They were directed to recommend that we should not trust ourselves among Kaffers, whom he knew better than we, or that we should at least make a considerable addition to our force. He had further desired them to say that he should send immediate notice of any hostility that he might learn to be intended against the colony by the Kaffers of the Zuurveld. Records of the Cape Colony. 83 Gyka had expressed his fears on this head very strongly the evening before our departure, but I conceived that his advice and remonstrances were the effect of his jealousy at the honor and advantage which Zlambie would derive from our visit. I desired the messengers to thank their chief for his friendly intimation ; but to say at the same time that I could not suppose that Zlambie would injure men who went to him in an amicable manner, more especially as he must know that such conduct would cause the entire destruction of him and his people. The Ghonaqua informed us that there was a considerable number of his nation residing in Kaffer kraals, and that there were three distinct kraals of them, in all about thirty men, situated a little lower on the Comee, who were mostly Anguela’s people. He added that Gyka had expressed his intention to place them at the Kat River, as soon as perfect tranquillity was restored among the Kaffers, in order to inform him of the approach of strangers, and to forward messages to and from the colony. The poor Gona pleaded with all the gestures of theatrical representation to be exempted from the prohibition against intruders into the colony. He had never stolen from the Christians, nor in any way injured them ; but he had sometimes gone among them to beg a dog, which he valued more than an ox. His eloquence obtained a sheep and a few beads, together with a promise that if he would bring Gyka’s next message to the colony, he should be provided with one of his favourite animals, and he left us perfectly contented. We continued our journey through a country interspersed with mimosas having larger thorns than those we had seen to the eastward, and consequently growing on a soil producing sweeter grass. In two hours more we encamped at a rivulet called the Monkyro, where we perceived a few Kaffer huts. They had been occupied by a family, by which they had been deserted on the approach of the farmers who had come to meet us. In the evening the veld cornet who had been sent to Jaloosa returned. That chief had dispatched a person in search of the Kaffer who had given information respecting the stolen cattle, but who could not be found. Jaloosa promised that, when apprehended, he should be punished with death, if he would not discover them. The veld cornet not trusting, however, to this assurance, went to Gyka to request that he would take care G 2 84 Records of the Cape Colony. that proper search were made and the cattle sent to the colony. This Gyka declined, saying that if the cattle were found Jaloosa would himself send them to the proprietors. The next day we proceeded on towards Kat Eiver, where we arrived in two hours. Its breadth is here from fifteen to twenty yards, but it is said to increase on its approach to the Great Fish Eiver, where it finds a very rugged country. From Kat Eiver we arrived in two hours at Kookooha, the dry bed of a periodical stream, and in two hours more' we reached another called Koroomo, which falls into the Konaba, and then contained some water. Besides mimosas, the country which we had traversed this day contains a quantity of other small woods. There were several fine yellow- wood trees growing on the banks of the Koroomo. We had been proceeding nearly W.N.W. in the direction of the mountains, or rather of a line drawn along their projections, since we left the Aha rivulet. On the 29th, after proceeding nearly due west for three hours and a half, we arrived at the Konaba Eiver. It was more rapid and rather broader than the Kat Eiver, but we were told that the mouth of the other is of greater magnitude than that of the latter. We could hence perceive Winterberg towering above the Kaffer mountains. Two sources of the Konaba are produced by it ; another source, called the Kowie, comes from the continuation of the Kaffer mountains more westwardly ; and a fourth is produced from what is called the Kat Eiver mountain, which was also visible above the others. These sources, of which the two produced by Winterberg are said to be the principal and to flow most directly, join at the southern side of the Kaffer mountains, which are here covered with the most valuable timber. In four hours we arrived at the Kaka Eiver, which comes from the mountain of that name, and falls into the Konaba. Two hours afterwards we reached Plattehuis, a place so called from a small hut erected there about twenty years since, when the farmers of Agter Bruintjes Hoogte were permitted to remain there during an extraordinary dry season. The next day we turned more to the south, and after marching six hours, we arrived on the highest part of the hills on the left bank of the Great Fish Eiver. Towards the rear we over- looked the country that we had traversed this and the preceding Records of the Cape Colony. 85 day, consisting of extensive plains, rich in pasturage, but un- adorned by arboreous plants. In our front was a double range of mountains, called Zuurberg and Eietberg, which concealed the Zuureveld from our view. We now began to descend the slope to the river, which we reached after a march of two hours through bushes. Some rain had fallen the day before, and the river was much swollen. This added much to the difficulty that the large loose stones which line its bottom must always oppose to a passage. The river might be here about thirty yards in breadth, and was thickly lined with willows. On the opposite bank we found a deserted farm, situated at the distance of about two hours’ ride from the junction of the two Fish rivers. We were now approaching the Zuurveld, and it became necessary to consider the mode of proceeding through it. Some of the Kaffers residing in that district had lately been heard to use very threatening expressions, and the colonists seemed mostly to entertain the same ideas as Gyka had expressed re- specting the treatment we might experience from them. I felt it my duty, therefore, to place as few people as possible in the power of those savages, and requesting my companions would go round with the waggons, prepared to proceed myself on horse- back. Two Kaffers had been some days waiting for us at Agter Bruin tjes Hoogte. They said that they had been sent by Zlambie to inquire the cause of the warlike preparations which he under- stood that the colonists were making against him. They informed us, among other things, that Zlambie and Kassa were on bad terms in consequence of the latter’s robbing the Christians. One of these messengers bore a breastplate as a badge of office. On the 1st of April I left the waggons accompanied by twenty men, the farmers not caring to go with a less number. In an hour we arrived at the Little Fish Biver, where eleven families of the farmers who had lately left the Zuurveld were collected together under their veld comet, having other divisions above and below the stream. I advised them to return to their places, telling them that I should stipulate with Zlambie to prevent their tranquillity being in future disturbed. They seemed much averse to going back, none more so than the veld cornet, who had some time before written a letter declaring his conviction 86 Records of the Cape Colony. that I should expose myself to the greatest danger by going to that part of the country. After passing through a bushy country to Comandakka, we arrived at the Zoute Kloof, about eight miles from the Little Fish Eiver. Twelve miles farther we passed the Zwarte Water. We afterwards crossed the Zuureberg, which was here perfectly smooth and naked, but is in many other parts extremely rough and wooded. We halted at the distance of about twenty miles from Zwarte Water, at a place called Zoetendaal Fontein, where we stopped for the night. In the course of this day we had seen a few small parties of hunting Kaffers, but no kraal. In the night some passed us with cattle, which they said they were taking to Gyka’s country. The next morning we sent on a messenger to apprise Zlambie of our intended visit, and following slowly, we met some Kaffers on their march. The women shared the labour of carrying the baggage with the oxen, which had mats and other things affixed to their horns. This party was commanded by Gweeshee, the eldest son of Zlambie, he seemed to be about twenty-five years of age, had an active form, and prepossessing manners. He told us that part of his father’s people were moving to Assagay Bosch for a short time, to change pasturage and to hunt ; and that he commanded the advance guard. After a ride of two hours, we arrived at Zlambie’s residence, which was about 15 miles from the sea. He happened then to be absent at another place, nearer the sea, but was expected back every moment. Having dispatched a messenger to expedite his return, we retired to a bunch of trees at about a quarter of a mile from the kraal, where we were soon after joined by such of the male part of Zlambie’s family as were in the village. Among them were his brothers, Tzatla and Sikkoo, and his sons Kossee, Malleava, and Mahala. The young men were very well looking ; and both they and their uncles seemed to have something in their appear- ance that distinguished them from the lower order, although their dress was similar. They appeared to have a great relish for our coffee, which they permitted us to boil in one of their iron pots ; and a few trifles which we distributed among them were not less acceptable. In return they gave us some milk and a good deal of their conversation. Although sensible that any inquiries Records of the Cape Colony. 87 I might make in this quarter must excite mistrust, yet a know- ledge of the strength, population, rank, and connexion of this people seemed of so much consequence, that I determined, at every risk, to acquire it. Even the best informed among the farmers have very erroneous notions on those points, and the only way to obtain anything approaching to a correct idea respecting them was to hear what they should say both of themselves and of each other : to these means I always resorted, but even this mode of calculating must leave considerable uncertainty. The Kaffers count only by their fingers, find it difficult to add hundreds, and are totally confused when you speak to them of thousands ; the women and children they never take into account, and if one inquires the number of their cattle, all their names must be repeated before they will venture to give an answer. In forming an opinion respecting the number of Zlambie’s people, the same difficulty, of course, arises as with regard to those of the other Kaffer Chiefs. There cannot, however, be a doubt that he is at this moment the most powerful as well as the richest among them, and I think that his force, exclusive of the people of his petty chiefs, may be reasonably computed at three thousand men. Tzatla and Sikkoo are said to have each nearly one hundred men. Besides these, and Jaloosa and Guibee before-mentioned, Zlambie has two brothers, named Mazee and Zonie. The former resides with him, the latter is said to have taken away sixty of his men, with women and children, when he proceeded to Orange Biver about three years ago. Oonoqua is a full brother of Zlambie and of the father of Gyka, he is stated to command about two hundred men, and he resided at that time under the south side of Bietberg. Kama, a brother of Kyno, lived with another brother, named Kamanga, on the banks of a fine stream called the Bokenax, between Zlambie’s sea kraal and Bosjesmans Biver. They are said to have also about two hundred men. Their brother Tolie has thirty or forty, and his kraal is near the mouth of the Sunday Biver. He is represented as one of the best disposed of his nation ; and during the several wars that have occurred, he has never hesitated to trust himself among the colonists when other chiefs could not be persuaded to have personal communication. 88 Records of the Cape Colony. Tckachoo and his uncle Apaza live close to Kama and Kamanga, and they have nearly the same number of men. Kassa and his brother Ponga reside between the Eietberg and the Zuurveld, and may have about sixty men. Jejanie and his son Dlaquee are with him. Their numbers may be twenty. Ootie, a brother of Habana, has also re-enforced him with eight or ten. These kraals have done more injury to the farmers within the last year than has been occasioned by those of all the other chiefs during the same period. Habana, and his sons Goze and Bellee have forty men ; Galata, with his brother Moodanie, and his son Doobooka, have about thirty. They reside together on that part of the Sunday Eiver nearest to Winterhoek, and since their return from the Coup have committed a few thefts, which are mostly attributed to Galata. Gola, sometimes called Nogola, having inherited no vassals, most of the people that he had at the Ghamka have left him since their return to the neighbourhood of their legitimate chiefs. He has now but ten men remaining, with whom he has proceeded, by permission, to Olella’s kraal at Orange Eiver, to bring away his wife and children. His half brother Ootzee, who was known by the name of Klaas Meyer at Zwarteberg, has a few more than that number. He is, I believe, generally about the Eietberg or the Sunday Eiver. The kraal where we paid our respects to Zlambie was a temporary residence only, and it had no appearance of cultivation in its neighbourhood. The other, which was situated about mid- way between the Sunday and Bosjesman’s Eivers, having long been his abode during the greatest part of the year, was said to be well provided with gardens. In the afternoon we walked up to the kraal, which consisted of a few huts, built very carelessly. Gweechee had returned, having left his people at their destination. His good-natured smile contrasted very much with the sombre looks of the old people sitting around him, who eyed us with suspicion, and whispered to each other, at every question, however trivial. A complaint was made to the young chief by a man who had been cut in the head by another, and the deEnquent was sentenced to pay an ox to the sufferer. At sunset we received a visit from Maveechee, the third son of Zlambie. He had been with his father, who he told us was Records of the Cctpe Colony. 89 coming after him as expeditiously as a lameness to which he is subject would allow. This youth has the advantage even of his brothers in his appearance, although, as it is said, he never smiles ; in that respect differing from his father, whose conversation, except on subjects of a very serious nature, is stated to be a succession of laughter. Maveechee stated that Zlambie had desired him to express his great regret at having no cattle fit to slaughter. This was to be considered as an excuse for his not observing the usual Kaffer hospitality. I told him that it was of no consequence, as our party had brought a sufficiency of provisions. In about two hours afterwards we were told that Zlambie had arrived. I sent the veld cornet (now veld commandant) Stoltz, who had been my messenger on all occasions during the Kaffer journey, to invite the chief to our fire. This was declined. I then went forward with Stoltz and my interpreter, and found him seated in the midst of a great number of his people, bearing a forest of uplifted spears at the edge of the kraal, in which a much greater number was known to be in waiting. The moon was full, but obscured by clouds ; and its partial light served only to increase the solemnity of this interview. Zlambie rose on my approach, and presented his hand. The following is the substance of our conversation : Commissioner. I have long intended to come to you, and hope you are well. Zlambie. I am very glad to see you, and thank you for your inquiries. C. I saw your messengers the day before yesterday, and am happy to assure you that, so far from making warlike preparations against you, the Christians wish to preserve the ancient friendship that has subsisted between you and them, and to do you all the good in their power. As a proof of what I say, I have brought you these presents from their great chief. Z. I am much obliged to your great chief, but I beg to know what messengers you allude to. C. Those sent by you a few days since to Bruintjes Hoogte, to inquire into the cause of our making commandos against you. Z. Have you brought them with you ? C. Ho, they had not horses, and we could not wait for them. Z. I have sent no messengers to the colony for a considerable 90 Records of tlic Cape Colony. time, except a few weeks since, when I dispatched some to the farmers who have withdrawn from this neighbourhood, to request to know the cause of that proceeding, C. This is very extraordinary. One of them had a badge of office. Z. He had not received it from me. C. I intended to complain to you on the subject of the farmers you mention. Those people could no longer bear the vexations they daily experienced from wandering Kaffers. I have, however, desired them to return to their places, but I expect that you will exert your authority to prevent their being again molested. Z. I learnt their retreat with much concern. At the time I happened to be hunting near them, and apprehending it might be supposed that I was the cause of their removal, I immediately came back to my kraal. Their return would afford me much satisfaction, and I shall use my best endeavours to prevent their sustaining any injury from my people. C. The best mode will be to permit none of your people to come among the inhabitants, except when sent by you on business, with the cane given you by the landdrost. The practice of begging from the colonists is attended with so much inconvenience that orders have been given against its continuance. Z. I hope that when I go among the farmers they will have orders to give me cattle. C. When you may wish to visit the landdrost, he will be rejoiced to see you ; but you cannot be permitted to beg from the in- habitants. Z. Where are you come from now ? C. From Gyka, Hinsa, and the Bosjesmen. Z. What business took you to Hinsa ? C. To claim some persons belonging to the colony. Z. Did you get them ? C. They promised soon to follow me, and Hinsa engaged to send them if they should persist in remaining, as also any other persons of that description, whether Christians, slaves, or Hottentots, who might afterwards come into his territory. Z. What took you to Gyka ? C. A desire to renew the friendship that the Christians wish to maintain with all the Kaffers, as well as to speak to him about stolen cattle and deserters, and to apprise him that we could not any longer permit his people to rove among the inhabitants. 91 Records of the Cape Colony. Z. Did you obtain what you wanted ? C. We obtained some cattle, and a promise that the deserters should be collected and sent to the colony. Z. Have all my people been sent away from the colony ? C. Yes, except a few that have contrived to loiter in Camdeboo, but who are now on their way down, and the small kraal under Ogande, who stated that he had your permission to remain in the colony, and who has been allowed to settle near the Cape. Z. Did he say that he had my permission ? C. Yes. Z. Indeed ! C. Some of the chieftains that are subordinate to you have been very troublesome to the farmers. There is, in particular, one named Kassa, who is continually stealing from them. I wish you would order him to leave Zuurveld, and to come near you. Z. What am I to do if he should refuse to obey me ? C. You must best know what you should do with disobedient vassals. Z. In this case I should do nothing. C. Is not Kassa under your control ? Z. He used formerly to live near me. C. What am I to do if his people should continue to steal ? Z. Follow the traces to the kraal, demand the cattle, and if refused, come to me. C. The farmers have gone to his kraal. On many occasions they have obtained nothing, in none more than a small proportion of the theft ; he takes care to conceal the stolen cattle, until he has an opportunity to send it to other kraals, and I know that the greatest part of it is sent beyond the Fish Eiver. Z. How do you know it ? C. When I was at Gyka’s, I received some from his brother Ivom, who acknowledged that it had come from him. It is useless to take any trouble on this subject, unless you will afford your assistance. I shall send this veld cornet to you, with a party to go through the different kraals, if you will let proper persons go with him. Z. If too strong a party should come, the people will run away, conceiving it to be a commando. C. I shall send no more than one person from each place where cattle has been stolen. Where can the party find you in a month ? 92 Records of the Cape Colony. Z. At the Kowie Eiver. C. I also wish that at the same time all Hottentots and slaves should be given up. Z. I don’t know of any persons of that description. C. I have heard of some being in the kraals near the sea, and one has been seen in this kraal. Z. There is none that I know of. V. C. Stoltz. I spoke to one this morning. He informed me that he belongs to Adriaan Louw. Z. That one ought now to be regarded as a Kaffer, for he has been with me since his childhood. I gave permission some time since to two of my people to take a walk to the colony. A farmer made them a present of a sheep, which they killed on then’ way home ; while they were eating it, another farmer approached and deliberately shot one of them dead on the spot. What am I to do in such a case ? C. What is the name of the farmer ? Z. The surviving one knows it. C. Where is he ? Z. He lives in one of my kraals, but is now not here. C. Send him to make his complaint to the landdrost, or else when the veld cornet comes, let him be produced. If he can prove the accusation the farmer shall be severely punished. I am however inclined to think that the sheep was stolen. At all events you can see, by this unfortunate incident, the necessity of preventing your people from coming among the inhabitants. Z. Some time afterwards I sent two men to the bay ; they met some farmers, who without making the least inquiry, or even allowing them to approach, began to fire at them ; they took to flight, and one was drowned in the Sunday Eiver, which happened to be much swollen. What am I to do in such a case ? C. Who are the farmers ? Z. They are not known. C. I cannot believe that any person could act so wantonly, there must have been some provocation. I am extremely sorry at auy rate that the poor man should have lost his life, but this is an additional proof of the necessity of your people discontinuing the practice of proceeding to the habitations, and you should strictly forbid their doing so on any account, except when sent by you to the landdrost with some mark to distinguish them. Records of the Cape Colony. 93 Z. Are there large round beads in this parcel ? C. Yes, and there is also a present for your wife. Z. It will make her very happy. C. Having learnt that Gyka was in the habit of robbing all sucli Kaffers as went from this side of the Great Fish River to live near him, I strongly recommended him to desist from such an improper proceeding. Z. Who told you so ? C. The Kaffers sent away from the interior. Z. It is Kyno who has stolen their cattle. C. Then I have been misinformed. Indeed Gyka said that there was no truth in the report, and promised to receive all such persons in the most friendly manner. Z. Where are your waggons ? C. They are gone by the best road ; and, if you have nothing further to say, I should wish to go immediately to meet them. Z. Will you not stay until to-morrow, when we can see each other, and become better acquainted ? C. I am sorry that I cannot, I have lost all this day in waiting for you, and besides, in this warm weather, the best time to travel is during the night. Z. Then I have nothing more to say, except to return thanks again for these presents, and to assure you that although I cannot pretend to recollect your features, I shall ever retain a grateful sense of your kindness. Some loose beads remained in my pockets, which I divided among Zlambie’s people. The old man was highly entertained at their eagerness in scrambling for them. We had been twice obliged to cross the Bosjesmans River in order to reach Zlambie’s summer kraal, which was seated on its left bank. This stream had then scarcely any current, and in many parts it becomes dry at certain seasons. Having passed it a third time, we rode about four hours through an open country, having on our right the Riet Berg, which the increased brightness of the moon enabled us clearly to distinguish. This ridge runs parallel to the Zuure Berg from which it is separated by a rugged vale of two or three miles in breadth, a favourite residence of Kaffers, particularly of the minor chiefs. After more than another hour, which we employed in penetrating the thickets near Sunday River, we arrived on the banks of that muddy stream. 91 Records of the Cape Colony. about twenty miles above its mouth, where we remained until daylight. We then ascended its left bank during one hour, when we crossed it with some difficulty in consequence of rains having raised it ; and after continuing on its right bank during another hour, we arrived at Konga’s Kraals. We were received by his uncle Kokatie and his two youngest wives, one the daughter of the late Khouwta, the other of Tchachoo. Neither of these ladies had any claim to beauty, but we had every reason to be satisfied with their civility as far as they had the power of showing it. The former was much rejoiced to learn that we had been in her country, and we were pleased to observe that she appeared as much delighted at the accounts we gave of her brother Hinsa’s health as at the presents we made her. The other had much the appearance of a Hottentot, to which nation we under- stood her mother had belonged. Her brother or half-brother Tianee, was the most promising pupil of Doctor Van der Kemp. He writes the Dutch language extremely well, and translates from it into his own tongue, of which the doctor has composed a grammar. He has a good taste for drawing, and I think I heard for poetry, and he had begun to study the English language when the father was obliged to order him to his kraal, as reluctantly as the son returned to it. The neighbouring Kaffers learnt his new habits with as much displeasure as his family had seen them wfith satisfaction. They repeatedly expressed their surprise at his having been permitted to approach manhood without having submitted to the usual initiation ; and, at length they threatened to destroy Tchachoo and all his people if the ceremony was not immediately observed. The youth left Bethels- dorp for the purpose of being circumcised, and it is feared he will not be permitted to return. Kokatie told us that Konga had gone a few days before to visit his oldest wives at Kooba, where his principal kraals were situated, close to those of Zlambie, Tchachoo, and Kama. I had never before heard that he had people so near the sea, and had I known that he was there when I quitted Zlambie’s kraal, I might have seen him, by turning out of my road to the left as much as I had done to the right for that purpose. We were told that he brought his corn from the sea kraals, which are placed in a country well Records of the Co.pe Colony. 95 watered by the Bokenax and Kooba rivulets ; and it was added that he resided himself at the Sunday River, merely for the sake of his cattle. This reason might have some weight in determining his choice, for the neighbourhood of Bokenax has, for a few years past, been very fatal to the cattle of Zlambie and of the other Kaffer chiefs who had resided there during that period. But I am induced to think that Konga has also had other motives for remaining so near the habitations, particularly as we were also told that he had persisted in remaining at his former residence at the Kooga, between the Sunday and Zwartkops Rivers, for two years, although a great mortality had prevailed there during all that time among his cattle, which had been considerably diminished in con- sequence of it. His stock was also stated to have suffered recently by the marriage of one of his sons with a daughter of Zlambie. Twenty had been paid to the father-in-law on the wedding, ten had been slaughtered as is customary to celebrate that happy event, and ten more had been lately demanded and taken away. It was feared, in short, that the requisitions would never cease. Konga has three sons, Opato, Koba, and Mama. The first is married to a daughter of Maza, and the second is he who has had the expensive honor of obtaining the fair hand of Zlambie’s daughter. They were all stated to be at the sea side with their father, as well as his brothers Dlao and Golana, sometimes called Jeyee, and his cousins Chonga and Guazoo. It might naturally be supposed that this double connexion of the families would secure a sincere and lasting friendship between them. Such, however, is not the case. Zlambie and Konga hate each other, and the most trifling circumstances give rise to their quarrels. The latter is now extremely displeased at some sarcasm of the former upon his large belly. We ought not, however, to wonder that this should be considered in so serious a light by a Kaffer chief, when an occurrence so exactly similar once kindled the flames of war between the two greatest powers in Europe. But Konga, although perhaps not less irritable, is less brave than William, and Zlambie may long crack his jokes upon his awkward form before he will expose himself to be crushed by a force so superior. A great proportion of Konga’s people are Ghonaquas. Some Hottentots are also said to be intermixed with them. He is stated, by most accounts, to have upwards of a thousand men, of whom 96 Records of the Cape Colony. about two hundred belong to Chonga. His other relations have only a few servants. Konga’s people were very anxious to know what I had to say to him. I told them I should inform himself if he would come in a few days to the drostdy. I was much inclined to think that his absence was feigned, for I should probably have heard of him at Zlambie’s, had he been at the time in that neighbourhood ; some circumstances afterwards tended to strengthen this idea. Suspicion, and consequently the difficulty of acquiring informa- tion, seemed to increase in proportion as we approached to the colony. Kokatie appeared almost a simpleton, and on receiving a few trifles answered without hesitation, but the others, particularly the Ghonaquas, seemed to think our questions extraordinary, and at length led the old man away from us. We perceived the only traces of a Rhinoceros that I had yet seen in our way to the drostdy, where we arrived late in the evening of the 3rd, after a ride of five hours from Konga’s kraal. The next day I endeavoured to find out whether any circum- stance had occurred between the colonists and the Kaffers, that could give a colour for the complaint made by the Kaffer to Zlambie respecting the treatment that he and his companion had met with when sent by him to the bay. I was told that two Kaffers being detected in the act of stealing cattle out of a kraal, had been fired at, and that one of them had been wounded and had died at the Sunday River. The veld commandant Stoltz having collected the party to search for stolen cattle, returned to Zlambie, and related the above circum- stance, which appeared to satisfy him. He told that chief that he had been directed to see the man who had complained that his companion had been shot by one farmer when eating the sheep that had been given to them by another. Zlambie observed that it was not necessary, as he was not quite certain whether the sheep might not have been stolen. He is said to have appeared much pleased with these explanations, and with the late visit he had received. The commandant having again perceived the slave already alluded to, made another demand for him, but was again refused. He then coolly observed that Zlambie might certainly keep him if he pleased, but that he was as valuable to his master as a hundred head of cattle would be to him, and that it would remain Records of the Cape Colony. 97 for the Governor to see that justice were done for the loss sustained. In a few minutes the slave was given up, and he was sent to his master, one Stoffel Lombard, from whom he had deserted about three years before, and who has lost ten others in conse- quence of his vicinity to the Kaffers, and I fear in a great degree by unnecessary severity. Zlambie entered spontaneously into a conversation upon his situation. He declared he felt much concern at circumstances having obliged him to continue so long in a country upon which he had no claim, and mentioned (to repeat his words) that he should see about his own, but that he must first see Gyka. He gave the men requested of him to the commandant, and sent orders by them to the subordinate chiefs, not only to give up all stolen cattle in their possession, but also under pain of being attacked by him, to bring their people near his, over the Bosjesmans Paver. His commands have not been obeyed either in the one instance or in the other. Only three head of cattle were recovered, and the endeavour to obtain even so few had very nearly cost Stoltz his life. The several petty chiefs have mostly remained in their former positions, or have made but a trifling change. Onooqua is the only one that I hear has joined Zlambie. Konga had signified to Major Cuyler that he and that chief had agreed to retire beyond Bosjesmans Eiver, and he stated his intention to do so immediately, in order that no part of the robberies so frequently committed should be attributed to his people. But he has removed only to the mouth of the Sunday Eiver, where he is as conveniently situated as ever for his intrigues and depreda- tions ; and Kassa and his gang, perched on the Zuureberg, continue hovering over their unfortunate prey, in what are called the Bosjesmans Eiver and Agter Bruintjes Hoogte Districts, which impunity leads them to attack more openly, from day to day, and which they will not cease to devour as long as there is a particle remaining. I had sent a remembrance by the commandant to Habana, who asked him whether we expected that the Christians whom we had been in search of at the Kyba would return. Having replied in the affirmative, he told him that a person who had lately seen them had arrived a few days before, and assured him that they had no such intention. VII. n 98 Records of the Cape Colony. This intelligence lias since been confirmed by Gyka, who has proceeded to Graaff-Keinet to receive the cattle that were promised to him at the period of my visit to the Aha. He told Captain Ord, at Baviaan’s River, that those people would certainly not return, and that they were extremely useful to Hinsa in many respects, particularly in procuring horses and other things which that chief receives from the colony. Stellenbosch, July, 1809. [Copy.] Report of Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the Earl of Caledon. Cape op Good Hope, 6tli August 1809. My Lord,— Having had the honor to transmit to your Ex- cellency the notes made upon my journey to the eastern borders, and having thereby put you in possession of all the information which I had obtained respecting those quarters, it is unnecessary that I should add any opinions of mine to enable your Excellency to form a judgment upon the steps requisite to be taken for the tranquillity and prosperity of the eastern districts. But as the instructions which I have received express your desire upon that head, and I am anxious by the fullest discharge of my duty to merit a continuance of the confidence with which I have hitherto been honored by your Excellency, I shall leave no point untouched that I conceive may be of consequence towards effecting an object of such great importance. It has been a subject of much regret to me that the measures which I had to adopt in the execution of my late employment as his Majesty’s Commissioner were such as tended to protract the civilization of a considerable portion of my fellow creatures. This painful feeling is considerably increased by the necessity imposed upon me of recommending a perseverance in a similar line of policy. I should have exulted if on this occasion I could in any. degree have contributed to the laudable endeavours of those humane persons whose labours have been so worthily employed in rescuing a portion of the original inhabitants of Africa from the miseries of barbarism. But when that pleasure can be indulged only by sacrificing the interests and compromising the safety of Records of the Cape Colony. 99 one of tlie best appendages of his Majesty’s crown, it becomes a duty to resist such agreeable illusions. I consider as a maxim of the first importance to the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, that all intercourse between the settlers and the Kaffres should be scrupulously prevented, until the former shall have increased considerably in numbers and are also much more advanced in arts and industry. The efforts of philanthropy may then, I hope, be safely and usefully exerted for the advantage of that people ; but they would now, I fear, be productive of great inconvenience and danger. In consequence of these opinions formed by much observation and reflection, it appears to me that the steps necessary to be taken for the permanent tranquillity of the eastern districts are to oblige all the Kaffres to withdraw to their own country, to oppose insurmountable obstacles to their return to the colony, and to remove every inducement to their continuance near the boundary. The outline of a history of the Kaffres, with which I concluded my observations upon that people, will, I think, sufficiently explain the cause of want of success in most of the attempts that have been made for their expulsion from the colony, and I hope may show that it has not been occasioned, as is generally supposed, by the powerful means of resistance possessed by them. The wars that were at first waged against the Kaffres were carried on exclusively by the settlers, who seem, whenever they have been unsuccessful, to have failed in a great degree from their having considered the recovery of stolen cattle as the principal object of hostility. In the year 1799 a military force was for the first time opposed to them ; but having been unsupported by the farmers and Hottentots, and even impeded by their enmity, its exertions were necessarily unavailing. The talents of the individual chosen for the conduct of the war in the year 1802 surmounted the difficulties arising from the want of military aid and direction, which circumstances would not then allow of, but his death reduced things to their natural order, and served to confirm what experience should long before have taught, that the usual mode of conducting hostilities against the Kaffres had considerable imperfections. In some of the despatches which I have had the honour to address to your Excellency, I stated my opinions upon the force H 2 100 Records of the Cape Colony. necessary for the removal of those people, and respecting the manner in which it should be employed. Your Excellency must have observed that I placed much reliance on the exertions of the farmers, and indeed I cannot help thinking that on this service they would be considerably more useful than regular troops. They are well acquainted with the country ; are excellent marksmen ; are accustomed to bear fatigues and privations, and are provided with horses fit for all the purposes of irregular cavalry, without being subject to the disadvantages of requiring stabling and dry forage. Independently of the foregoing considerations, there are other reasons, perhaps not less weighty, to prefer the farmers to regular troops. The Kaffres are always prepared for war, and it would not only be impossible to spare the military force necessary to guard the frontier at all times against their attacks, but might be inconve- nient, as has already happened, even to detach troops on any particular occasion when they might be wanted. The conse- quences would be, that the inhabitants, who had been accustomed to look up to the military as their greatest support, would lose all confidence when deprived of their assistance ; and that the Kaffres, no longer opposed by the force which had been princi- pally employed against them, would increase in confidence and enterprise. If this reasoning is just, the farmers should be made the principal instrument of hostility against that people; but I by no means think that they should be the only one. The misfortunes that have happened from the want of a chief of the rank and talents necessary to secure respect and obedience point out the necessity of a military commander. Should opera- tions become shortly necessary, the presence of Major Cuyler, who possesses the activity and local knowledge necessary for such a task, would obviate this inconvenience. The principal cause of the little success obtained by our troops on a former occasion has been aleady alluded to, but that cause happily exists no longer. The opinions of the inhabitants of the eastern districts have undergone a great change within the last ten years ; and the most cordial co-operation may now be expected from them in every undertaking. The beneficial consequences that are likely to be produced by Records of the Cape Colony. 101 the enemy perceiving that a good understanding prevails between the governors and the governed may best be judged of from the circumstance of the party of 30 dragoons, under the orders of Captain Ord, having been enabled during a period of six months to prevent the incursions, I do not say the thefts, of a whole nation, which had for years been accustomed to overrun the country committed to his charge. The number of troops should, I conceive, be merely what might be deemed sufficient to control the farmers, and perhaps occasion- ally to animate them by their presence. Dragoons and light infantry appear the most eligible. Before hostilities are commenced measures should be taken to be enabled to fill up the country from which the Kaffres are to be driven, as soon as it is evacuated. By the effect of a proclamation of General Janssens, all those places in Zuurveld are forfeited which had been deserted and have not been re-occupied. Your Excellency has, however, been pleased to direct that credit should be given for loan-rents of those places up to December 1808, an indulgence that consequently enabled the former proprietors to resume possession. Major Cuyler having communicated this order to me, I took upon me to limit its operation, as will appear by the copy of a letter to him which in annexed and marked A. I beg to express my hope that in adopting this step I may have anticipated your Excellency’s wishes. The facility with which the Kaffres have always entered the colony may, I think, be principally attributed to the weakness of the population of the eastern frontier. The system of granting farms of such considerable extent, necessary perhaps in some parts of the settlement, is exceedingly impolitic in this particular district. When a line of nearly 100 miles does not present a resistance of more than one-third of that number of inhabitants, it is not to be wondered that little respect should be paid to it. It is only surprising that the settlers should have been enabled so long to remain in any part of it, in the vicinity of a numerous people, continually endeavouring to encroach upon their possessions. In re-occupying the country near the mouth of the Great Fish Biver, I conceive that it should be given out in small portions, equal to the general extent of places held in fee simple, which is, I believe, 120 acres. I do not, however, mean to advise that these places should be 102 Records of the Cape Colony. granted in perpetuity, because it would be particularly necessary that government should at all times be enabled immediately to remove from this neighbourhood any person who might render himself obnoxious. But I think that the rents of these lands should be so inconsiderable as to be regarded more as an acknow- ledgment of tenure than as a source of revenue. If such encouragement were not held out, it would be impossible to procure inhabitants for this part of the country, under the dread of exposure to the attacks of savages, and of conviction of being enabled to gain a subsistence only by industrious habits. The country on the right bank of the Great Fish River, from the mouth of that stream to the place where it receives the Little Fish River, would be fully protected by this formidable barrier; but the attention of the Kaffres would then be entirely drawn to the district of Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, where the farmers occupy loan places of the usual extent, and where they are consequently placed at the distance of three miles from each other. There appear to be only two ways of meeting this difficulty, which are, either by dispossessing the present occupiers of farms in that quarter, and granting them lands in the same manner as has been proposed for those situated to the south of them, or by extending the boundary. Your Excellency would naturally feel much averse to depriving men of possessions which they have held under many disadvantages during a period of 40 years. But independently of this consideration, there are very strong objections to this district being dealt out in small portions. The inhabitants of such inconsiderable lots could find their account only in supplying the graziers and the inhabitants of villages with corn, wine, and vegetables, and perhaps, if encouragement were held out, with some wholesome liquors as beer, cyder, and perry. But except the land situated on the Little Fish River, there is none in Agter Bruintjes Hoogte adapted to these purposes. Unlike the country bordering on the sea, this district is seldom visited by rains ; and although the land affords as fine pasturage as any perhaps in the world, it can be subjected to tillage only by the aid of irrigation. On inspecting the chart, it would appear that any extension of boundary to the east should be carried at least as far as Kat River. When I first contemplated the subject I was of this opinion ; but, from local inquiries, I learned that the land between Records of the Cape Colony. 103 that stream and the Konaba, although of the first quality, is fit only for pasturage, in consequence of being badly watered, and that it has also the disadvantage of being in many parts covered with underwood. The country situated between Agter Bruintjes Hoogte and the Konaba Biver abounds in excellent fountains. The soil is good, and the timber growing on the mountains that border it on the north is superior to any within the colony. The acquisition of this tract would strengthen the frontier, not only by the great number of inhabitants that would be brought together in consequence of the land being granted in small portions, but also by affording the advantage of a shorter line of defence, and the consequent greater facility of communication and support. The loss of this part of their territory would occasion no inconvenience to the Kaffres, for they have not a single hut in its whole extent ; and they have always been averse to inhabiting it, on account of its being an open country, a circumstance that would enhance its value as a colonial frontier possession. I do not think that much objection would be made by that people to its occupancy, but they would at all events be easily induced to transfer their right to it for an adequate payment in cattle. The greatest obstacle towards effecting these arrangements would, I think, arise from the difficulty of acquiring the increased number of inhabitants necessary to fill up the frontier. Supposing the tract near the mouth of Great Fish Biver, and that proposed to be annexed to the colony, to be altogether about 1,200 square miles, it would require above 6,000 settlers to people it. To look for all these people within the colony were useless ; and indeed I conceive it would be very desirable that a proportion of Europeans should be allotted for that purpose. Perhaps the occupying of every third lot would at first be sufficient. One thousand persons could be procured without much expense from Europe; and I should think that the same number might be provided from the colony. Each former renter of a loan farm of the deserted parts of Zuurveld might, as a compensation for his loss, have one of these lots for himself, and another for such person as he should recommend. But in order to maintain the population, I think it should be an invariable rule that no person should be permitted to hold more than one of these places. From the cold manner in which Gyka received the proposal of 104 Records of tlic Cape Colony. a trade, and from other circumstances that must be obvious, I am induced to think, although at first of a different opinion, that much advantage cannot be expected as the result of it. On the other hand I fear it might be productive of considerable in- convenience. Although the Ivaffres, in general, have a sufficient number of cattle for their subsistence, they could spare very few for commercial purposes, and if in their eagerness to procure trifles they should part with what might be requisite for their support, they must necessarily supply their consequent wants either at the expence of the Colonists, or of each other, in the former case defeating the object of conciliation intended to be gained, in the latter doing injury to the cause of humanity. The most certain means of preserving peace between the Colonists and the Kaffres would be to convince the latter of the superiority of our power, and of our being not less determined than able to punish auy aggression on their part. I do not conceive that this would be so difficult a matter as is generally supposed. The greatest part of the depredations of which the Colonists have complained have been committed by the people of the petty chiefs ; and I think that by proper management ample justice might be done for such acts, even to the extent of hostility, without engaging the greater chiefs in the quarrel. Next to impressing them with a high opinion of our power and determination, the most effectual method of keeping them quiet would probably be to make annual presents to their chiefs. The rules for distributing these presents should, I think, be founded upon the strength of the respective chiefs, their punctu- ality in sending back people who may have deserted to them from the Colony, and their efforts in preventing the depredations of their vassals. Unless government should wish to interfere in the concerns of the Kaffre people, which perhaps may be necessary, even for their own benefit, at a future though remote period, it must be a matter of indifference whether Gyka or Zlambie have the best right to reign, for neither will keep faith longer than it may appear to be his interest. In concluding a treaty with the Kaffre people, it would be very advisable to stipulate that their kraals should be withdrawn to their ancient territory, which is beyond the Keiskama, and to require that, although the country situated between this stream and the colonial boundary should be considered and respected as Records of the Cape Colony. 105 their territory, yet that they should not enter it except for the purpose of hunting. The continuance of the Kaffres within or near the boundary has, I think, been occasioned in a great degree by the facility thereby afforded them to trade, beg, and plunder. By the proposed arrangements respecting the frontier, the last inducement for their remaining in the neighbourhood will be removed, for the new inhabitants can have but very few cattle. The 8th, and some more articles of the regulations, which I had the honour to com- municate to your Excellency, with my letter of the 23rd of last April, were intended to prevent the other inconveniences. Some severe measures should be taken with respect to persons leaving the colony. I conceive that it would be expedient immediately to issue a proclamation offering pardon to all his Majesty’s subjects who may be now residing among the Kaffres or Ghonaquas, provided they return within a certain time, and declaring that it will in future be deemed treasonable to proceed among those people without the express permission of government, and that any communication with them, or with any refugee residing among them, when in a state of hostility against the colony, will be considered and treated as a capital offence. Konga’s people are the most connected with the colonial Hotten- tots, and it would therefore be advisable that this chief were placed at the greatest distance. He belongs properly to Hinsa, who says that he wishes to have him in his neighbourhood, and that he would allow him as much land in his territory as he could require. As the police of the eastern part of the colony is a matter of the greatest importance, and its maintenance would be rendered more difficult by the proposed increase of population, I think that a drostdy should be established farther eastward than the Zwartkops Biver. The neighbourhord of the junction of the two Fish Pavers would seem the most convenient situation, but I could not learn that this part of the country contained an abundant supply of water and the other requisites for such an establishment. They can, I believe, be procured only near the Kaka Mountains and on the coast, and the preference should perhaps be given to the latter. The river Guasouwgha flowing between those of Kowie and o o Kareegha is a fine stream, that can cover a quantity of excellent 106 Records of the Cape Colony. land. It falls into the sea at a place that affords a good landing, although it has not the advantage of a hay for shipping. If this spot should be chosen for the seat of a provincial jurisdiction, it would perhaps be advisable to reserve for public purposes the whole tract lying between the two neighbouring streams. The district of Guasouwgha might be conveniently separated from that of Graaff-Reinet by the Kaka Berg Straat, Esterhuysens Poort, and Bosch Berg, and from that of Uitenhage by a line drawn south along the western side of Agter Bruintjes Hoogte, to a determined point on Sunday River, perhaps to what is called, I believe, the Upper Ford. The foregoing observations have been offered as suggestions for the adoption of a permanent line of policy with regard to the Kaffre people. They are, in my mind, the only means that can restore and secure safety and order in the eastern districts. Circumstances must, however, necessarily retard the operation of part of them, and the state of the country imperiously demands that something should be immediately done in favour of the district authorities and the inhabitants, even although the measures that may now be adopted must be considered as in general of a temporary nature only, and such as cannot be expected to insure complete protection and tranquillity. In a letter dated the 29th of last November, I had the honor to communicate to your Excellency my ideas of an arrangement with that view. I then stated that I conceived it necessary to oblige the Kaffres to retire beyond the Bosjesmans River, and recommended that a military post should be established in that neighbourhood, to check the incursions of those people, and to communicate with their chiefs. These measures or some others should, I think, be adopted as soon as possible. I mentioned in another despatch my fears of an improper connexion existing between the Kaffres and the members of the institution at Bethelsdorp. Subsequent inquiries and observations have served to strengthen my suspicions, and the late desertion of a Hottentot named Hans Trompeter, a noted chief of the former insurgents, with several other members, who have since joined the Kaffres and committed several depredations upon the farmers, can leave no doubt upon that subject. On the 6th April I visited this place, accompanied by the landdrosts of Graaff-Reinet and Uitenhage. 107 Records of the Cape Colony. It consists of a collection of huts, built of straw, reeds, and mud. The church, which also serves as a school-room, is com- posed of the same materials, the intentions of government having never been finally signified in regard to this institution. The people have built temporary houses only. It was not expected that they should have been so long required, and they have been reduced to a wretched state. The inhabitants have suffered greatly from the bad quality of the water, and its insufficiency to raise vegetables. The Hottentots experience also great inconvenience from the want of sufficient pasturage. Their favourite pursuit is the rearing of cattle, of which they have 1,200 head. The missionaries received us with kindness and attention. Dr. Van der Kemp mentioned some points which he wished to have submitted to the consideration of government. I requested that he would commit them to writing, and delivered him memoranda of others upon which I was desirous of receiving information. We returned on the following day to Bethelsdorp, and had an opportunity of seeing the people at school. Instruction in reading and writing seemed to be much attended to. Persons of all ages and sexes were employed in this study ; and some, above the middle age, were learning the alphabet. Dress and personal cleanliness appeared to be but little regarded. I had the honor of a visit from Dr. Yan der Kemp and Mr. Read two days after the former had sent me the first set of papers hereunto annexed, under the title of B, upon which he requested my sentiments. He had mentioned an idea of proceeding to Madagascar, in the event of government not acceding to his request of being permitted to visit the Tambookie country. I endeavoured to dissuade him from the latter, by pointing out the facility of effecting the former through the means of the ships of war belonging to this station, employed in blockading the Isle of France. I observed also that as the Tambookies were known to be the same people as the Kaffres, and he had favoured the public with a very interesting account of the latter, it would be much more desirable that a person who could combine statistical with missionary views should employ his talents at Madagascar, an island so little known, and which offers so wide a field for every species of inquiry. His thoughts seemed, however, to be bent on a journey to the country of the Tambookies, 108 Records of the Cape Colony. and that situated north of the Storm Mountains. He repeated, that if disappointed in this view, he would undertake the voyage to Madagascar; but that he might apply to the directors in London to send out persons qualified for such a task. I then observed that it was necessary I should apprize him of the inconvenience that occurred to me from his plans, in order that he should enable me to remove any objection that might arise on the part of government. Some refugees had already settled in Hinsa’s territory ; and if an institution were established near this chief, the inducement to deserters from the colony, proceeding in that direction, would be considerably increased, unless the mission- aries would undertake to send back all persons of that description. The Doctor said that from the experience afforded by his former visit to Kaffreland, he thought it better that the natives should have no reason to suppose that he had any connection with the colonial government, that it would be very inconsistent with his principles to use compulsion, and yet more to deprive a fellow- being of his freedom. Mr. Eead having mentioned that these inconveniences had not been experienced from the establishment of a similar institution near Orange River, I begged to remind him that the natives of that country were very different people from the Tambookies and Kaffres, and that Mr. Anderson and his brethren were at all times ready to attend to the wishes of the colonial government. On Dr. Van der Kemp’s inquiring my ideas upon his second proposition, I told him that I was not at all prepared to afford him information upon the intentions of government with regard to the Kaffres on this side of the Great Fish River, but supposed that its decisions would probably be regulated by the conduct of those people. That an unsuccessful attempt had been made to establish some of them near the Cape, and that although the present govern- ment was extremely desirous to avoid any hostility against savages, yet it had been found necessary to cut off all communication between the colonists and the Kaffres, except such as might be necessary between the public officers and their chiefs. I assured the Doctor that I would submit to government the propriety of establishing orphan institutions ; and that I should also beg leave to recommend some measures for the protection of the Hottentots. I mentioned with regard to the fourth and sixth points as he Records of the Cape Colony. 109 had informed me that the major part of the members of his insti- tution were connected with the Kaffres either by relationship or otherwise, I could not but see much inconvenience from their continuance so near them, and that I should therefore recommend the removal of the institution. He suggested the expediency of appropriating two of the best loan places in the colony for that purpose, remunerating the possessors by others among those abandoned in Zuurveld or elsewhere. I pointed out the Bosjesmen as a people very much in want of the benefits of missionary labours. He said that his thoughts had been employed on that head, and that in addition to the objects which he had already stated, he had in contemplation to propose the establishment of three missions on the northern frontier. The Doctor having represented the impropriety of his resorting to force to send away Kaffres or Ghonaquas who might come to the institution, I assented to his merely giving notice of such visitors to the landdrost in case they should persist in remaining after his orders to the contrary; I also permitted that the individuals of those nations now living at the institution should stay there until government should come to a determination respecting the establishment; and he promised that until then no more should be admitted. On examining the accompanying returns, it appears that out of more than 600 persons residing at Bethelsdorp, there are only 66 baptized, and only 43 exercising any useful employment. I cannot, therefore, perceive that the effects produced by the zealous and unremitting labours of Dr. Van der Kemp and his brethren during a period of seven years are such as to promise great benefits from a continuance of this institution, even to the members of it. It would be needless to attempt to show that it is of no advantage to others, for the Doctor has not hesitated to acknowledge in an official communication that “ the public have no (at least no direct) interest in or benefit from an institution entirely calculated for the happiness of the Hottentots and other heathens within the colony.” On the other hand, independently of the inconvenience and danger occasioned by the connection of the people of this institu- tion with the Kaffres, its existence has been the cause of the greatest embarrassment to the inhabitants of the neighbouring districts, whose servants leave them on the slightest pretext to repair to Bethelsdorp, thereby depriving them of the means 110 Records of the Cafe Colony. of preserving their Cattle from the Kaffres and Bosjesmen. A regulation of General Janssens prohibits the missionaries at Bethelsdorp receiving Hottentots from the service of the farmers, or who had been residing with them during the preceding year ; but this is unattended to, as well as another of the same governor, forbidding all instruction in writing without the express permission of government. My reflections on these subjects have given rise to the following suggestions, which I beg respectfully to offer to your Excellency’s consideration. It appears to me that the Missionary Institutions for the instruction of Hottentots should be limited to those already established by the Moravians. The greatest benefit might be expected from the establishment of a work-house at these institutions, and at each drostdy, for the support of the helpless Hottentots, and for the education and maintenance of the orphans and the abandoned and neglected children of that people. Moral and religious principles might be inculcated at the former by the Missionaries, and at the latter by the District Clergymen. I think, however, that reading and writing should not form any part of their instruction; but a knowledge of all the mechanical arts, except that of a gunsmith, should be encouraged, for the purpose of lessening the expences of the institution, and of enabling the members of it to gain a future livelihood by being useful to others. Superintendents should be appointed for these establishments, and Government should be made acquainted with their state from time to time. This charity might perhaps be extended to the orphans and abandoned children of Kaffres, the only way in which the colony can safely introduce and adopt any of that people. Many Kaffre children when deprived of their parents are exposed to perish from want, and in the visits of the veld cornets to kraals such persons might be snatched from destruction, and rendered useful to the colony. This is, however, a point of great delicacy; and unless closely watched, might be subject to much abuse. No reward should ever be given for the delivery of such children. The consent of their relations, if they have any, and of the chief of the kraal should be clearly obtained before they are taken away. They should not be permitted to remain in the eastern districts ; but might be sent by sea from Algoa Bay to the Cape, as I directed Records of the Cape Colony. Ill to be done with two orphans that had been abandoned by some of the Kaffres whose kraals have lately been removed from the inhabited districts. In order that the remaining Hottentots may be rendered useful to themselves and to the rest of the community, I conceive that they all should be sent to reside with the inhabitants, except such of them as are in the service of government, or at the missionary or orphan institutions, or as understand trades, which it would be advisable to encourage them to exercise at the several drostdies. Their masters should be obliged to instruct them in the general principles of religion and morality ; to treat them well ; and to give them wholesome and sufficient food. Much evil is occasioned by masters selling liquors to their servants, in part payment of wages, and that practice should be strictly prohibited ; but the measure which I conceive of the first importance to the protection of the Hottentot and the improvement of his situation, is a sacred observ- ance of his annual engagement. A Hottentot can now seldom get away at the expiration of his term. If he should happen not to be in debt to his master, which he must have more caution than is characteristic of his race to prevent, he is not allowed to take his children, or he is detained under some frivolous pretence, such as that of cattle having died through his neglect, and he is not per- mitted to satisfy any demands of this nature otherwise than by personal service. When these pretexts shall be overruled, and a master shall know that he cannot secure the service of his Hottentots otherwise than by attaching them to him, he will feel it his interest to treat them kindly. Another consequence of being enabled to change their masters annually will be increase of wages. In the distant parts of the colony a male Hottentot seldom receives more in the year than twelve or fourteen Rix-dollars, which may be paid either in money, clothes, or cattle. A female obtains much less. A great deal is said by the inhabitants of the expence of maintaining the children of these people ; but I think, without foundation, for a child can scarcely crawl before it is turned to some purpose. The service of a Hottentot is at least as useful to an individual as it is to the state. In the latter case his wife and children are subsisted without being of the slightest benefit to the public ; and after one- half of his pay is deducted for rations, and perhaps one-fourth for 112 Records of the Cape Colony. other purposes, he receives nearly £5 sterling, or thirty liix- dollars, annually, besides good clothing. It would be attended with the best effects if the landdrost, deputy landdrost, or two heemraden, were annually to visit each habitation, inquire into the treatment of the Hottentots and slaves, examine the engagements of the farmer, and make a detailed report upon oath respecting all these points to government. The landdrost should make his part of these visits in such a manner as to be enabled to see and report upon every habitation of his district within the period of three years. Should the proposed regulations be approved and adopted, or others substituted, I conceive it would be advisable that the arrangements concluded on should be communicated as soon as possible to the people at Bethelsdorp; that the helpless, the orphans, and the neglected children now there should be estab- lished at the Drostdy of Uitenhage, and that the other members should be directed to determine between proceeding either to Genaden Dal or to Groene Kloof, or to take service with the inhabitants. I think it should be signified at the same time to the Ghonaquas, Kaffres, and Heitemana Hottentots, (Bastard Kaffres) now residing at Bethelsdorp, that they must immediately choose between Kaffreland and the Colony. If they prefer the latter, they might, I conceive, be permitted to proceed to one of the Moravian establishments, or to the service of the inhabitants, but they ought to be prohibited from residing in the districts of Swellen- 7 dam, Graaff-Beinet, or Uitenhage. The brethren of Bethelsdorp should then, I think, be advised to suspend their views with regard to the Kaffres and Tambookies until a more favourable period, and encouraged to proceed to Madagascar or to the northern frontier ; in the last event I conceive that the members of their institution should be confined to Bosjesmen, that they should not be allowed to have more Hottentots, or other description of people, than may be necessary as tradesmen or servants, suppose twenty persons of each sex, that they should be forbidden from employing or otherwise harbouring Kaffres or Ghonaquas, or persons being a mixture of, or connected with those nations, and that they should be recom- mended to direct the attention of their pupils less to literary than to mechanical occupations. Before I conclude my observa- Records of the Cape Colony. 113 tions upon Hottentots, I hope that I may be permitted to submit a few reflections upon the subject of the Cape Eegiment. It is not for me to judge whether the numbers of that corps be not greater than is necessary even in a military point of view ; but I am certain that its high establishment causes very material injury to the cultivation and security of the frontier districts. I beg also to state that I think the mode of recruiting might be changed with considerable advantage, both to the service and to the colony. When an officer now proceeds to the interior for this purpose, he is naturally received with jealousy by the farmers, a sentiment that, whatever appearance there may be to the contrary, must also in some degree be felt by the landdrost, whose conse- quence is diminished, and authority is lessened, by the presence of a power independent of him. All possibility of altercation between the officer and the in- habitants should if possible be prevented, as it must necessarily create an aversion to the British arms and Government. This might be done, without the slightest inconvenience, by taxing each district for recruits according to its population in Hottentots. When a levy is required, orders might be transmitted to each landdrost to recruit his proportion of the number, and to assemble them at the drostdy on a day appointed. An officer might proceed there to inspect, and, if approved, to conduct them to the regiment, where they might undergo a final examination. The only objection I see to this measure is the fear of com- pulsory enlistment, and of consequent desertion. But that would be obviated by rendering the districts responsible for their men, and by obliging them to apprehend the deserters, or to replace them by other recruits. A corps of four hundred men, if thus recruited, would not fall heavily upon any particular district. It would be kept constantly complete, would be composed of select men, and its existence would be seen without public dissatisfaction. In adverting to our northern neighbours, I feel the sincerest pleasure in being enabled to recommend a more liberal line of policy than that which I think necessary to be observed, for a considerable time at least, towards those of the east. Different from the Kaffres and Tambookies, the Bosjesmen are mostly scattered over an immense tract of country, in small parties un- connected with each other. They may therefore be more safely VII. I 114 Uncords of the Cape Colony. introduced into the colony, collected and instructed in institutions, and dispersed among the inhabitants. It was very satisfactory to me to observe the anxiety evinced by the farmers of the north-eastern districts to preserve peace with that people rather by conciliation than terror. If the object of terminating their depredations has not yet been fully attained, the number and extent of their thefts has at least been considerably lessened in that quarter ; and murder, which used formerly to be the constant attendant of robbery with the Bosjesmen, is now seldom heard of in this part of the country. These beneficial effects have probably been produced, not more by the friendly intercourse that the farmers have endeavoured to establish, than by the restrictions that have been attached to commandos. Those parties were formerly sent out perhaps months after the robberies were complained of, and were often directed against the body of that people instead of the individuals who were guilty ; but the manner in which they are now used seems to me to be just and necessary, and I think must appear so even to the Bosjesmen. When a theft is committed, a few neighbours are hastily collected by the veld cornet, who pursue the thieves by their trace. If they try to escape, they seldom fall by the arms of their pursuers ; but if they are obstinate in defending their booty, the farmers use force to recover their property. The moderation of the latter has, however, been strongly evinced on many such occasions, notwithstanding the irritation naturally produced by the theft, aggravated perhaps by many of their cattle being mortally wounded in their sight, to prevent their being recovered, at least alive, the farmers have often used these oppor- tunities to bring about a peace, and to induce those people to reside among them. It must, however, be confessed, that the prohibition to their carrying off women and children has greatly served to damp the ardour for commandos, and has actuated the farmers as much as humanity in their tenderness to the Bosjesmen, a feeling that their great want of servants has also tended to promote. The report which I formerly had the honor to make, founded on the information that I had received upon the state of those people living beyond the northern boundary, will, I believe, apply equally to those residing near the north-eastern limits. Although Records of the Cape Colony. 115 differing in some degree in language and appearance, their habits and manners are in few points dissimilar. They subsist on the same food, use the same arms, and are equally attached to a wandering life ; they are alike bound by no authority, and are imconnected by all ties, except those of relationship, and such as tend to secure their individual safety. My sentiments have been already so fully delivered on the subject of missionary institutions, that convinced as much as ever of their utility, under proper regulations, it remains for me only to point out the situations that seem most eligible for their establishment. The inhabitants of Hantam and of the Eoggeveld suffer most by the depredations of the Bosjesmen, perhaps on account of their great distance from their usual haunts in the Karee Mountains, which prevents the possibility of friendly communications ; that should, I conceive, be the first point attended to. The situation chosen by Mr. Kicherer was found convenient, and the happiest effects were felt during the continuance of his institution, which was abandoned from no cause but pecuniary difficulties. Should any objection arise to the re-occupancy of this spot, the Bloom or Baatel Fontein, at the distance of one or two days’ journey east of it, might be chosen, and would perhaps be even preferable, as it is said to afford better water and pasturage. Mr. Kicherer, at whose disposal it seems government had left a large tract situated between the Biet and Zak Rivers, had per- mitted an inhabitant named Krieger to take this spot as a temporary residence, in consequence of his friendly disposition towards the Bosjesmen. The next point deserving attention is Tarka. The mountains east of that district are so extensive and so difficult of access, as to have rendered them a favourite retreat of Bosjesmen. Although, through the encouragement of government, much has of late been done there by the landdrost and the farmers, much remains to be effected, and can, I think, be best effected by a missionary establishment. There are many suitable spots a few miles east of Schaap Kraal, among which may be mentioned Haas Fontein and Bezuidenhouts Kraal. The middle of the northern boundary is not much less worthy of notice than its extremities ; the inhabitants of Nieuwveld and 116 Records of the Cape Colony. the Coup are on friendly terms with a few kraals in their neigh- bourhood, one of which, consisting of nearly 20 families, under the command of a chief named Lessing, I visited with only my com- panion Mr. Cowdery and two more persons. This good under- standing protects the farmers from the depredations of those people, and from those of others more distant ; but it does not secure the inhabitants of Zwarteberg and the neighbouring districts from their attacks. There are several spots adapted for missions in this quarter ; the most eligible perhaps would be an abandoned place called Slange Fontein, one of the sources of Zak River, and formerly the residence of a farmer named Cornelius Jansen. Should it be deemed expedient to multiply these useful estab- lishments, the Groot Fontein, situated on that part of the boundary nearest to Orange River, and the vicinity of Groot Tafel Berg, west of the Sea Cow River, are favourable points, both from the excellent pasturage and water which they afford, and from the neighbourhood of several kraals of Bosjesmen. This part of the colony, although the most distant from the capital, is in a more improving state than any that I have visited. The tracts stated in Mr. Barrow’s chart to have been deserted on account of the attacks of the Bosjesmen Hottentots, are now entirely filled up, and the country is inhabited as far as the limits. Until the establishment of missions, the most effectual mode of preventing the depredations of the Bosjesmen seems to be the encouragement of the good will now generally prevailing towards them among the inhabitants of the borders. I stated on a former occasion their great want of gunpowder. The quantity which they are permitted to purchase from the government magazines was increased about that period ; but it is still insufficient, and should be at least doubled for the inhabi- tants of Under Bokkeveld, Hantam, the Roggevelds, Nieuwveld and the Coup, the Sneewbergen, Sea Cow River, Rhinoceros Berg, and Tarka. The kraals within and close to the colony, which are those only on whose peaceable conduct any reliance can be placed, are sub- sisted principally by game killed for them by the farmers, and when their ammunition is expended, by sheep. They are also continually obliged to provide them with tobacco and dacha, and occasionally with knives and tinder-boxes. The Bosjesmen often suffer extreme misery, seldom rob but to 117 Records of the Cape Colony. satisfy their wants, and afford the fairest hope of becoming in time nseful to themselves and to the colony. Humanity and policy therefore combine to prompt the adoption of every measure tnat can tend to alleviate their unhappy lot, and attach them to the settlers. The measure of my Lord Macartney for supplying them with sheep, which I formerly noticed, seemed to have nothing in view but to keep them quiet. The expence of these gifts falls entirely upon the inhabitants of the border, and the manner of distributing them must have created an opinion that they proceeded rather from fear than beneficence. I think, however, that if the missionary institutions be not established, and in those parts of the frontier where it may not be judged convenient to place them, some means should be had recourse to for supplying the wants of the Bosjesmen without letting the burden fall, as it now does, on a few individuals only. It seems to me to be extremely unjust that the inhabitants of the Cape and its neighbouring districts should not only be freed from the dangers and inconveniences to which those residing near the borders are subjected, but that they also should be exempted from sharing in their expences. I think then the people of Cape Town, the Cape and Stellen- bosch districts, and such parts of the districts of Tulbagh as are not exposed to the incursions of the Bosjesmen, and do not con- tribute to the defence of the colony against any of its enemies, should pay the expense incurred in endeavouring to conciliate and civilize that unfortunate race, and that a tax should be laid upon them for the supply of tinder-boxes, knives, beads, tobacco, &c., the distribution of which should be entrusted to such persons on the borders as enjoy the confidence of the landdrost. These marks of kindness should be given to the Bosjesmen less with the appearance of proceeding from apprehension for the evils which they might themselves occasion, than as a reward for services rendered, either by discovering the intentions of the ill-disposed, or by occasionally assisting in the labours of the farmers. I feel it my duty strongly to point out the necessity of some steps being immediately taken on this subject, as, if the missions are not soon established, or some other means found of subsisting those Bosjesmen who have kraals within or near the boundary> 118 Records of the Cape Colony. and do not work for the inhabitants, the latter may at length become tired of their importunities, and by refusing to satisfy their demands may be exposed to the unexpected effects of their resentment. The least evil that can be looked for is their returning to the mountains, and recommencing their former predatory mode, of life, which, indeed, I understand has hap- pened lately with some of them. Notwithstanding the benefits that may be expected from the adoption of the proposed measures, I fear that it will be a con- siderable time before the plan of engaging the Bosjesmen to serve the inhabitants during registered periods can be conveniently adopted; until long accustomed to the way of living of the colonists, they leave them for some months every year to enjoy a ramble, and to eat locusts, wild roots, and the larvae of ants. It would be impolitic, and indeed impossible, to compel them at once to relinquish these habits ; and it can only be hoped that the exertions of the farmers on the borders, and the benevolence and justice of a watchful government, may at length vanquish these early propensities, and guide to useful purposes the exercise of those talents with which they have been so liberally gifted by nature. Having now concluded my observations upon those points to which your Excellency was pleased particularly to direct my attention, I shall endeavour in some measure to comply with that part of my instructions which calls for my opinion generally upon whatever may tend to the advantage of the colony. In undertaking this important task, I beg to observe that the result of my remarks and inquiries, and the foundation of the reflections which I may have the honor to submit, is a conviction that the slow progress made in general through the interior towards the advantages of an improved state of society is principally occa- sioned by the impossibility under existing circumstances of a proper superintend an ce and controul on the part of Government. While the remotest part of the Colony is in a flourishing state, and its limits are too confined to afford places for the rapid increase of population, a vast tract situated in the heart of the country has been suffered to lie waste, exposed to the incursions of savages from every quarter, and facilitating their inroads upon the culti- vated districts. It may be worth making an inquiry into the Records of the Cape Colony . 119 causes of this extraordinary neglect, and an endeavour to discover whether there are any means of removing so great an evil. Whoever reads the accounts that have been published of travels through the colony of the Cape, must be impressed with ideas of the Great Karoo, similar to those which may have been produced on hearing of the desert of Zara ; satisfied that the subject would be uninteresting to their readers, it has been no otherwise noticed by authors than by a pretty observation and an appropriate quotation about “ boundless wastes.” The people most qualified to give a true description of this country conceive themselves, although erroneously, interested to leave it unknown. These are the farmers of the neighbouring districts, those who pass through them on their journeys to the Cape from more remote quarters, and persons employed to bring cattle from the interior, who all contrive to find excellent pasturage for their cattle in many parts of these uninhabited plains. It appears that about twenty years ago the Coup was tolerably inhabited ; but as I stated on a former occasion, a troop of several hundred Bosjesmen having fixed their kraals in the midst of the farmers, they removed from the neigh- bourhood of these troublesome visitors. Considerable inconvenience having been experienced at the Cape from the interruption to the usual supplies of cattle, which were intercepted by these people on their way from the more distant quarters, the Roggeveld and Sneeuwberg farmers were directed to expel them, which they effected after considerable slaughter. Kew of the deserted places have since been reoccupied, the- proprietors having mostly settled in better or more secure places, and being unwilling to expose themselves to the depredations of a people, the fear of whom, more than the barrenness of the soil, has deterred others from settling there. A residence of nearly three months in this part of the colony, during which time I visited most parts of it, has enabled me to collect some information upon its natural resources. The great and little Ghamgha, the Dwyka, and other streams, are lined with excellent pasturage. An ancient order of Govern- ment prohibits their banks from being occupied, that the butchers’ cattle from Graaff-Reinet may find grass on its way to the Cape. This regulation has prevented any places being granted there in loan, thereby depriving Government of the revenue they would have produced, without answering the end which it had in view. 120 Records of the Gape Colony. The farmers of the neighbouring districts, as well as wandering boers, have always made use of this land, unless kept away by the fear of Kaffres, who from custom have long looked upon this as their own territory. The veld cornets have also been in the habit of sending their cattle there, and have consequently not deemed it advisable to notice this irregularity in others, more especially as they knew that sufficient grass was always left for the butchers’ herds. Between these streams and those of the Zout and Kareeia Bivers, many places adapted for sheep were formerly occupied, and others might probably be found, if proper search were made. The butchers’ cattle might have the privilege of grazing on them, without injury to the proprietors, in the same manner as is now used in the inhabited districts through which they pass, and many conveniences would be afforded to them and to other travellers which they are at present unable to procure in this land of desolation. Although Karoo land is unfavourable for holding water, I am inclined to think that reservoirs might be made here without much expence, and as it seldom happens that a year passes here without rains, the want of this necessary of life could be no longer felt. The upper part of Zout Biver is not brackish, and it can be brought over the adjoining country ; and, perhaps, by making proper dams, this stream might be prevented from joining the Kareeka and poisoning the waters of the Great Biver. A great obstacle to success in an endeavour to settle this part of the country would arise from the sickness that generally prevails in the summer season among horses, and which is more felt in the Karoo than in most other parts, a circumstance that used to be taken advantage of by the Bosjesmen, who were, in consequence of it, enabled to carry off their spoil without danger. This difficulty might, however, be overcome by sending the horses at those periods in charge of a few careful persons to the neigh- bouring mountains, keeping under cover at each place the few necessary to trace stolen cattle. Corn and barley might be drawn from Zwarteberg and from a few places in the Coup. By connecting the Karoo with the neighbouring districts, a chain would be formed between the extremities of the Colony, materially strengthening the whole. This leads me to say a few words about the adjoining country. Records of the Cape Colony. 121 On the south are the mountains of Zwarteberg. The people there are of the worst description of the whole colony, and con- sequently require more watching. They are not, however, under any control, except such as arises from written orders, which, at the distance from which they emanate, produce but little effect. The consequence is that the Hottentots, who have mostly been enticed from the service of travellers in the hope of being plentifully supplied with the wine which some of the farms there produce, are badly fed and are ill-treated ; and the regula- tions of government on other points are not more attended to. I am far from wishing to impute neglect to a man, under whose firm, though mild, administration the principal part of the district of Graaff-Reinet, so long the scene of anarchy, has been restored to order. No person regrets more than Mr. Stockenstrom the irregular state of this part of the country ; and its not having altered under his government is the best proof of the necessity of adopting measures for its improvement unconnected with his present situation. Little Roggeveld, the Nieuwveld, and Coup, in the district of Tulbagh, and the Coup and the Nieuwveld Gebergte, in that of Graaff-Reinet, bound the Karoo on the west and north. I have already stated that the inhabitants of the latter districts now live on friendly terms with the neighbouring Bosjesmen. It is in- sinuated by the Zwarteberg people, whom they do not spare in their turn, that this tranquillity is secured by their not noticing the passage of these plunderers to the districts in their rear. I am, however, rather disposed to attribute their safety to the reasons which I have already given, their vicinity to those people, and the facility it has afforded them, on a long acquaintance, of taking the necessary steps to conciliate them. It cannot be expected that, because they enjoy the benefits of this friendly intercourse, the rest of the colony should be free from the attacks of a people who, unconnected and disunited among themselves, cannot be brought to think that, because they are at peace with one district, they should not rob another. Many valuable places in the Nieuwveld’ s Gebergte, which were abandoned before this amicable footing was established, might be retaken, and others might also be occupied, both there and at Zak River. The few inhabitants now in that vicinity have monopolized the best part of it. They are as far removed from the Drostdy, and are con- 122 Records of the Cape Colony. sequently as independent, as those of Zwarteberg, and would probably see the introduction of new settlers, and the establish- ment of rigorous authority, with equal jealousy. The opinions I have formed of the people of this part of the country are fully corroborated by those of Mr. Stockenstrom. Having requested the sentiments of that gentleman' as to the propriety of investing some of them with powers which I con- ceived it absolutely necessary to place for a time somewhere in the neighbourhood, in order to secure the tranquillity of the district, he answered my inquiries in the following terms, which may also serve to explain the cause of the disorders that prevail in that quarter : “Yous m’avez fait trop d’honneur en envoyant a mon lecture et consideration les instructions et la lettre projettees. Je ne m’ettonne pas que vous passez trop resquer en donnant un pouvoir de cette nature a quelques fermiers du voisinage ou vous vous trouvez. Ils sont la, de la plus basse classe, et j’espere que ceux, ci ne vous donne pas un prejuge contre les paysans en general. Le Zwarteberg, aussi bien que le Coup, et le Nieuwveld, sont tout a fait separes des autres districts de Graaff-Reynet par des grande deserts appelles le Carroo. Le plus grand nombre sont des batards ; neanmoins je ne crois pas, que ces gens abuseront de ces pouvoires, pareeque ils ne sont pas trop belligereux, au moins au Swarteberg ; et ils prenderont plutot leurs recours chez leurs voisins, et le landdrost que de prendre les armes pour leur propre surete.” If judicious steps were taken, and sufficient encouragement were held out, I am persuaded that this country would wear a very different appearance. There are a great many persons in almost every part of the colony in want of places. Some reside with relations, some wander through this and other disregarded tracts. By offering them lands with free rent for a few years, according to the nature of the places, many, I am inclined to think, would be induced settle in this neighbourhood. I fear, however, that they would not long remain there unless a drostdy were fixed among them. The salary of the landdrost and subordinate officers would be amply compensated by the good effects that their presence would produce both in a political and moral point of view. The residence of the veld commandant Abraham de Klerk is the 123 Records of the Cape Colony. best place in the Coup,’ and, indeed dn the whole tract lying between Cedarberg and Sneeuwberg, besides the waters of the Ghamgha, which near this seldom fail, it has the advantage of an abundant fountain, and the land is fit for every purpose. The Commandant has another place adjoining this, and bordering on the mountains, which is convenient for holding cattle. This spot has the command of the Karoo and of Zwarteberg. It is well situated for observing the Bosjesmen, for protecting the communication between Graaff-Reinet and the Cape, and in short it seems to possess every requisite for the seat of a drostdy. The Kareeberg, the seat of those kraals whose depredations have been most felt in the northern districts, is not two da3Ts ride from it, and the most eligible place for establishing a mission is not more than one. There is a good road to it from Algoa Bay, which may be reached by a waggon in eight days, one half the time that it requires to proceed from the Meuwveld to the Cape. The District of Ghamgha might be separated from those of Graaff-Reinet and Uitenhage by an imaginary line drawn west of great and little Table Mountains, Sneeuwberg and Camdeboo, and passing through Doris Poort on Great River, at about forty miles from De Beer Vallei, to terminate in the Winter Hoek Mountains at the eastern extremity of Baviaans Kloof. The southern line should, I conceive, include Baviaans Kloof, which has no entrance to the east or south, and should also embrace the Zwartebergen as far as Buffalo River. This boundary would include a great portion of Groote River, where a number of wandering peasants occasionally reside without paying rents, and who should be obliged to take acknowledged places. A line drawn along Buffalo River to Korns Berg and Rhinoceros River, and from the junction of the last mentioned stream with the Riet to a determined point on Zak River would perhaps be a proper division from the district of Tulbagh. Some springs exist in this part of the colony, which promise to be of infinite service in certain disorders. They are situated near the Blood River, one of the sources of the Dwyka ; are said to be of an extreme degree of coldness, and are strongly impregnated with sulphur. An inhabitant of Tarka, named Crauford, now sixty-nine years of age, discovered them when hunting about four years ago. He declares that he has since then been twice cured by them, once of a rheumatism, which had not allowed him to 124 Bccords of the Cape Colony. sleep during weeks, and afterwards of the consequences of a waggon having passed over him, which had broken some of his ribs, and hurt him inwardly. He states that he used to warm this bath with heated stones. It may be conceived that the district of Uitenhage would be too much reduced by the establishment of the drostdies of Guasouwgha and Ghamgha, more especially as a considerable portion of the remaining part is at present regarded as un- inhabitable, from the scarcity of water there, and the quantity of underwood by which it is covered. The latter reasons seem, however, to me to operate in favour of its diminution, as the attention of tlm landdrost can be more directed to such places as may lead to its cultivation. It must be remembered also that the best bays towards the east are within the limits of Uitenhage, which must render it a commercial as well as a military station, that it is possessed of valuable mines, that from these circumstances the population must increase very considerably, and that the landdrost will necessarily be prevented from attending the distant quarters. The inconvenience which this district would at first suffer from the diminution of its revenues might be prevented by establishing a reasonable duty on the salt that is taken from the pan at Coogha. The inhabitants of half the colony are now supplied from there, and it is made a beneficial article of trade by many individuals. The same encouragement that is proposed as an inducement for settling the Karoo might be held out for the several tracts in this district, whose occupancy may be opposed by woods, mountains, or the want of water. There is a quantity of ungranted land in the neighbourhood of Zwartkops Kiver, some of which should, I think, be reserved for fisheries, and the rest given out in small lots only. Algoa Bay seems extremely well situated for a commercial intercourse with the Mauritius. Those islands are said to receive their supplies of corn at a very low rate from Surat, but their cattle is brought generally from St. Augustine’s Bay in Madagascar, at a very high price, not less perhaps than that for which it might be supplied from the Cape. The possession of those important stations would in that case be not less beneficial to this colony than to the empire at large. But Algoa Bay might become a point of extensive trade Records of the Cape Colony. 125 independently of foreign relations, for, if manufactures were carried there, they might be exchanged for the produce now brought to the Gape from the districts of Graaff-Eeinet and Uitenhage, thereby obviating the great inconvenience that the inhabitants now suffer by their distance from a market, a distance perhaps greater than that of land carriage in any other part of the world. The Kromme Iliver or Content Bay, is, I believe, the most convenient shipping station between Algoa and Plettenberg Bays. There is a good spring of water close to the landing place, and the produce of the neighbouring country might here be easil}' exported. The districts of Zitzikamma and Kromme Biver are exceedingly unfavourable to cattle, and a great portion of land there is in consequence unoccupied, although some is well watered by rivulets, and the whole is regularly visited by rains. In the first they are subject to a disease, called by the farmers the teering, and in the latter to the lam ziekte. No remedy has yet been found for the former malady ; but it is confidently said that a handful of salt given invariably twice in the year, is a certain preventative of the latter. It is, however, scarcely known in the colony, and in the two districts above-mentioned the only precaution used against these disorders is frequently to change the cattle from one quarter to the other. Of the lands yet ungranted in this neighbourhood, some might, perhaps, be hereafter useful to government, if it should be deemed advisable to make Content Bay a station for the exportation of the fine timber growing near Eerst Eiver. The remainder might probably be most usefully given out in small lots, a plan that seems to me most advisable for all the ungranted lands of the districts situated on the coast. The establishment of a drostdy in the eastern part of Swellendain is, exclusive of exterior relations, if possible more necessary than on the banks of the Ghamgha. There are many respectable persons now residing there who deplore the evils that exist, and anxiously wish' for their removal by a less distant and more efficient controul. The landdrost complains that in consequence of connexions or partialities, the most important occurrences are either totally concealed from his knowledge, or else so mis- represented as to render it impossible to form a just opinion upon the merits of any case. Authority is not respected, the laws are 126 Records of the Cape Colony. disregarded, and the most atrocious crimes have been committed there with impunity. A great part of this country is almost unknown. The in- habitants of Langekloof have always declared that the quarter of Kouwgha was uninhabitable, in order that no intruders should disturb them in the possession of its pasturage. One person who has held his herds on an excellent lot of land during twenty years, without paying the loan rent, affected to be greatly surprised lately at a stranger having discovered a mode of making a waggon road to it, and obtaining it in loan from govern- ment. It would be a great benefit, and worth some sacrifices on the part of the public, to have this tract settled. It is a blank now in the midst of cultivation, and is not resorted to, except by deserters. Of the country situated between Plettenberg Bay and Zitzikamma, there was no better information. A few Maroon Hottentots had traversed it some years before I went there, but the white people of either extremity had not gone farther than its skirts, which they had occasionally visited for the purpose of hunting or seeking for servants who had absconded. This tract is, I think, supposed to be too extensive according to Mr. Barrow’s chart, and Zitzikamma is not laid down large enough. The distance from Bobbe Berg east to Pic Formosa does not, I conceive, much exceed forty miles. It contains seventeen streams having mouths to the sea, of which several are of magnitude. They are mostly remarkable, like those on the western side of the bay, for flowing through precipices, but some may be made to serve the purposes of irrigation. For about twelve miles east of Keurboom Eiver, the country is almost covered with wood. Two large streams called the Salt and Shipwood Rivers, flowing through this extent, may be entered by boats, the former to a considerable distance. Excellent timber may be found near both, particularly between Shipwood and Kranz (Precipice) River, a few miles to the east ; ships cannot, however, ride near them in so much safety as near Robbe Berg. The latter river cannot, I apprehend, be rendered passable for waggons, except by throwing a bridge over it. This could be rendered difficult only by its depth, for its high banks are very near each other in some places, particularly close to its mouth. About a mile beyond Kranz River, the country opens near the sea, and presents a plain of coppice and sour grasses, exceedingly Records of the Cape Colony. 127 well watered by the Houree, Swellendam and Dole Divers, and in some places affording tolerable pasturage for horned cattle. The woods continue under the mountains a considerable distance farther to the east. Soon after we had passed the Dole River, we found the former residence of a Maroon slave, a native of Malabar, who had been brought from it to his master only a few weeks before, in the hope of a reward, by the Kaffres whom we were in search of. The poor fellow had been six years in this unfrequented tract. A companion, whose grave we perceived at the distance of several miles beyond his habitation, had for the first few months cheered his retreat, but he had passed the remainder of this time without the company of a human being. The first hut he had constructed was concealed in the wood. The second showed that he had built it with more confidence, for it was placed outside, and an un- disturbed residence of several years having given him reason to suppose that he might end his days in this peaceful abode, he had begun to build on a larger scale, but had only half completed his new mansion when he was deprived of all his possessions. Whether he supposed the land under large wood better than that naturally without any I cannot say, but he had cleared at least two acres, which he had converted into an excellent garden, containing vegetables, tobacco, and fruit-trees, well watered by a fountain which Iris labour had appropriated to its particular use. The dung of elephants and buffaloes, which are both exceedingly numerous in this quarter, had served him for manure, and a heap of their bones and of those of elands, boschboks, and other antelopes, of whose skins he had manufactured good clothing, cut according to the European fashion, manifested his success in the chase, or rather his ingenuity in contriving pits and snares to catch these animals. His industry had even extended to the baking of earthenware ; and this new Robinson Crusoe had contrived by his own exertions to unite in his solitude almost all the comforts that are enjoyed in civilized and social life. Indolence had certainly had no share in prompting his flight, nor had the fear of punish- ment been the cause of it, for he had never committed any crime. Desirous to acquire some information respecting the country which I was about to enter, I sent for this extraordinary man. The fear of his escape, and the weight of his fetters, had made it 128 Records of the Cape Colony. necessary to bring him in a waggon. Thus chained it was his master’s intention to avail himself of his future services ; but observing to him that it was possible he might frustrate his vigilance and draw other Maroons to the difficult country which he had lately inhabited, I directed that he should be immediately taken to the Cape, and there exchanged or otherwise disposed of. About ten miles beyond this spot, which we called Damon’s Fontein, from the name of its late unfortunate possessor, we arrived at the Storm Eiver, whose broad deep bed, full of large loose stones, bears strong marks of winter torrents. Through this a carriage passage would be difficult ; and its banks being more distant from each other and its stream more rapid than at Kranz Eiver, a bridge could not there be so easily constructed; but either might, I think, be effected with due labour. This river is almost lined with large timber, but the country beyond it, through which the Mooi and Eland Eivers meander is again open to Eerst Eiver, which is the boundary of Zitzikamma, and which contains some very fine wood about its banks, particularly on its sources at Witte Els and under Pic Formosa. It is not a little extraordinary that the tract just attempted to be slightly described, comprising an extent of fourteen leagues of coast, should have remained in a state of nature in the midst of a country inhabited by Europeans during nearly half a century. Its occupancy would be a public benefit, not only by completing the communication along the coast between the extremities of the colony, but also by preventing Maroons from taking refuge in it, and by the assistance that might thereby be afforded to such navigators as might unfortunately be wrecked on this dangerous coast. This country should, I conceive, be given out to industrious Europeans or Chinese, who might gain a good livelihood by the cultivation of corn and the felling of wood. The want of animal manure, now pleaded by the farmers on the coast as an excuse for the neglect of the cultivation of corn, would be no obstacle to people who know how to supply a substitute from a mixture of vegetables and the lime of shells. An object of infinite importance, which might also be attended to here, presents itself in the cultivation of flax and hemp. Circum- stances render the supply of these articles from our colonies of the highest concern to the mother country ; and if the same encourage- ments to the growth of this produce were held out to the inhabitants Records of the Cape Colony. 129 of the Cape, that have stimulated to exertion those of Canada, a much less valuable possession, there is every reason to suppose that they would be attended with at least equal success. A more favourable opinion than formerly seems to be now entertained of Cape woods ; but the price of them is exorbitant. It would not, however, be worth the inconvenience to make any alteration in the mode of procuring the small quantity that is at present brought from Plettenberg Bay ; but if circumstances should require timber to be exported from the Cape to England, I am convinced that there might be a very considerable saving from government taking the whole concern into their own hands. The construction of a wharf would then be a work of great utility, and its expence would soon be repaid, by the shipments being made in half the time necessary at present. The hopes that were entertained of rendering the Knysna navigable have, I believe, been entirely relinquished, in con- sequence of a late inspection made by some officers of the navy. Indeed it requires no professional knowledge to perceive that its entrance could not be attempted without the most imminent danger. The tract in Outeniqualand, reserved by government, seems to be the most appropriate situation for the establishment of a drostdy. Its extent is nearly that of four loan places. One, called Post Kraal, contains the house and garden of the resident. It is watered by a fine stream called the Quoiaung, issuing from the mountains on its northern skirt. This rivulet might also overflow the adjoining place, called Polish Bosch, for which, I understand, an application has been made to government by an individual. Between Polish Bosch and Cayman’s River is Pampoen Kraal, so much celebrated in the travels of Monsieur Le Vaillant. This charming spot is separated from Polish Bosch by a stream called Klein Zwarte River, which falls into Cayman’s River. It is now occupied by the persons that are permitted to fell wood in the neighbourhood, who generally cut between Cayman’s River and that of Trakatekouw, an uninhabited tract of less than a mile in length. Another place on the southern side, and adjoining Post Kraal, is called Hooge Kraal ; it affords tolerable pasturage, but is badly watered. If the road between Plettenberg Bay and Outeniqualand were in good order, the distance would not be greater than one day’s journey on horseback. Mossel Bay is only twenty miles from it. VII. K 130 Records of the Cape Colony. The latter is known to be the best landing place to the eastward. It must necessarily become a station of considerable importance, but it has one material defect, that is the scarcity of water. No town could, I fear, be conveniently supplied in abundance with this indispensable article nearer than the point recommended for the seat of a drostdy, which joins to this advantage that of the valu- able timber growing on the skirts of the Post Kraal and of Polish Bosch, which has been carefully preserved for the use of government. The district of Outeniqualand would be bounded by that of Ghamgha on the north, and by the sea on the south. It might be separated from Swellendam by the continuation of Buffalo Biver and the Gourits Biver, and from Uitenhage by an imaginary line drawn from the eastern extremity of Baviaans Kloof to Pic Formosa. It would be a great benefit to the country situated between the drostdy of Swellendam and the mountains of Hottentots Holland, if some point could be fixed on within its limits for the exporta- tion of its produce. Although so near the Cape, the country is less improved, and the inhabitants are in more indigent circum- stances than in some of the most distant quarters. This may be attributed to the inferiority of the soil, which renders the greatest- part of it unfit for the breeding of cattle, and the necessity of cultivating corn, which the inhabitants labour under the dis- advantage of being obliged to convey to town over the Houw Hoek and the Kloof. St. Sebastian’s Bay is said to afford good anchorage, but the landing there is very difficult. The shore on the eastern side of Breede Biver is the worst part of it, and seems to be totally unfit for shipments. The river, from its entrance to a distance of twenty miles up the country, affords a landing at almost every place, and is so broad as to be capable of being navigated by small vessels; but its mouth contracts, forming a curved channel of about three fathoms in depth, thirty yards in breadth, and, perhaps, a thousand in length. On the right bank of the river, close within its entrance, there is a very good landing place, where a boat belonging to a small vessel embarked provisions a few days before my arrival. From the mouth of the river to the point which forms the western side of the bay, the shore is bordered by rocks, over which a boat can pass at high water. About the middle of this line there is a fine fountain, where a Records of the Cape Colony. 131 French vessel watered many years since. It is the only plentiful fresh water stream in this neighbourhood. Schoonberg Bay, at Cape Aiguillas, erroneously, I believe, called Struys Bay by Mr. Barrow, who has laid down this part of the country incorrectly in other respects also, has a fine beach and convenient landing place. The anchorage is supposed to be good, but ships would, I fear, be much exposed there from the little elevation of the neighbouring country, and from a reef that has given a name to this point. If it should not be judged advisable to make it a commercial station, it appears to me that it would at least be highly expedient that a lighthouse should be erected there ; that measure would probably prevent any more of the unfortunate accidents of which this dangerous point has already been productive, and the protecting hand of Britain would be extended at the utmost extremity of Africa to all nations employed in the navigation of the Indian ocean. The following statement of ships that have been lost near Cape Aiguillas, was given to me by some persons who have long resided in the vicinity. The wrecks of several can be discerned there at low water : — 1st. A wreck, nation, &c. unknown. 2nd. A Portuguese ship, some of the people were saved, and their descendants are now living in the colony. 3rd. The Schoonberg, laden with teas ; the people were all saved, and proceeded along the shore as far as Bot Eiver, the remotest part of the colony then inhabited, where a man had just killed a hippopotamus, with which he regaled the sufferers. This vessel gave its name to the bay. 4th. The Edward, an English ship, stranded between Schoonberg and Zoetendaal’s Valley’s (Lake) mouth, which is about five miles east of Schoonberg and Cape Aiguillas. The people and cargo were saved. 5th. A French slave ship, stranded at Schoonberg. The people were saved. 6th. The Nicobar, a Danish vessel, stranded at the mouth of Patel Eiver, a few miles west of Point Aiguillas. Most of the people were drowned. The above vessels, together with two or three wrecked near Klein Eiver, were lost probably by accident in the night. The Hooker de Meermin was stranded from a different cause. 132 Records of the Gape Colony. This vessel belonged to the Dutch East India Company, and was commanded by a man named Muller ; she sailed about 40 years ago from the Cape for the island of Madagascar, to exchange copper and merchandise for slaves. Having arrived at her destina- tion, a chief and party of natives were invited on board, and having been lulled to security, were bound and carried off. The ship having made Cape Point on her return, the captain supposed all danger past, and released his prisoners ; they instantly seized the ship and put all their kidnappers to death, except the captain and a few persons whom they spared for the purpose of navigating the vessel back to Madagascar. The savages knew that they had come from the point where the sun rises, and could not be much deceived during the day respect- ing the proper course to be taken ; but in the night the ship was always steered in a contrary direction. At length they arrived off Point Aiguillas, and the vessel was anchored at Schoonberg ; the mate, who was' the only person who had any influence over the minds of the captives, having persuaded them that this country was part of their own, and that they should proceed on their voyage as soon as some repairs were performed to the vessel. Letters descriptive of their situation were inclosed by the captain in bottles and committed to the sea, and were received by some inhabitants who happened to be fishing near the spot. The affair was reported to the landdrost, who assembled a party immediately, and placed them in ambush at a short distance, directing some slaves and Hottentots to light a fire. This was the signal of friendship and aid requested to be made by the captain, who ran the ship on shore as soon as he observed it. The savages supposing the people they perceived were unconnected with any nation like their base betrayers, swam in a body to the beach, where they testified their joy by dancing and acclamations. Their festivity was not of long duration. Those who did not fall by a discharge of musketry, or prefer a watery grave to slavery, were again secured. The author of this infamous transaction, fearing that his conduct in liberating the prisoners, which was done against the advice of his officers, might subject him to punishment when known in Holland, or else unable to bear the stings of conscience, put a period soon afterwards to his criminal existence. Records of the Cape Colony. 133 Eyle Kraal Kiver falls into the sea at a few miles east of Kleine Eiver, and opposite the island where the Whale Company employ some people to kill seals. Eyle Kraal Bay has the advantage of a fine beach and of a plentiful supply of fresh water furnished by three springs. A strong gale blew from the N.E. the day that I was there, yet a landing could have been made without difficulty. Its position is convenient for shipping the produce of the country about Kars Kiver, which grows a considerable quantity of corn. The Kars Kiver joins the Zoetendaals Lake at a little distance before the latter discharges itself into the sea. It is, therefore, incorrectly placed in Mr. Barrow’s chart, in which the numerous lakes of this part of the colony are totally omitted. Little Hanglip, about a mile south of Great Hanglip, is the southernmost extremity of the eastern side of False Bay. On its north-west side there is a Bay which is protected from the south- east winds ; an advantage not possessed by any of those of the colony to the east of it. A fine stream of water flowing through a vale that offers a convenient and agreeable site for a town falls here into the sea. An excellent road may be made to it, with very little trouble, from the mouth of Palmiet Kiver, which is ten miles east of Hanglip, instead of being to the north of it, as laid down by Mr. Barrow. Fine timber of various kinds may be procured, though with some difficulty, from the neighbouring mountains. The Peninsula can be seen there from Cape Point to the Devil’s Head, and presents one of the most magnificent views of Southern Africa. The only obstacle to the approach of this bay from the interior is opposed by the Palmiet Kiver, which in the winter season is generally impassable near the sea, but this difficulty might be easily removed by building such a bridge as has lately been constructed on the same stream, a few miles higher up. The best point seems to be at about half a mile from the sea, and close under the mountains which border the river from this spot nearly to that where the bridge above-mentioned has been placed. No inhabitant has yet proceeded completely along the shore between Hanglip and Hottentots Holland, and I very unwillingly relinquished my intention of taking that route in consequence of the representations made by the boers of the great difficulty of the undertaking, and of the probability that the Steenbraasen Kiver had been swollen by rains, which had then recently fallen ; 134 Records of the Cape Colony. although I had much reason to suppose that their suggestions arose from indolence. I had, however, a tolerable view of the feet of the mountains on the eastern side of False Bay, both from Gordon Bay and Hanglip, and am not only convinced that a bridle road might be made with little difficulty along the shore, but am also strongly inclined to think that with the labour which has lately been employed on the road to Simon’s Town, a passage for waggons might also be effected. Koogel Bay is on the northern side of Great Hanglip. It was there that the Colebrook was wrecked, after she had struck on the rock to which she bequeathed her name. The Steenbraasen Biver on its northern side would easily admit of a bridge close to the mountains. The point between Koogel and Gordon Bays could be turned very easily. The construction of the bridge and the removal of some detached rocks would constitute the whole work necessary for making a passage that would open a com- munication by land between the seat of government and the eastern districts situated on the coast, without the necessity of crossing the formidable barriers that now intervene. Any commercial depot established between the Breede Kiver and the peninsula must necessarily become an important military station. Hanglip Bay seems to me susceptible of being very strongly fortified. Points project on each side where batteries could be conveniently constructed, producing a destructive cross and raking fire, and protected against an attack from boats by dangerous ridges, which, however, do not extend to the middle of the bay. A slight elevation crosses the bay, which would perfectly cover magazines and store-houses from the cannonade of shipping. Between this elevation and the usual high water mark, there is a sand bank of a few hundred yards in breadth, which, I believe, may be covered at spring tide, but which might be built upon if a wall were constructed to keep out the sea. Flat bottomed boats might now pass through it, and ascend the stream to a considerable distance. In addition to the advantages that would be experienced by the inhabitants of the neighbouring country from the establishment of a depot at Hanglip, other benefits would result from such a measure. It lays directly opposite to Simon’s Bay, where shipping could be abundantly supplied from it in a few hours with many Records of the Cape Colony. 135 things at a reasonable rate, which cannot now be procured there without much difficulty nor without paying an exorbitant price. I know of nothing to discourage this project, except a heavy swell which was observable on the day that I saw this bay, although there was not a breath of wind. As a compensation for the loss that Swellendam would sustain by the formation of the district of Outeniqua, the country beyond the mountains, now under the drostdy of Stellenbosch, might be ceded to it. It must, however, be confessed, that Swellendam would lose in revenue by this change. The deficit might, however, be supplied in the manner proposed for Uitenhage, by imposing a tax on the salt taken from the pan near Cape Aiguillas. It is larger than that at Coogha, and has constantly produced salt during the remembrance of the inhabitants now residing near it until the last year, when the extraordinary heavy rains entirely overflowed it. The water still prevents all access to its produce, but might, I think, be easily removed the next dry season. That part of the district of Stellenbosch which is situated within the mountains might be annexed to the Cape district, which would, perhaps, be best divided from that of Swellendam by the Palmiet Ei ver. The civil duties at Simon’s Town would not take up much of the Commandant’s time, and might easily be executed with the assistance of a table of instructions, and a permanent clerk understanding both languages. The deputy fiscal now there might act in the same capacity, or in that of deputy landdrost, or in both at Stellenbosch, and might also superintend the petty affairs occurring at the Paarl and at Hottentots Holland. The new divisions of districts being made, I conceive that it would be advisable to appoint a surveyor to each of them, and a surveyor-general to the whole colony. A considerable part of the expences of this establishment might be defrayed from the profits of surveying estates, which, I think, should all be accurately measured and numbered, whether granted in property or in loan. Copies of these surveys and district charts, made by the surveyors in their leisure hours, both having explanatory notes affixed to them, would soon place government in possession of the fullest information upon the topography of the colony, a desideratum at present. The repair of roads should, I conceive, be also under the 136 Records of the Cape Colony. direction of the surveyor’s department, and the distances should be laid down by miles, to put an end to the absurd practice of measuring by hours. The repair of Kloofs should, I think, be superintended by them also. They ought all to be contracted for in the same manner as is done for that of Hottentots Holland ; but the contract should be a government, not a district concern. The discovery of Caledon Kloof and of Nieuwe Berg has much facilitated the communication of waggons from the eastern districts. An attention to Mosterd’s Hoek and Fransche Hoek would be equally beneficial to those of the north. The authority of government, and consequently the tranquillity of the interior, depend greatly upon the quick dispatch of orders proceeding from the Cape, and of reports transmitted to it. The establishment of a regular and expeditious post is absolutely necessary to effect this important end. I presumed on a former occasion to address your Excellency on this subject. Since then I have attended more closely to it, and beg to refer to the annexed document (D) for a detail of my ideas on that point, and of the steps that I have taken to facilitate the execution of such measures as your Excellency may think expedient to adopt respecting it. Although the maintenance of order, and the improvement of the colony, would doubtless be much promoted by multiplying the drostdies, and by facilitating and expediting the communications between the districts and the seat of government, yet these essential objects cannot, I fear, be perfectly secured until the veld cornets are placed on a different footing. At present their situation is not otherwise desirable than as it may afford them opportunities of favouring their friends or of oppressing their enemies. An active, firm, and impartial man, is ill remunerated for his trouble and expences, more especially in the distant quarters, by the remission of the opgaaf fees and of the rent of one farm. He can now have no other reward for his exertions, except in the esteem of his neighbours and in the consciousness of having done his duty, sentiments of little weight in a country almost totally destitute of public spirit. The cultivation of the colony would be much improved by establishing an agricultural school at one of the drostdies, where the most opulent farmers of the remote districts should be obliged to send a portion of their children for instruction. The number Records of the Cape Colony. 137 of public schools now established in England affords a great means of improvement to the inhabitants of the interior. The directors might be requested to send out annually a certain number of persons duly qualified from each institution. Their passage might be found in transports or store ships. A short time would be required to learn the rudiments of the Dutch language at the Cape, which would necessarily call for some public disbursements ; but the teachers would be enabled afterwards to earn a comfortable livelihood by instructing the children of the farmers, and the rising generation would all be Englishmen. If some reflections on the preservation of game may be permitted to find a place among the important points that form the subject of this report, I should be inclined to recommend an attention to the subject. From the want of some regulations on this head, the powerful buffalo, the majestic elephant, the wonderful hippo- potamus, all harmless animals, if unmolested, and the herds of beautiful antelopes, that formerly adorned the districts nearest to the seat of government, have been almost entirely destroyed by a few poachers. It would, perhaps, be only necessary strictly to enjoin the several landdrosts to issue such orders in each particular veld cornetship as might prevent the extinction of any species now remaining, and as might tend to re-introduce the others. Ten buffaloes were seen about a year ago between the Gourits and Kaffre Kuil Eivers. A noted poacher had shot five of them, and in order to destroy the remainder, he only waited for the return of rains, which would enable him to discover then trace. When I passed through that district, I gave orders against killing any of them, or of a few hartebeests that were also there, until permission should be obtained from the landdrost, under a penalty of fifty rix-dollars ; and I also issued similar directions for the preservation of the few bonte bucks remaining near Zoetendaals Lake, where one person had destroyed more than all the other inhabitants. Although this memoir has been swollen to so great a mass, I am induced to advert to one more topic, which appears to me to be of infinite consequence. I think that until the colony is completely inhabited as far as the present limits, no extension of boundary should be made, except from political motives. When the Kaffres shall find it 138 Records of the Cape Colony. impossible to make any impression on the increased population proposed for the country near the Konaba and Great Fish Ilivers, they may turn their attention towards the thinly inhabited district of Tarka. It may, therefore, be advisable to cover that point by a similar barrier, giving out in small lots the tract lying between the Kaffer and Storm mountains, called by Dr. Van der Kemp-, the country of the Abatoana Bosjesmen. This measure would also be necessary for the protection of the missionary institution recommended to be established in that quarter. The habitations should not, however, I conceive, be carried further than the Zwarte T’Ky Poort. An extension is anxiously looked for by the inhabitants of the north-eastern frontier, and Mr. Stockenstrom thinks that it might with propriety be made as far as Orange Kiver. I feel the sincerest respect for the opinions of that gentleman ; but on this, point I must beg to differ from him. The inhabitants of Gsaaff- Keinet can now procure the wood afforded by the willows growing on that river by applying for the necessary permission, and I do not see what benefit they would derive from its possession otherwise, except by the occupancy of land, which they can find by turning in another direction. The country on the left bank of the Sea Cow Eiver, to the distance of twenty or thirty miles, is of a superior quality. As soon as the tract now within the limits is tolerably occupied, I think that no time should be lost in gaining ground towards the Karee mountains. I beg to repeat my opinion that the most successful mode of conciliating and civilizing the Bosjesmen is to get near them. The Karee Berg should be embraced as soon as possible, and the colony should be extended to a direct line drawn from the junction of the Fish and Zak Eivers to the hills com- mencing about the Elands Berg, which continue in a sweep between the present boundary and Orange Eiver to Zuureberg. This measure would also render the colonial possessions more compact, and the communications more easy. The next extension of boundary, which, however, cannot be necessary until a very remote period, will naturally bring the colony to Orange Eiver. I cannot conclude these observations without expressing my apprehension that in the numerous despatches which I have had the honor to address to your Excellency, and perhaps in this report, I may have touched on some points that I ought not to have Records of the Cape Colony. 139 noticed, and dwelt more upon others than was either necessary or proper. If I should unfortunately have thus transgressed, I hope your Excellency will attribute my errors to the true causes, a wish to be instrumental as far as possible in doing good, and a degree of warmth inseparable from every subject in which I take a real interest. A soldier from the age of fifteen, one half of my existence has not afforded me leisure to learn even the elements of a profession to which I am ardently attached. It would therefore be extreme presumption to suppose myself capable of directing affairs of a nature entirely foreign to my studies and pursuits. I am far from entertaining such a feeling ; but I confess that I am happy in the consciousness of having exerted myself to the utmost to acquire such information as might facilitate the execution of your Excellency’s plans for the benefit of the colony over which you preside. If it should appear that my humble endeavours have in any degree been successful, the recollection will ever be one of the most pleasing of my life ; convinced that my feeble powers could not have been more usefully directed to the service of my sovereign and my country. I have the honor to remain, my Lord, With high respect, your Excellency’s faithful and obedient Servant, (Signed) Ed Collins. [Office Copy.] Letter from F. Robinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 1st August 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the bearer Mr. Wm. P. Roper to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope where he intends to reside as a merchant. I have etc. (Signed) F. Robinson. 140 Record* of the Cape Colony. [Office Copy.] Letter from F. Robinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 1s< August 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the bearer Mr. Madger to return to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) F. Robinson. [Office Copy.] Letter from F. Robinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 23rd August 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the bearer Mr. Wm. Scott to proceed with his wife and child to the Cape of Good Hope. I have &c. (Signed) F. Robinson. [Office Copy.] Letter from E. Cooke, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 2G tli August 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint you that his Lordship has given permission to the bearer Mr. John Theodore Beck to return to the Cape of Good Hope, taking with him Mr. Jas. Sherman as his clerk. I have &c. (Signed) E. Cooke. Records of the Cafe Colony. 141 [Office Copy.] Letter from E. Cooke, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 29 th August 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint you that his Lordship has given permission to the bearer Mr. Henry Hancock to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope where he intends to settle as a merchant. I have &c. (Signed) E. Cooke. [Copy.] Report of Lieutenant-Colonel Bichard Collins to the Earl of Caledon. Cape op Good Hope, August 1809. Under the first British Government at the Cape the Post was carried by Dragoons. The conveyance was then as expeditious as possible, despatches from the Cape being received within five days at Graaff-Beinet, if not impeded by the swelling of rivers. The Batavian Government directed that the Mail should be forwarded to particular inhabitants, who were paid for this service at the rate of two Bixdollars per hour. It was however understood that they were to carry only the Courant and letters accompanying it, and that they should not be obliged to travel during the night. Extra despatches to and from the Government were to be taken as a Tax by the inhabitants in general from house to house. This system has been continued under the present Government, with the exception that the monthly return mail is forwarded by the Postholders, who independently of this additional trouble, would, I think, be inadequately paid. The greatest neglect is observable on inspecting the Post Bills. The mail to and from Uitenhage, which might be conveyed within four days, is seldom received in less than a fortnight or three weeks, and is often more than a month on the road. The post for Graaff-Beinet formerly left the Uitenhage road at Hattaquas Kloof, and was taken to the former drostdy through Oliphant’s Biver, Swanepoel’s Poort, and Groote Biver. In 142 Eecords of the Cape Colony. consequence of an alteration made by me, which was afterwards confirmed by Government, it is now taken to Uitenhage, and from there to Graaff-Beinet. This affords the advantage of a direct and regular communication between the two drostdies, and enables the Postholders to receive three dollars for each hour’s distance, instead of two dollars as paid on the other road. There were formerly ten reliefs between the drostdy of Swellen- dam and the burgher Petersen’s, the first station paid by the landdrost of Uitenhage. They were calculated at six hours each. This post was taken from the Hattaqua through the Lange Kloof. Prom Petersen’s to the drostdy of Uitenhage was calculated at seventeen hours, which made the total distance between the two drostdies amount to 77 hours. On my arrival at Plettenberg Bay I was told that the greatest inconvenience was suffered by the Besident, as well as by the commanders of vessels that occasionally proceeded there, from the want of a regular conveyance for their correspondence with the Cape. It was stated that letters had often been months between Hagel Kraal (near Hattaquas Kloof, the place where the regular post turned off) and Plettenberg Bay. This difficulty was also experienced by the ships that touched at Mossel Bay and by the Besident of that place and of Outeniqua Land. The inhabitants complained very much of the heavy tax imposed upon them in being obliged continually to forward despatches without reward, and this grievance appeared the greater as it fell only on a few, those who resided on the road. It appeared to me that these inconveniences might be remedied without causing much additional expense to Government by bringing the post through the Bays. I could not but think that a change so desirable would be approved, and had reason to suppose that the directions necessary for the purpose would be better attended to while I was on the spot than if transmitted by letter from the Cape. It is scarcely possible for a horse to proceed at present through the country between Plettenberg Bay and Tsitsikama, and it was consequently necessary to take the post over the mountains to the Lange Kloof. The shortest road at that time used goes to the veld cornet Zondag’s place, but I learnt that another could be opened to that of the burgher Stephanus Ferreira, which is five or six hours distance nearer to Uitenhage than the former is. I there- Records of the Cape Colony. 143 fore ordered that the road should be made in this direction, which was done accordingly ; and I placed it, and indeed the whole road from the district of Uitenhage to the Gaurits Eiver, under the superintendence of Messrs. Eex, Abue, and Meeding. There appearing a possibility of making a shorter and better road between the place of Stephan us Eerreira and the drostdy of Uitenhage than that which goes by the place of Petersen, I requested Major Cuyler’s attention to that subject. The result of his enquiries was in some degree satisfactory, and the direction was altered in consequence. Some improvements were also made in that part of it that belongs to the drostdy of Swellendam. It will appear by the following statement that the new post road between the drostdies of Swellendam and Uitenhage is rated at fourteen hours less than the old one. From Swellendam to Mossel Bay through what is called the Flakte . . ' . . . . . . .17 hours To Outeniqua Land Post . . . . . . . 4 „ To Plettenberg Bay . . . . . . . 11 „ To the place of the burgher Stephanus Ferreira in the Lange Kloof called the Klipheuvel . . . . . 9 „ To the place of the burgher Petrus Ferreira situated on the border of the two districts, the first station paid by the landdrost of Uitenhage. . . . . . . 4 „ To the Drostdy of Uitenhage . . . . . . 18 „ Total 63 hours The mail was formerly carried by the messenger or the mounted police ruiter from the drostdy of Swellendam to the place of the veld commandant Petrus Lombard, a distance calculated at six hours, but which is really less than five. The remainder of the distance to Uitenhage, that is 72 hours, if paid at the rate of two rixdollars per hour, would have amounted to 144 dollars per month, but it came to more, for Major Cuyler had paid at the rate of three dollars for the seventeen hours in his district, which made the total monthly expense between Swellendam and Uitenhage amount to 159 rixdollars. The Major has however deferred making any agreement with regard to the new post road until the determination of Government shall be signified. The horses kept for the purpose of carrying the mail must be provided with stabling and dry forage. Two are necessary at each .station, and one servant at least will be required to take care of 144 Records of the Cape Colony. them and to take charge of the mail. It cannot be expected that letters should be taken to a greater distance than four or five hours by one postholder, which at the former rate would not amount to more than eight or ten dollars per month. This was certainly not sufficient payment, and no man wished to be employed on the duty. I beg to recommend that the new post should be paid at the rate of three rixdollars per hour, and it will appear that this can be done without increasing the expense considerably. The mail should be taken as usual by the police ruiters from the drostdy of Swellendam to the .place of the veld commandant Lombard. The remainder of the road to Uitenhage is fifty-eight hours, which, paid at the rate of three dollars per hour, would amount to 174 dollars. This is only thirty dollars per month more than the post would have cost by the old road, even if it had been entirely paid at the rate of two dollars per hour, but even this sum, so trifling when compared to the objects, may be diminished. I had intended that a station should be established about mid- way in the mountains between Plettenberg Bay and the Lange Kloof, but I find from the annexed letters from Mr. Eex that this would be inconvenient. The first distance mentioned by him, to the foot of the mountain, can be performed much more expe- ditiously on horseback than on foot. It should therefore be paid at the same rate as already recommended. But the two other distances can be gone over as quickly on foot as on horseback, and need not consequently be paid so high. A steady active Hottentot might be placed at the foot of the mountain, and another at the Palmiet Eiver’s drift, and if paid even at the High rate of four rixdollars per month, there would be a saving of ten dollars per month on the remaining six hours. Thus the difference of expense between the old and new post road from Swellendam to Uitenhage would be only twenty rix- dollars per month, although paid at the rate of three dollars per hour instead of two, and affording the advantage of regular com- munication with the Bays. Another saving can be made in the event of dragoons or police ruiters being sent to Uitenhage, by their conveying the mail to the first station from the drostdy. There is a house at the distance of about three hours on the road to Graaff-Eeinet. Records of the Cape Colony. 145 I must however state that I have reason to think that the inhabitants would not wish to have the conveyance of the post even at the rate of three rixdollars per hour, for it would barely pay their expenses. It would perhaps be advisable as a further encouragement to exonerate the postholders from every other per- sonal duty and from the supply of horses, waggons, labourers, &c., for the public service. They might then be reasonably required to carry the mail night and day, and also to bring it twice a month inwards instead of once. This last measure would be very useful, for although it seldom happens that every Landdrost or Eesident may have occasion to write to the Capital so frequently, yet it may justly be supposed that no fortnight would pass without its being necessary to make a report from some one of the Drostdies or Bays, particularly when ships are at the latter. The post now leaves Uitenhage for the Cape on the first Thursday after the first Monday of the month, which enables the result of the meetings of the courts of heemraden at the drostdies of Graaff-Beinet and Uitenhage to be sent with the monthly military returns from the latter place, and the Besidents at the Bays, knowing when to expect the post, have their letters in readiness. Perhaps it would be well to continue this regulation, and to direct that the return post should also leave Uitenhage on the second next Thursday. The above are the best arrangements that offer themselves to me for the conveyance of the mail from Swellendam eastward, but it remains to observe upon its carriage between that drostdy and the seat of Government. At present the despatches are taken outwards by the police ruiters, those from Swellendam coming weekly halfway to Tulbagh to receive the mail. But letters from the interior are sent from house to house the direct road from Swellendam to the Cape, with- out any remuneration to the bearer, a practice that is much com- plained of by the inhabitants. As the police ruiters of Stellenbosch and Tulbagh might each carry the mail to the distance of four or five hours from their respective drostdies, the expense of placing this part of the road on the same establishment as the remainder would not be very great, perhaps less than fifty rixdollars per month, by the payment of which every obstacle to a regular and expeditious correspondence between the seat of government and the several Drostdies and Bays, and also between the several Landdrosts and Besidents, VII. L 146 Records of the Cape Colony. would be removed, except what might be occasioned by the rising of rivers. It will appear by the accompanying paper that the passage of the Gaurits and Zwarte Eivers and of the Rugte Valley is secure at all times. The remaining rivers that may stop the post are those called the Breede, Buffeljachts, Duyvenhok, Kafferkuil, Little Brakke, Great Brakke, Little Zwarte, Cayman, Traketekouw, Diep, Goukamma, Knysna, Keurboom, Gamtoos, and Zondag. The Breede River is passed by that branch that flows through Mosterd’s Hoek. This and the Hex River can, I believe, be crossed almost always near the mountains. At all events they will allow a passage in a short time after the heaviest rains have ceased. The Buffeljachts, Duyvenhok, and Kafferkuil Rivers are next to the Gaurits the longest impassable during the rainy season by horses and waggons. A small boat could at all times take the mail over Buffeljachts River if placed at the ford through which the road passes. The best place for such a boat on Duyvenhok River is near the great road at a seacow hole between the places of Fourie and Lombard. A little work would be necessary to clear away the jungles. The new post road crosses the Kafferkuil River at the place of young Heilegard Muller. The stream is there too rapid for a boat, but in case of the river being swollen the mail might be taken over by the boat now placed at the passage near old Heilegard Muller’s, which is not an hour out of the direct road. The Little and Great Brakke Rivers would delay the post only while the tide was high. If it should be judged necessary to place boats, they could, I believe, at all times pass at the fords where the road goes through them. The Little Zwarte, Cayman, Traketekouw, and Diep Rivers would not delay the post many hours after the heaviest rains had ceased. When the mouth of the Goukamma is closed, which often happens to most rivers in this vicinity, the waters swell con- siderably. A boat placed where the great road passes could, however, at all times go over it, and unless in extraordinary bad weather a horse could go through it about a mile on the left of this place. The Knysna can be always passed except when the tide is in. Records of the Cape Colony. 147 Should it be wished not to delay that time, a boat would never be prevented from going through it. The Gamtoos Eiver might delay the post a day or two. The burgher Stephanus Ferreira, already stated to reside in the Lange Kloof, has a place on this river adjoining to a piece of ungranted land of the extent of something less than a loan farm. He offers to construct bridges over the Gamtoos and Little Gamtoos rivers, and to insure the passage of the mail through them at all times, provided he may be allowed to occupy the said land during the performance of this service. It is a very valuable lot, being the only one in this rich tract that is fit for sheep. But it is destitute of water, which, however, might be supplied by damming the Gamtoos Eiver. It is not necessary to pass the Zondag more than once between Uitenhage and Graaff-Eeinet. A boat can, I believe, be advan- tageously placed at the latter drostdy. There is just cause of complaint against the mode used of sending reports to and orders from the drostdies through the districts. At present when a report is to be made to the land- drost, or when the Courant or an order is sent to the veld cornet, it is taken from house to house in the same manner as was prac- tised with letters between Hagel Kraal and Plettenberg Bay, and as is yet done with the return post between Swellendam and the Cape. This duty consequently falls always on the same persons, those residing near the road, who discharge it very negligently, and it often happens that these dispatches miscarry, or that they are not received for two or three months after their date. It is also stated, I believe, with truth, that the Courants are seldom regularly sent round for the perusal of the inhabitants. The veld cornets might warn one of their inhabitants to proceed to the drostdy once a week with whatever letters there might be from his district for the drostdy or the capital, and to receive the Courant and whatever letters there may be for his cornetship. When received by him, another inhabitant should be warned to take round the Courant and letters, with a paper which should be signed by all the inhabitants who read the former and who receive the latter. This paper should be sent by the next weekly mes- senger to the drostdy, and they should be transmitted quarterly to the capital. It would be well, I think, if the despatches to and from the 148 Records of the Cape Colony. interior were enclosed in leathern cases and secured by locks, for which the Colonial Secretary or the Postmaster and the several Landdrosts and residents should have keys. This regulation would be equally useful for the correspondence between the land- drosts and veld cornets. If this plan were strictly adhered to, the Courant and all letters to and from the seat of government and the drostdies and veld cornetships would generally be received in the course of a few days. The duty for district correspondence would not fall on any par- ticular inhabitant probably more than three or four times in the year. The heavy rains that occasionally swell the rivers will of course sometimes prevent the regular communication until it may be convenient to take measures to remedy that evil. They may frequently oblige the veld cornet’s messengers to return from the drostdy without a Courant or any Cape letters, but yet I think that their punctual attendance should never be dispensed with. Whatever regulations may be adopted either for the general post or the district correspondence should, I think, be made known through the Gazette. (Signed) Ed. Collins. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Charwell, Simons Bay, 2nd September 1809. Sir, — The immediate sailing of the Brilliant merchant ship for Eio Janeiro, and the little prospect there is of any direct convey- ance for England, induces me to avail of the opportunity to com- municate by her to their Lordships the heads of information received from the Squadron by the Ann Transport, which Vessel arrived on the 31st ultimo from the Isle of Prance, where she had been with provisions and refreshments for the Squadron. By Letters from Captain Kowley I learn that the Raisonable having completed her water at Kodriguez, was on her Station off the Isle of France on the 14th July : he has sent me information which I am truly concerned to state, of the Iphigenia having run on board the Boadicea on the night of the 2nd August, by which Records of the Cape Colony. 149 the former lost her Foremast and Bowsprit, and the latter had her bowsprit sprung, which has since been fished and rendered secure. On the 5th the Iphigenia most unfortunately ran aground on Cannoniere Point, and was by the great exertions of Captain Lambert and his Officers got off, having been ashore four hours, during which she struck very hard, and was obliged to throw overboard twelve of her guns, and having been the whole time exposed to the fire of the Enemy’s batteries, had a Sergeant of Marines, one Seaman, and one marine killed. Captain Eowley under these circumstances ordered her to Bombay to be docked. As I shall defer transmitting the general details of the Squadron until the first direct opportunity, I herewith enclose a Statement of the Force under my Command, and the disposition thereof, together with Copies of the most recent accounts I am in posses- sion of, of the position, strength, and state of the Enemy’s Naval Force, and a copy of a letter from Captain Corbet, detailing his proceedings in the Nereidc off Bourbon. In reference to the latter I should observe Captain Corbet is inclined to think the two prizes of the Caroline are extra India Ships, but that he cannot speak decidedly. Their Lordships are already apprized that with the view to prevent the East India Company’s Ships from being carried into St. Paul’s I have ordered Captain Eowley on the arrival of the Raisonable to detach the Sirius, the Iphigenia, and one of the strongest Sloops of War to guard Bourbon, an arrangement, how- ever, it should appear he was not able to carry into effect before the arrival of the Caroline with her prizes. With respect to the force necessary for the effectual Blockade of the Mauritius, I shall not presume to offer an opinion ; but I beg to submit to the con- sideration of their Lordships that off the Isle of France the Force stationed for the Blockade of that Island must necessarily be divided, one part being to windward, and the other as close in to Port N.W. as possible to prevent anything escaping in or out by night ; and the Enemy is now so strong, I do not think, unless by accident, they will be met with singly, but two or three Frigates together. To guard the Isle of Bourbon one Ship stationed at either end is insufficient, as they seem to run now chiefly for St. Paul’s and are invariably warned by Eockets and other Signals of the direction of our Cruizers. 150 Records of the Cape Colony. Of the number of Aventuriers fitted out and running for the Isle of France, I am to state that the Charwell has captured the Hyene, a very fine vessel of 230 tons, pierced for eighteen Guns and masted as a man of war, which is arrived here, and the Nereide has captured the Agile, of a similar description, but for whom, not being arrived, I am under some apprehension ; and it appears by an intercepted Letter found on board the latter vessel, addressed by Captain Surcoff to General De Caen, that besides a number of privateers fitting out by himself and a society of Merchants with whom he is associated, he is in treaty with the Minister of Marine for La Revanche (frigate) which they intend to arm and send out with a cargo. The Blockade having had the effect to put a stop to all inter- course between the Islands of France and Bourbon, and no capture having recently been made of any vessel sailing from the Ports of those Islands, I am not in possession of any further information to be depended upon, as it respects their actual state. Captain Johnstone of His Majesty’s Ship Leopard concluded on the 16th June last, according to instructions he had received fixmi me, the terms of a cartel for the exchange of prisoners, by which it was understood that General De Caen should send to the Cape the whole of the British prisoners at the Isle of France, receiving by the same conveyance the French prisoners from hence ; and I am informed a Vessel is fitting out at Port N.W. (though apparently very slowly) to carry this agreement into effect. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Admiralty House, Cape Town, \lth September 1809. Sir, — I have the honor to announce to you, for the information of their Lordships, the arrival here of the Honorable East India Company’s Extra Ship Upton Castle, on her passage to England, by which ship I have received a dispatch from the Governor and Council at Bombay, bearing date the 12th of June last, by which Records of the Cape Colony. 151 it appears that a detachment had been despatched for the taking possession and occupation of the Island of Rodriguez under the military command of Lieutenant Colonel Keating and under the convoy of His Majesty’s Ship Cornelia. * * * * I have now a most painful duty to perform in communicating to their Lordships my serious apprehensions of the loss of His Majesty’s Brig Harrier, which vessel parted company from the Racehorse in the Hurricane on the 16th March, and has not since been heard of. * * * (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagii. Castle op Good Hope, 18tli September 1809. My Lord, — The length of time which it has necessarily taken to procure the documents called for by my Lords of the Committee of Trade has as yet prevented me from replying to your dispatch, No. 24, but I beg to assure your Lordship that I am by no means unmindful of vour commands, more especially upon a subject which I am sensible requires the utmost accuracy and attention. I have not lately been honor’d by any dispatches from your Lordship. His Majesty’s commands contained in all former ones have been executed according to my instructions. I am happy to acquaint your Lordship that, with the exception of some trifling depredations occasionally committed by wandering Caffres on the Eastern frontier, the Colony enjoys a state of perfect tranquillity, and the measures which I propose to adopt and which I shall fully submit by a less precarious conveyance will, I am inclined to believe, if not wholly control at least materially check any petty annoyance in that quarter. I have, etc. (Signed) Caledon. 152 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Collins to the Earl of Caledon. Stellenbosch, 22 nd September 1809. My Lord, — I have the honor to acquaint your Excellency that I have received a report from Captain Frazer of the Cape Regiment, stating that the party of Caffers which had been commanded by Ogande, and which I formerly acquainted your Excellency I had directed that Officer to take charge of, had been conducted by him to the Drostdy of Uitenhage, from whence they were immediately sent by Major Cuyler to the Sondag River. They had been increased on the Road by the addition of several of their Country- men who had been in service with the Inhabitants ; and they finally amounted to the number of two hundred and seventy. In consequence of the great difficulties that had been experienced in clearing the District of Swellendam of these intruders, I requested that Captain Frazer would require a written declaration, as if upon oath, from the several Yeld Cornets, stating that to the best of their belief none continued within their respective jurisdictions except the few that I had been induced to permit to remain from particular circumstances, such as females having children by slaves, &c. The enclosed papers will show the punctuality with which this zealous officer has fulfilled that part of his instructions, which corresponds entirely with his conduct in the execution of every other duty that I have had occasion to confide to him. In concluding the last Report that I hope it may be necessary for me to write on a subject that I fear must appear tedious, I am induced to recall to your Excellency’s recollection that when you did me the honor to consult me upon the force to be sent to LTitenhage, and, if I recollect right, inquired whether a Squadron of Dragoons would not be necessary, I stated (having in view the Establishment of the 21st Regiment) that I thought a Troop would be sufficient. By the General Orders I observe that fifty men have been ordered for that duty, which I confess is a less number than I expected. The Detaching of 20 or 30 more would not, I should hope, cause much inconvenience at Head Quarters, especially as so considerable an accession is shortly expected there ; and it would be a greater benefit than I can possibly express in the Records of the Cape Colony. 153 neighbourhood of the Caffers, where a mounted force is unquestion- ably the most useful. I am the more inclined to take the liberty of hazarding these observations from perceiving that the number of infantry of the Line and Irregulars ordered to be sent is exactly what I had recommended, a circumstance which makes me appre- hensive of having been misunderstood with regard to the Cavalry. I have &c. (Signed) Ed. Collins. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Eabl of Caledon. Whereas His Majesty, being duly authorized by an Act passed in this present session of Parliament, has been graciously pleased to take into His Eoyal consideration the state of the Trade of the Colony, and to pass an Order in Council for the better regulation thereof: These are to make known to all and every one the following Copy of the said Order in Council given at the Court of the Queen’s palace, the 12th of April 1809. Whereas by an Act passed in the present session of Parliament, intituled “ An Act to authorize His Majesty during the present War to make Eegulations respecting the Trade and Commerce to and from the Cape of Good Hope,” it is enacted that from and after the passing of the said Act it shall and may be lawful for His Majesty, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, by any Order or Orders to be issued from time to time, to give such directions, and make such regulations touching the Trade and Commerce to and from the said Settlement and the Territories and Dependencies thereof, as to His Majesty in Council shall appear most expedient and salutary, any thing contained in an Act passed in the Twelfth Year of the Eeign of His Majesty Charles the Second, intituled “ An Act for encouraging and in- creasing of Shipping and Navigation,” or in an Act passed in the Seventh and Eighth Years of the Eeign of His Majesty King William the Third, intituled “ An Act for preventing Frauds and regulating Abuses in the Plantation Trade,” or any other Act or Acts of Parliament now in force relating to His Majesty’s Colonies and Plantations, or any other Act or Acts of Parliament, Law, 154 Records of the Cape Colony. Usage, or Custom to the Contrary notwithstanding; His Majesty is hereby pleased to order, by and with the advice of His Privy Council, in pursuance of the powers vested in His Majesty by the above recited Act, and it is hereby ordered, that it shall be lawful, until further Order, for all Ships and Vessels belonging to the Subjects of any Country or State in amity with His Majesty to enter into the ports of the said Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, and of the Territories and Dependencies thereof, and to carry on Trade and Traffic with the Inhabitants of the said Settle- ment and of the Territories and Dependencies thereof, and to import and export to and from the Ports of the said Settlement and of the Territories and Dependencies thereof, any Goods, Wares, or Merchandize whatsoever, subject to the following Exceptions, Duties, Rules, Regulations, and Restrictions, that is to say, it shall and may be lawful for the Governor of the said Settlement and of the Territories and Dependencies thereof for the time being, to impose on all Goods, Wares, and Merchandize not of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of Great Britain or Ireland, which shall be imported into the said Settlement or the Territories or Dependencies thereof, from any part of His Majesty’s Dominions, after due notice to be given by the Governor of the said Settlement, as herein after directed, a Duty not exceeding Fifteen per Cent on the Value thereof, such Duty to be rated and collected in the same manner as is in Use with regard to the Import Duty now levied at the said Settlement and the Territories and Dependencies thereof from and in Ships and Vessels belonging to the Subjects of Countries and States in amity with His Majesty, and upon the Goods and Merchandize imported in the same ; pro- vided always that the time of the commencement of such Duty shall be fixed in the proclamation, or other lawful Instrument, which shall be made and issued by the said Governor for the purpose of imposing such Duty, which time shall not be less than Six Months from the day of issuing such proclamation or other lawful Instrument, and provided also that the rate of Duty im- posed on the Importation of Goods (not the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of Great Britain and Ireland) from any part of His Majesty’s Dominions, when so imported in British built Vessels, owned and navigated according to law, shall in no case be so high as that which shall be imposed on the like Goods imported in the Vessels of Foreign States. Records of the Cape Colony. 155 And it is His Majesty’s pleasure that no goods, Wares, or Merchandize, the growth, Produce, or Manufacture of the Countries to the Eastward of the Cape of Good Hope be imported into the said Settlement or the Territories or dependencies thereof, except by the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, and that no such goods, Wares, or Merchandize be permitted to be exported from thence, except for Sea Stores only, or by the United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, or by their Licence. But it is His Majesty’s pleasure that nothing in this Order con- tained shall extend to prevent Ships or Vessels employed in the Southern Whale Fishery from carrying on the same, in such and the same manner as might have been done if this Order had not been made. And it is also His Majesty’s pleasure that no Arms or Artillery, Gunpowder or Ammunition of any sort, be allowed to be imported into the said Settlement or the Territories and Dependencies thereof, except by the said United Company of Merchants of England trading to the East Indies, or by Licence from His Majesty. And it is His Majesty’s further pleasure that the Trade and Commerce to and from the said Settlement and the Territories and Dependencies thereof shall be subject to such of the Laws of Trade and Navigation as would have affected the same if this Order had not been made, except so far as such Laws are contrary to the present Order. And the Bight Honourable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are to give the necessary directions herein as to them may respectively appertain. (Signed) Steph. Cottrell. I do therefore, in pursuance of the said Order in Council, and by Virtue of the Powers and Authorities in me vested, hereby order and direct that at the expiration of Six Months from and after the issuing of these presents, on all Goods, Wares, and Merchandize, not of the Growth, Produce, or Manufacture of Great Britain and Ireland, which shall be imported into this Settlement from any part of His Majesty’s Dominions in Ships and Vessels belonging to the Subjects of Countries in amity with His Majesty a Duty of 156 Records of the Cape Colony. Fifteen per Cent on the Value of such Goods, Wares and Merchandize shall be paid, to be rated and collected in the same manner as now in use in this Settlement. But on all such Goods, Wares, and Merchandize not of the Growth, Produce or Manufac- ture of Great Britain or Ireland, when imported from any part of His Majesty’s Dominions in British built Vessels, owned and navigated as by Law directed, a Duty of Ten per Cent only shall be imposed, to be rated and levied in the manner as before specified. And it is hereby directed that this Proclamation shall be published and affixed in the usual manner. Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 29th day of September 1809. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Captain Josias Rowley to Vice Admiral Bertie. Raisonable, St. Paul’s Road, 29th September 1809. Sir, — Having acquainted you by my letter of the 28th August with the reasons which induced me to request the assistance of Lieutenant Colonel Keating commanding the troops at the Island of Rodriguez, to co-operate with His Majesty’s Ships in an attack upon St. Paul’s, I have now further to acquaint you that being joined by the Nereide, Otter , and Wasp schooner, having on board a detachment of the 56th Regiment and of the 2nd Regt. Native Infantry, amounting in the whole to 368 men, under the command of Lieut. Colonel Keating, and the Sirius having joined, we proceeded at dusk on the evening of the 20th for the Isle of Bourbon. The force intended to be landed were the detachment of His Majesty’s and Company’s troops, reinforced by the Marines of the squadron and a party of about 100 seamen from this ship and the Otter, under the command of Captain Willoughby, whose zeal induced him to volunteer the command of so small a party. As secresy and dispatch were essential to the success of the expedition, the whole of this force, amounting to 604, were em- barked with five additional boats on board the Nereide, Captain Corbet, who from his perfect acquaintance with the coast, as well as his known skill and activity, was intrusted with this important Records of the Cape Colony. 157 service. On our approach towards the Bay of St. Paul’s, to prevent suspicion the Nereide preceded the other ships, and being anchored close to the beach, the whole of the detachment were landed with the greatest celerity, without any alarm given to the enemy, and proceeded towards the batteries, which were suc- cessively stormed and carried with the greatest gallantry, and several of the guns pointed on the ships in the roads. In the mean time the squadron stood into the Bay, and according to the plan agreed upon, when the movements of the troops enabled them to act, opened their fire on the shipping, which was warmly returned by La Caroline frigate, the Indiamen (her prizes), and those batteries which from their distance from the first point of attack were enabled to continue their fire ; but those being finally carried, our ships preparing to anchor, and the Sirius having already taken a close raking position ahead of La Caroline, they found it necessary to surrender, having made an honorable resistance, and by nine o’clock the whole of the batteries, town, and shipping were in possession of His Majesty’s troops and squadron. The squadron having anchored in the roads close off the town of St. Paul’s, immediate exertions were made to secure La Caroline and the rest of the shipping, whose cables being cut had drifted on shore, and they were hove off without material injury. The guns and mortars at the different batteries and on the beach being spiked, their carriages burnt or destroyed, and magazines blown up, under the direction of Captain Willoughby, the whole of the troops, marines, and seamen were embarked soon after dark on board of the different ships. Thus, sir, have we completely succeeded in the objects of the expedition, by the capture of the enemy’s shipping, the destruction of all the defences of the only safe anchorage in the island, and which has always been a place of shelter for their cruizers and prizes when prevented from entering the ports of the Isle of France, besides the rescue of property to an immense amount out of the hands of the enemy. It is impossible for me to do justice to, or sufficiently express, the high sense I entertain of the gallantry and skill of Lieut. Colonel Keating, which were equally conspicuous in planning and conducting this affair, and the bravery shewn by the troops in successively carrying the batteries was eminently distinguished. I beg leave to refer you for details to Lieutenant Colonel 158 Records of the Cape Colony. Keating’s letter, and am happy to say he mentions in highest terms the conduct of Captain Willoughby, the officers, seamen, and marines employed on this occasion. I need scarcely say that I received every assistance and support from the Captains of His Majesty’s ships whom I had the good fortune to have placed under my command, that might be expected from officers of their known merit, and experience ; and I have only to regret that their ability and zeal had not more room for exertion, as to prevent interference with the movements of the troops on shore, the services of the ships were necessarily limited. The loss of the detachment killed and wounded, considering the nature of the service the troops had to perform and the advantages of position on the part of the enemy, was not so great as might have been expected. I herewith enclose a list of the killed and wounded of the ships of the squadron ; among the latter I have particularly to regret Lieutenant Lloyd and Lieutenant Hawden of the Royal Marines, both of the Raisonable, with the party on shore, who have been always zealously forward on occasions for service. The damages sustained by the ships of the squadron are immaterial. On the morning of the 22nd we could have but little com- munication with the shore, on account of the surf on the beach, but we observed the enemy collecting on the heights, and in the afternoon they appeared in force advancing towards the town from St. Dennis, upon which it was considered advisable by Lieutenant Colonel Keating and myself to destroy the stores containing the public property ; from the state of the surf on the beach, the marines were selected for this service, a small party of seamen and Captain Willoughby again volunteered his services on the occasion. The Lieutenant Colonel himself accompanied the party, and a large and valuable magazine, the only one we could ascertain to be public property, was fired, and the party reembarked without loss. On the morning of the 23rd, the troops, marines, and seamen, all in the boats were in readiness to land under cover of the Nereidc, when we were informed that the enemy, under the command of Genl. de Brulys had retreated to St. Dennis in the night. The Commandant St. Michiel being disposed to negotiate, the Lieutenant Colonel and myself agreed to sign the terms of which the enclosed is a copy ; since which time the troops and seamen have been actively employed in shipping the property found in the Records of the Cape Colony. 159 public stores, consisting of provisions and ordnance stores, and a part of the cargoes of the captured Indiamen, which had not been fired at the same time as the others, on the supposition of its being private .property. The loss suffered by the enemy is immense, the cargoes of the Indiamen alone being valued by them at three millions of dollars. As the captains of the captured Indiamen were found in the place, I have replaced them in their former situations, with such of their people as we can collect, and are fitting their ships for sea. A strong party has also been employed completing the destruction of the batteries, by bursting the guns and mortars, or heaving them off into deep water, and carrying off the shot and shells. I have given the charge of the Caroline to Lieut. Benett (1st) of this ship, to whose steadiness and good conduct I feel much indebted, both on this and many other occasions. The Sapphire sailed on the 24th, and the Boadicea on the 25th, to resume the blockade of the Isle of France. I had to regret the loss of the services of the former, who from baffling winds did not join us till the 23rd, I forward these dispatches by the Nereide, and beg to refer you for further particulars to Captain Corbet, who can give you every information relative to these islands, and to whom I feel highly indebted for the assistance I have received from him on every occasion. The Wasp schooner will be dispatched this evening for Bombay ; I beg to add that her commander, Lieut. Wilkins, has shewn much zeal and attention in the performance of every duty he has been employed upon. I have etc. (Signed) Josias Eowley. [Office Copy.J Letter from E. Cooke, Esqrb., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 6th October 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Castlereagh to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the bearer, Mr. John Samuel Eckstein, a native of Sweden, to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) E. Cooke. 160 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from the Colonial Prefect at Mauritius to the Minister of Marine and the Colonies of Prance. Isle de France, le 9 8 bre 1809. Monseigneur, — La fortune avait seconde la valeur et le talent de Monsieur Terretier, Commandant de la Fregatte la Caroline. II avait attaque trois vaisseaux de la Compagnie Anglaise reunis et en avait pris deux qu’il avait conduit dans la rade de St. Paul, Isle Bonaparte. Ces deux riches prises evalues a deux millions et demi de piastres, avaient exhalte tous les esperits, donne une nouvelle existence aux Colonies, leur prosperity etait assume et il nous restais seulement a desirer l’epoque de la suspension des croiseurs pour faire apporter ici ces precieuses cargaisons. Elies n’existent plus pour nous. Les Anglais s’en sont empare dans les Magazines de St. Paul les ont incendies. La Fregate la Caroline est tombe ainsi que les deux prises au pouvoir de la division Anglaise qui acombine son attaque dans la rade avec l’operation des Troupes debarquees, qui ont annonce leur succes en dirigeant sur la Caroline le feu des Batteries dont elles s’etaient emparees sans avoir eu un coup de fusil a tirer. II ne m’appartient pas de juger la conduite du General Desbrulis qui n’a ni defendu ni repris ce poste surpris et enleve par un si petit nombre Anglais, qu’il est humiliant d’arreter sa pensee sur les circonstances de ce desastre. Le Capitaine General rend compte a votre Excellence des details qu’il a pu recueillir sur cette honteuse et accablante catastrophe. Le General Desbrulys n’a pas voulu survivre a ses reflexions. Le Capitaine General a envoye pour Chef a cette Colonie M. le Colonel St. Suzanne, Militaire eprouve, on a l’espoir le mieux fonde qu’il marchera a la tete des troupes et des braves Crioles qui se reuniront a lui, et que St. Paul en ce moment rentre en notre pouvoir. L’honneur franjais aura ete venge sur le Sol meme que des fautes bien graves ont laisse souiller pour la premiere fois par l’ennemi, mais les ressources qui nous y possedions ne sont plus et de la superbe position qui nous presentais les moyens d’administrer avec de grande succes, nous sommes tombes dans un abime dans .Records of the Cape Colony . 161 le quel tous doit s’englouter si votre Excellence ne vient prompte- ment a notre secours. La Colonie a des vivres mais l’administration n’a plus de moyens d’en aeheter, elle en aurait trouve en delegations sur le gage qui existait a St. Paul. On aurait meme trouve des secours pecuniaire en faisant des sacrifices, les bourses sont fermies et le Gouverne- ment reste sans credit. L’esperance du payement des traites l’avait fonde, Votre Excellence a detruit ce seul moyen qui me restait pour faire le service. Depuis longtemps j’ai eu l’honneur de rendre compte a Votre Excellence des suites qui devait avoir l’abandon dans lequel nous languissons. Le mal est a son comble et ce n’est plus aujourd’hui que du genereux devouement des habitans que nous pouvour esperer les moyens d’exister jusqu’au moment ou nous recevrons le seul remide aux maux qui causeraient la perte absolue de ces Colonies, si la main protectrice du grand Napoleon n’etendait sur cette partie de son empire, que les braves colons, ses fideles Sujets, jurent de defendre au peril de leur fortune et de leur jours. II importe a la gloire du plus grand des souveraines que ces Colonies qu’il a bien voulu prendre sous la protection speciale lui soyent conservees. Leur sort depend de votre Excellence quelques secours et bommes et du credit suffisent. Nous devoirs done esperer. Ces verites auront ete presentes avec des details militaires par le Capitaine General, j’unir ici ma vois a la sienne pour dire a Votre Excellence vous devez sauver ces Colonies vous le pouvez. J’ai l’honneur &c. (Signe) Le Prefet Colonial (Signature illegible). [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to E. Cooke, Esqre. Government House, October 10 th 1809. Sir, — In the representation which Captain Smyth has made to you he appears to have fallen into an error in supposing that the Colonial Secretary receives any fees which are not carried to public account. It has, I believe, been the invariable practice during the VII. M 162 Records of the Cape Colony. British Government so to do, and there certainly is not at present nor to my knowledge has there ever been a deviation from it. Captain Smyth as I have understood was appointed acting Colonial Secretary by Sir David, with an allowance of £1500 per annum, until the arrival of his successor. If Lord Castlereagh does not think the allowance was proportionate to the duties required of him, I am of course prepared to receive his Lordship’s commands for any augmentation he may direct, but founding Captain Smyth’s claim upon the Fees of Office he may have received and paid into the Colonial treasury because similar fees were supposed to have been afterwards appropriated to the ad- vantage of his successor, I do not hesitate to say that Captain Smyth has no fair plea to any compensation upon that head. I should have been much at a loss to account for the error in Captain Smyth’s statement if it had not occurred to me that some confusion may have arisen from a conception that the advantages enjoy’d by the present deputy Colonial Secretary proceed from fees received in the Secretary’s Office, and lest this should be the case, I beg your attention to the following explanation. Mr. Hercules Ross, who was formerly Deputy Secretary, held in conjunction with his office the appointment of Commissioner of Stamps, and had a fixed allowance upon the sale of gunpowder, and continued with the receipt of these emoluments until the Colony was restored to the Dutch. Upon its reoccupancy by the British in 1806 Mr. Bird was appointed Deputy Colonial Secretary, and that he might possess in the fullest manner all the advantages enjoy’d by Mr. Ross, a letter was addressed by Mr. Secretary Windham to Sir David Baird, pointedly directing that those two appointments held by Mr. Ross should be continued in the person of Mr. Bird. It is under the instruction contained in this letter that Mr. Bird derives the benefit of any fees or emoluments, but to show how devoid of connexion the receipt of them is with the fees accounted for by the secretary, it is sufficient to observe that at the time Mr. Smyth was appointed to office Captain Gordon was nominated Commissioner of Stamps, and the issue of gunpowder took place through an officer of the ordnance department. I should here omit a most pleasing part of my explanation were I not to mention that when I declined to confirm Mr. Fagel in the first instance as Vendue Master and had no Government place open Mr. Bird of his own accord most liberally made a temporary Records of the Cape Colony. 1G3 resignation of his office as Commissioner of Stamps in favor of that gentleman until I could provide him with other employment. With regard to the sale of gunpowder, it is attended with much trouble, as Mr. Bird has to issue the permits upon each individual application. No salary is allowed, and the full value of whatever quantity is issued from the Govt, stores is credited to the public. I have been thus minute, and have perhaps deviated a little lest any cursory view should produce an arrangement less favorable to Mr. Bird than the present. He came to this Colony under a promise of those advantages enjoy’d by his predecessor, and the ability, integrity and indefatigable zeal with which he discharges every point of his public duty leads him to expect and me to solicit that his private interests may not suffer, more especially as upon coming out he relinquished a situation of high respectability upon the engagements then made to him, and incurr’d great expence in the removal of himself and his family, whilst Captain Smyth came here in the course of service, and held the situation connected with his other military allowances. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Official Notice. Wtli October 1809. The Lord Yiscount Castlereagh having this day resigned the seals of the War and Colonial Department, they were given by His Majesty to the Earl of Liverpool. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Government House, Cape of Good Hope, October 12 th 1809. My dear Lord, — By the same opportunity which conveys this to Your Lordship I have written what I hope may be found a sufficient ample detail of the Revenues of this Colony ; it will occur to your recollection that I have in a former Dispatch submitted much of what is said upon the Paper Money, but as what is now m 2 164 Records of the Cape Colony. required is for the information of the Board of Trade I trust to Your Lordship for pardoning the repetition. Many and great improvements may be easily suggested for the advancement of this Colony, but after my local experience and the attention I have given the subject, I feel some confidence in saying that unless the circulating medium is increased or one great branch of expenditure (in the Cape Regiment) reduced, no measures, how- ever necessary, when attended with expence, can be executed without applying to the British Government for assistance. Of Two million Rixdollars which forms the gross amount of paper money, upwards of one fourth is annually . paid into His Majesty’s Treasury as revenue, this revenue is rapidly increasing, and with its increase the credit of the paper money must augment. A greater quantity may in my opinion be created and issued with advantage as an increase of Capital to the Lombard Bank, the distribution of it to be regulated by the Members of the Bank under the control and with the concurrence of the Governor for the time being. What I now propose and what Your Lordship’s dispatch of the 12th of May seems already to sanction is that there should he vested in the Governor a discretionary power of creating a Sum not exceeding one million of rixdollars, the same when created to be delivered to and issued by the Lombard Bank. It would in this case be my duty to use the authority with such caution as would guard against the consequences of too rapid or too great an increase. The amount being deposited might be applied partly in loan to Government, partly to the use of those who would solicit pecuniary assistance. That part received by Government in loan should on no account be considered as Revenue, but be applied to the erection of public works, and those works when erected should be considered as public property mortgaged to the amount to which public money has been expended upon them. The proportion intended for the more immediate use of the in- habitants might be distributed in Loans upon the usual terms subject to a payment of 6 per Cent per annum Interest, secured upon the private property of the borrower. With regard to the first proposal as relating to a loan to Government I suggest that whatever sum may be lent should have Records of the Cape Colony. 165 a substantial representative, for unfortunately when the British Government has before found it expedient to create money for temporary purposes such as for the purchase of rice by General Dundas, it was necessary to redeem that creation at the surrender of the Settlement, whereas if the same amount had been brought into circulation through the Lombard Bank by an expenditure upon a public edifice that edifice would probably have been received by the Batavian Government as an equivalent, or if rejected as an equivalent, the sale of it would in some measure have repaid the expences attending its erection. Nor is this the only point of difference. Sums created for the purchase of Articles of consumption cannot be expected to make a return, but if applied to the erection of such buildings as a Wharf or Market place, a wharfage duty on the hire of fixed states increases the annual revenue and pays the interest if not in part the Capital. If I am so fortunate as to obtain your Lordship’s concurrence in my observations upon the necessity and mode of increase, and should in consequence receive a confirmation of your sanction for acting upon the suggestions, the application of the sum would be the next and most pleasing consideration, and here I must observe that the field of benevolent policy is so wide as to leave me in some measure at a loss upon what point first to solicit your attention. The erection of a public prison, a Market place and a wharf are alike necessary, nor is it less so to supply the upper part of the Town by means of an aquaduct with water. The prison, of which there is but one, is situated in the lowest part of the town, and is too small to afford a convenient, or indeed scarcely any separation of the different classes of prisoners, nor from want of a Court yard can those imprisoned under Capital charges be permitted to take the exercise necessary for their health, compatible with the security of their persons. But as a prison is that description of building which cannot repay the interest of a loan or which (if the Colony were ceded) might not be received as an equivalent for the money issued on account of its construction, and would but ill remunerate the British Government by its sale, it might perhaps be more advisable to attain this object at another period by means of other funds. Connected with the police of the Town the establishment of a market place is particularly called for, here the butcher exposes his meat to the door of the house in which he lives, a custom extremely 166 Records of the Cape Colony. offensive and even dangerous in a hot climate, and passengers are exposed to the disgusting sight of seeing the Cattle slaughtered in the public Streets. The wharf is built of wood, and notwithstanding frequent and recent repairs at a large expence, is still in a tottering and most precarious state. The worms penetrating the piles so quickly, added to a heavy Sea which breaks upon it in winter renders any repair to the present building but temporary. In respect to the conduit for the supply of the upper part of the Town with water, this expence I think should be defrayed by the Burgher Senate, to whom a loan might be made from the Lombard Bank for that purpose. The Burgher Senate would then pay the interest and repay the capital by instalments which could easily be collected by a tax upon those Inhabitants who would reap the benefit of the measure. As to the utility it is only necessary to observe that the whole of the upper part of the Town which is now the greatest in extent is entirely supplied with this necessary by the carriage of it from a considerable distance. In the distribution of any large sum I am far from Mushing to deprive the Country Inhabitants of a participation in the general benefit. The reports which accompany my despatch will very probably excite your Lordship’s anxiety for the amelioration of the Country people, but amongst other improvements the establishment of a public school at each drostdy appears to me as particularly desirable, marking as it would do the interest of Government in the permanent welfare of the inhabitants and tending to facilitate future views for the benefit of an augmenting population. But my Lord if an opposite view of this subject should oblige you to reject my proposal I am still led to imagine that what I have submitted may induce a change in your Lordship’s decision respecting the strength of the Cape Corps, when incomplete in the year 1808 the payment of this body absorbed one third of the Colonial Revenue, now professing every respect for the opinion of General Grey and admitting my own comparative incapacity as a judge upon a Military Question I must declare its possible advantage by no means equal to its certain expence. It really is with diffidence I have intruded an opinion upon a measure which has already met your Lordship’s sanction, but as the accounts for one year have been since laid before you I presume still farther by submitting whether this expence could Records of the Cape Colony. 167 not in part be obviated by a reduction of tbe Corps to the establish- ment of Seventy men per Company. In tbe dispatch which will be laid before your Lordship con- taining Colonel Collins’ Report upon the Eastern part of the Colony, there will appear much to be done, but I hold it as indisputable that the first step to improvement is a better distribu- tion of the Territory by an increase of the Drostdies and conse- quently an increase of the Magistracy. It surely is in itself sufficient evidence to cast an eye over the vast extent of each District, and at once feel that neither the zeal or talent of any individual can enforce the maintenance of good order and regularity if there is in the people a refractory or disobedient spirit, but could there even be an absolute security against feelings of this nature still without the actual residence of men more enlightened than themselves, it cannot be expected that the Boers confined as they are to the places of their birth should make advances in the ways of civilisation and humanity. An amelioration in the state of the Hottentots and Bosjesmen has been a consideration no doubt with every Governor. Orders after orders have been repeated to ensure their better treatment. Missionaries have lent their aid, but unhappily the same state of barbarity which characterized these people for centuries still remains, and though the temporary act of a Governor may for the moment by relieving their wants bribe them into quiet, still any radical improvement in their situation must be effected through the Country inhabitants at large, and I conceive the most important step to their reformation is by an improvement in the morals and habits of the peasantry. This alone would induce me without other consideration to press the necessity of an increased number of Drostdies, the advantages may seem distant, but the effect would be gradual and certain. Upon this subject I extend my view still farther than the report of Colonel Collins suggests. To the seven districts of which the Colony is now composed I propose the increase of three others not by an acquisition of more but by the subdivision of the present territory. • To the Northward I would divide the district of Tulbagh and to the Eastward I would divide that of Swellendam, the third District should be composed of the eastern part of Tulbagh and the western side of Graaff Reinet, according to the manner described in the report. I consider it unnecessary to trouble your Lordship with the line of demarkation, as this must 168 Eecords of the Cape Colony. depend upon local circumstances, but if the plan be approved of I would of course take every precaution that the best sites should be chosen for the residence of the Landdrosts. When such an arrange- ment is completed much if not all that Colonel Collins has pointed out may be effected, but unless this foundation is laid I am apprehensive that the best intentions would only be frustrated or abused. Allow me my Lord to repeat my conviction of the necessity of an increase of money and the establishment of additional Drost- dies. Much as I am attached to the Colony, still my sense of duty to my own Country leads me if possible to avoid an increase of its expenditure, but if an additional issue of paper Money or an augmentation of taxes does not take place, I can do little more than carry on the Government without attempting much for its improvement. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 11 o’clock p.m., 15th October 1809. My dear Sir, — Although the subject upon which I have the honor of addressing you has only been brought before me within these few hours by the arrival of the Ariel, yet I have frequently revolved in my mind the principle upon which any decision upon so important a consideration as that of aiding one of the presi- dencies in India must be regulated. I feel little hesitation in expressing my opinion and requesting in return to be favored with your sentiments upon the occasion. It appears by advices which tho’ communicated in a private form, are not the less authentic, that a very considerable propor- tion of the E. I. Company native troops headed by Commanding Officers of Corps, are in a state of insubordination and mutiny against the constituted Government of the Country and that the sole barrier opposed to their lawless proceedings consists in the fidelity of his Majesty’s regular Regiments, that nearly the whole of the European Force at Ceylon had been detached to Madras, at the requisition of Sir George Barlow, and that at the latest Records of the Cape Colony. 169 moment of intelligence the prospect of reconciliation appeared more distant than at the commencement of the commotion. Under such circumstances arises the question of expediency in detaching any, and what number of Troops from this Settlement to India in aid of those vested with the Supreme legal authority. If the point under discussion turns upon the comparative object of securing one possession at the risk of losing the other, I believe I may state it with some confidence as the opinion of one of His Majesty’s principal Ministers that the true value of this Colony is its being considered at all times as an out post subservient to the security and protection of our E. I. possessions ; that those possessions are in most eminent danger at this moment is un- fortunately but too obvious, and if an application for Military assistance to divert that danger had been received from an official source, I believe the only thought that would have occurred to either of us would have been that of expediting the succour without the least delay, but as no such application has yet reached us, I beg to suggest how far it may be not only wise but our bounden duty to incur a responsibility by acting with the energy which may save our Indian Empire, instead of sheltering ourselves under the letter of the Law by awaiting a formal demand for that assistance, which were reconciliation already effected, can not be otherwise than highly wanting. It is to be observed that the Governor General was on his way to Madras, where upon his arrival his supreme power necessarily supersedes the authority of Sir George Barlow. It is to be observed that the Governor General being on his way to Madras could not then be possessed of that information which has been transmitted to me from Ceylon upon the immediate receipt of it from Madras, and it is upon these observations that I venture to infer that Sir George Barlow might have chosen rather to await the arrival of my Lord Minto than to urge at once upon his own responsibility an application to this Government. I am most far from wishing to insinuate anything disrespectful towards the Governor of Madras, but I am not aware that his character has been yet tried in adversity, allow me therefore to suppose it possible that his reputed activity might have failed him in such an extremity, or that he may have been betrayed into the common error of wishing to disguise even from himself his real danger. In short the stubborn fact is before us, we have it from 170 Records of the Cape Colony. high and sufficient authority, that a Rebellion does exist, and exists to an extent that leaves the most gloomy impression upon my mind for the ultimate fate of British India. It may at this moment be for us to decide whether we shall be told hereafter that our exertions have preserved the Empire, and that our torpor gave the last blow to the most valuable possession of the British Crown. It is for us to reflect upon the comparative danger of doing nothing or at most of doing that which makes security doubly sure. My haste in writing and my anxiety to obtain a coincidence in opinions I so much respect has I find led me occasionally to use the plural number, but I beg to be perfectly understood as by no means attempting to identify your sentiments with mine, on the contrary I now distinctly state it as my decided opinion that such a Force as can be spared from the Garrison should be forthwith sent either to Madras or Trincomale, for whichever place the Season may best answer. I have forborne to advance in argument the perfect tranquillity of this Colony the mere trifle as a consideration of any possible expectation that an Expedition may in the interim be ordered from hence or the admirable state of discipline of whatever Troops should be selected for this service. Such reasoning will have occurred to yourself, and it only,. remains for me to hope the con- clusion it produces in your breast may be similar to that in mine. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. P.S. — As what I said in the first part of my letter refers only to insubordination and mutiny in the Troops, it may not be un- necessary to call to your recollection that the latest account states the fact of some of the mutineers having already declared war. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, October 16 th 1809. My Lord, — Being anxious to suppress the system of predatory warfare which has at all times existed between the Colonists upon Records of the Cape Colony. 171 the Eastern frontier and wandering individuals of the Caffre Nation, yet fearing that any measures undertaken with this view without a previous knowledge of the actual state of affairs might rather lead me to error than accomplishment of my purpose, I determined to send Lieut. Colonel Collins through the Districts of Graaff Eeinet and Uitenhage, and gave him for his guidance the instructions which I submit. Lieutenant Colonel Collins had not been long absent before the tumult amongst the Slaves, which I had the honor to report to your Lordship, broke forth. Fearful that the disturbance would have been more general than what it proved and a Kraal of Caffres having at the same time shown a disposition to be troublesome, I gave to Colonel Collins the Title of His Majesty’s Commissioner for the Districts of Graaff Eeinet and Uitenhage as well for the purpose of giving him weight in a character known by experience to the people, as to enable him to exercise the authority of a Magis- trate in assembling and embodying the Farmers should circum- stances require the adoption of measures beyond the ordinary reach of the Law. It is under these particulars that I now beg leave to present to your Lordship the enclosures Nos. 2 and 3, the former being the report with which he presented me upon his return, and the latter although communicated in a private form, containing information highly valuable to the Government of the Colony. I also request permission to state how far I have considered it expedient to act upon these reports, reserving some points of greater magnitude which I shall submit in another letter for your Lordship’s consideration. As a step of the first importance I have confirmed by strict orders a verbal instruction communicated through Colonel Collins to the several Landdrosts interdicting for the present all inter- course between the Farmers and Caffres, recurring at the same time to the Proclamation of My Lord Macartney, issued the 27th of June 1797, which prohibits the Farmers from receiving into their Service any Individuals natives of Caffraria. This measure has been rendered particularly necessary from the encroachments which the Caffres during late years of the Dutch Government made upon the Colony. The Great Fish Eiver was formerly considered the established Boundary, but the Caffres conscious of their own strength and the weakness of the Inhabi- 172 Records of the Cape Colony. tants crossed the Eiver, when disregarding equally the recom- mendations or threats of a Government which had not power to protect its frontiers, they occupied the fertile Lands of the Zuur- veld, lying between the Fish and Sunday Eivers. What was originally extorted from weakness is now possessed as an assumed right, and has derived some colour from alledged negotiations with a former Landdrost of Graaff Eeinet. The actual limit being then no longer regarded, each kraal fixed its abode as best suited its inclinations or advantages. One under a Chief named Congo had advanced and settled itself at the Lange Kloof, a place in the Colony equally distant between Cape Town and the Fish Eiver. To this kraal I gave the option of a permanent residence near Cape Town or of returning to Caffraria, and the latter after a fruitless attempt to conciliate has been accepted of. It is not my intention to act without your Lordship’s authority, nor can I recommend the measure of dispossessing the Caffres of that Country wdiich they at present inhabit, whatever justice there may be in our claim to it ; the policy which appears to me as most advan- tageous in the present time is that of preserving what we already possess, and leaving to a future period what an increased Popula- tion and a Military force unshackled by a foreign war may without risque easily and effectually accomplish. Nor am I indeed without expectation that the fertility of their own Soil and the prohibition of intercourse with the Colonists will induce them of their own accord to retire to a greater distance. Upon my application to Lieutenant General Grey, he has con- sented to reinforce the European Troops which have been usually stationed at Algoa Bay with one Hundred Infantry and Fifty Dragoons ; but this is solely done as a precautionary measure and with the object of encouraging the inhabitants to remain upon their Farms and to defend with greater confidence their Slaves and Cattle. In a part of Colonel Collins’ report your Lordship will perceive the state in which he represents the Missionary Establishment of Bethelsdorp; this institution was originally founded in the year 1801 by Dr. Van der Kemp, at that time a Missionary and now a Director of the London Missionary Society. Whatever zeal Dr. Yan der Kemp may have shown for the object in which he is engaged, he does not appear to me to have at all times sufficiently weighed the support which is due from every community to the Records of the Cape Colony. 173 established Government, by which its existence is protected. Warm in his own temper he brought himself into frequent altercation with the late Batavian Government and was in a state of restriction at the time the Colony came into our posses- sion. In the annual report of his Society for the year 1804 Dr. Van der Kemp states “ The ground which Government has assigned for our institution and which we now occupy is about ten miles in circumference, but very barren, and seems very unfit for the subsistence of a people who in their present state of imperfection can live only upon Cattle and Corn. Their Stock of the former is inadequate to maintain them, though by our care it gradually aug- ments, and the experience of two years successively in which our harvest has totally failed for want of water, leaves so little hope of procuring the latter, that there is much reason to fear a famine. This prospect contributes much to the dispersion of our people among the Colonists, and the rest who continue, with us show not ambiguously a strong desire that this Institution may be trans- ferred to a more convenient Spot.” At this period the number of his followers amounted to Three hundred and Twenty of whom Forty -three alone were admitted members of the Church. In the present year the number as given in by the Doctor amounts to Six hundred and Thirty- nine, of whom but Sixty Six are baptized and of whom forty three alone exercise any useful Trade. If in the year 1804 this barren spot could not sustain a population of Three hundred and Twenty Souls, it requires no argument to show that without an improved system of agriculture, which has not been the case, the same space in the year 1809 is less calculated to afford maintenance for double that number ; the obvious con- sequence of which is this, that the Doctor having neither a religious, Civil, or Military control over the majority of his followers, he cannot protect his neighbours against their depreda- tions. In the year 1801 General Dundas, when Acting Governor, proposed to remove the Institution to Van Stadens Biver, thinking it, as he expresses himself, “ by no means advisable to place it in the vicinity of the Caffres,” but this proposal never took effect. In the year 1807 I appointed a meeting between the Landdrost of Zwellendam, an English inhabitant (Mr. Bex) commissioned by 174 Records of the Cape Colony. me, and Dr. Van der Kemp, to select a place to which it might be removed, but nothing could be done or proposed satisfactory to the Doctor. Exclusive of what I have stated, there seems to me in the political ground set forth in Colonel Collins’ report sufficient cause for the removal or dissolution of this Institution, and the arrival of Two Missionaries, Messrs. Weimer and Pritchett, as assistants to Dr. Van der Kemp lead me to consider the present as the most fit period for such an event. I have it therefore in contemplation to signify to Dr. Van der Kemp my resolution of removing two thirds if not the whole of his Establishment to a place better watered and more extensive, with directions for the dismissal of all Caffres from amongst his followers. If this measure should take effect I hope your Lordship will sanction the expence which I propose to incur in assisting the removal, an expence which General Dundas had promised to defray and which I shall limit to the most reasonable hounds. Contrasting Bethelsdorp with the two Institutions of Moravians at Baviaan’s and Groene Kloof, or with that at the Orange Biver under Mr. Anderson, it gives me sincere pleasure to bear testi- mony of their exemplary conduct, and to mention that not only have they given assistance to Government when required, but that no Individual of their respective followers has been since my arrival in the Colony even accused before any Magistrate of a transgression against the Law. For the better regulation of the Hottentots in the service of the Farmers, I have issued by proclamation some new Instructions, which I hope may meet your Lordship’s approval, and I beg to submit that if no reduction occurs in the Establishment of the Cape Native Regiment, that it might tend to the advantage of the Corps as well as to the case of the Farmer, if the Hottentots in the several Districts were raised by ballot in preference to the present mode of enlistment. The ignorance of the Hottentot and the anxiety of the Boer to retain his service, when opposed to the zeal of the recruiting Officer, gives rise to constant altercation, which might be obviated if the ballot took place under the superinten- dence and control of the Magistracy. This measure would require some local modifications if the outlines were approved of. Nothing farther occurs to me at present as relating to the interior of the Country ; but I cannot conclude without marking 175 Records of the Cape Colony. my sense of obligation to Lieutenant Colonel Collins for his un- remitting exertions, nor without recommending him as in every respect worthy of your Lordship’s favorable opinion and protec- tion. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle of Good Hope, October 1 6th 1809. My dear Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Lordship’s letter dated last night, and feel much flattered by the manner in which you have been pleased to consult me upon the lamentable state of affairs at Madras and altho’ in my situation perhaps the only point I have a right to give an opinion upon is whether any, or what part of the force under my orders, can be spared until His Majesty’s Ministers can be made ac- quainted with the measures which have been adopted, and have an opportunity of replacing any detachment it may be found necessary to forward to India, I do not hesitate to say that I think it a positive duty to our Country to support the Madras Government under its present circumstances by all the means in our power, and that I perfectly concur in all your Lord- ship’s opinions upon the subject. With this view of the matter, it becomes unnecessary for me to take up more of Your Lordship’s time than to state that Brigadier General Wetherall with the Force named in the Margin shall be ready to embark whenever Tonnage can be procured for their convey- ance to Madras, trusting that Your Lordship will have the good- ness strongly to represent to Lord Castlereagh the necessity of replacing this force with as little delay as possible. I am &c. (Signed) H. G. Grey. Royal Artillery, 1 Com- pany, 90. 21 st Light Dragoons, 2 Squadrons, 316. 72 nd Regiment, 840. 83rd Regiment, 1032, in- cluding non - commis • sioned officers. 176 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, October 16 tli 1809. My Lord, — In executing the duty pointed out by the Committee of Privy Council for Trade and plantations, I have not barely confined myself to the statement required, but attempting to aid the objects, I accompany it with a detail of every expence incident to the Pevenue Collection, and add such observations as occur to my mind upon the improvement of the present Eevenues, their mode of collection, and such additions as will connect the advan- tages of the Individuals with the Interests of the State. It is with great diffidence I submit my opinions but I trust a zealous application of such talents as I possess to the subject will justify me in a detail that however minute may prove useful. I hope your Lordship will believe me very sincere when I inform you the great principle of my administration has been to impress every Inhabitant that I seek neither private gratitude or affection, that all favours conferred have arisen from my opinion of the meritorious exertions of Individuals, or that such favours will ultimately prove beneficial to the public Interests either directly by an augmentation of immediate revenue as rent, or indirectly by augmenting produce liable to taxation. I feel convinced my Lord in a Colony newly acquired whose population is naturally and rapidly increasing notwithstanding great local obstacles, that system of taxation which combines the interest of the Individuals and the public is best, and if the British Government should to the augmenting population of this Country decline forming local assemblies, or any means of ex- pressing their public opinions upon taxes and public Revenue the greatest caution is necessary in those whom His Majesty employs and invests with his representation. The extent of Country, the habits of the Boers, and the vicinity of neighbouring Independent States renders an exact consideration of what is practicable necessary. I am therefore bold through your Lordship to intimate my opinion that such changes as are intended should be communicated to me or such other representative as His Majesty may appoint or that if Commissioners be sent out they be restricted from making Records of the Cape Colony. 177 any change in the Land taxes, constitution or privileges of the people until a reference can be made to England or until they have resided in the Colony at least one year. I am led my Lord to this statement from the dissatisfaction which was evident after we evacuated this Colony arising from injudicious appointments made in Holland and from regulations enforced by those unacquainted with the manners and disposition of the Inhabitants and from a conviction derived from the ex- perience I have acquired that a very few active, unquiet and dissatisfied people might with the assistance of the neighbouring Bosjesmen and Caffres unite and produce great mischief, a con- siderable diversion of His Majesty’s Forces and ultimately render this otherwise valuable Settlement a burthen to Great Britain. I must trust to your Lordship’s favourable construction of these preliminary observations and representation of them to the Com- mittee in order to exonerate me from all imputations of vanity or presumption, but I have deemed it a duty to make them fully satisfied that any beneficial change can only be effected by parties apprized in the clearest manner of the state of Society and the modifications of property actually existing. I feel the responsi- bility of these my opinions the greater as there is no public Body or any Individual who directly to my knowledge corresponds with His Majesty’s Ministers on these subjects. I have now the honor to submit under distinct heads the amount and nature of each Source of Revenue together with such observa- tions as I think may enable the Committee to adopt any alteration that in its wisdom may appear meet, but as the subject at large has connexion with the paper Currency of the Settlement I beg to premise my statement by some observations upon it, as one of the principal sources of revenue. The origin of Paper Money in this Colony commenced during the American war in which Holland took a part and which occasioned such a diminution in the supplies from the mother Country that Governor Van Plettenberg to relieve the temporary distress caused an issue of Rds. 47,696-24sts. and that upon no other Security than the good faith of the Government and a solemn assurance that the paper money so created should be redeemed as soon as the pressure of the existing war could enable Government to receive the ordinary supplies from home, each Eixdollar so created was estimated at eight skillings or Forty- VII. N 178 Records of the Cape Colony, eight Stivers, equivalent in value to something more than four shillings Sterling. From May 1782 (the period of that issue) to the year 1784 a Sum of Eds. 925,219-46 Sts. was thrown into circulation, but the Sum of Eds. 825,904-36 Sts. being afterwards redeemed by Specie or by Bills on Holland left in circulation in the year 1789 the small Sum of Eds. 99,315-10 Sts. This partial reduction of the original issue seems to have affixed credit to the remaining Sum and to have rendered farther issues by succeeding Governors more easy, nor indeed did the Inhabitants appear to have marked a suspicion of the insecurity of such property. Accordingly additional sums were from time to time created between the period already mentioned and the year 1793 when the Commissioners General on the part of the Batavian Govern- ment at that time established the Loan Bank and ordered that the total amount of the paper currency should not exceed One Million of Eixdollars, nevertheless a subsequent issue in the year 1795 took place and it was found upon the surrender of the Colony in 1795 that the total amount in circulation was Eixdols. 1,291,276-42 Sts. At the Capitulation Governor Sluysken proposed an article which was agreed to, namely to “ continue the paper money at its present value, to prevent the total ruin of the Inhabitants,” and in an additional Article the Houses and Lands the property of the Dutch East India Company were mortgaged to its amount, by which means there was a specific security given to the currency which it never had antecedently. From the occupancy by the British until the evacuation there were but three Sums created, one of 250,000 Eixds., the other 165.000 Eds., and the last 80,000 Eds. ; the cause assigned for the first augmentation was that the Inhabitants refused to take Government Bills on England, the second sum was created as an addition to the Capital of the Loan Bank, and the last for the purpose of procuring Eice in the time of scarcity. Upon the restoration of the Colony these sums were accounted for to the Dutch Commissioners in the following manner, the Sum of 250.000 Eds. by the Sale to the Batavian Government of Stores, Ammunition, &c., the Sum of 165,000 Eds. advanced to the Loan Bank remained at large, having for its Security the mortgaged Records of the Cape Colony. 179 property of those who borrowed it, and the last Sum of 80,000 Eds. was liquidated by the Sale of Eice the Article which it represented. From this period until the Surrender of the Colony in 1806, the Batavian Government by degrees added 300,000 Eds. to the paper Currency, and altho’ the particular purposes for which the Sums so created were specified, yet the application was widely different from the proposed object, inasmuch as money created for erection of public Buildings was converted into a military Chest and the Security was never obtained to the great dissatisfaction of the public ; nor was this the only instance in which public faith was not kept altogether inviolate, part of those lands and the Buildings upon them which were secured for the payment of the original Sums were sold in Lots to Individuals for 80,000 Eds., which was applied to the current expences and to which amount the public Security has in consequence suffered. The gross amount of the Paper Currency in circulation in the Colony at the Surrender in 1806 was Eds. 2,086,000, to which Sir David Baird added 80,000 Eds., and the total Sum in circula- tion at present is Eds. 2,169,197. Having thus stated the quantity and Security of the paper money I refer your Lordship to the enclosure No. 1, if a more detailed account be thought necessary. As founded upon and connected with the currency of the Colony I must beg leave to call Your Lordship’s attention to the Loan or Lombard Bank. On closing the Books on the 31st of December 1808, the profit arising from this Establishment for the past year amounted to Eds. 44,632-1-5, which profit accrues from the interest paid by Individuals for Sums advanced by the Bank. As what I shall hereafter submit in my general remarks for the consideration of the Committee will very much depend upon my view of this Establishment, I beg to trace it from its origin to the present period. The Loan or Lombard Bank was established in the year 1793 by the Commissioners General Nederburg and Frykenius who were sent out to regulate the affairs of the Dutch East India Company in their Eastern possessions. 180 Records of the Cape Colony. The general distress felt in the mother Country at that period extended itself to this Colony, and in order to give temporary rolief to those persons who though possessed of property, were notwithstanding unable to answer the demand of the moment, Government caused this Bank to be established, and to effect its purpose ordered and issued at different periods a creation of paper money to the amount of 680,000 Eds. The administration of the Bank was vested in a President and two Members to whom the money was entrusted with instructions for its distribution upon sufficient Security for the encouragement of Trade and Industry in the Settlement. According to its Instructions this Board was authorized to lend money on moveable as well as immoveable property, but the term of the Loan was not to exceed a period of two years, with an additional clause leaving it to the discretion of the Board to renew the Loan at the expiration of the term. The loan was likewise granted subject to an annual charge of 5 per Cent upon the Capital, being one per Cent less than the legal interest, as appears by their Instructions. To the original Capital Lieutenant General Dundas added in the Year 1802 by two new creations the Sum of Eds. 165,000, which made the gross Capital of the Bank amount to Eds. 845,000. A Bank which had for its object relief of distressed industry and the promotion of Trade was no doubt an Establishment worthy of a considerate Government, but this institution which professed the attainment of such objects had by the mode of administering its affairs rather tended to the prejudice than to the relief of the Industrious part of the community. That clause which empowered the Committee to continue the Loan beyond the period of two years and which was intended to be used solely upon particular occasions became general in its application, the repayment was never made, not even demanded, and consequently each Loan diminished the Capital without a reflux of its former issues to answer subsequent applications, as the interest was employed to the immediate use of Government and formed part of the current Eevenues of the Year; nor was this the only abuse, it has likewise been found that it was not the necessitous alone who sought for and obtained the advantages of a Loan, that many who could succeed in borrowing from the Bank a sum at 5 per Cent lent it at increased interest to the more Records of the Cape Colony. 181 needy, whose want of collateral Security or of Interest with the Commissioners perhaps prevented their receiving relief from the regular channel, and thus an establishment instituted partly for the suppression of usury appended the means to many Individuals of conducting an usurious traffic, with the additional advantage at all events of obtaining 1 per Cent if lent as legal interest, without being subject to the cognizance of the Law. Of the Capital of the Bank, amounting to 845,000 Eds., there was at the commencement of the year 1808 on fixed loans 810,225 Eds., from which it resulted that the Establishment having had no longer the means of lending further Sums became of no other advantage to the public than what arose from the receipts of the amount of interest of the money lent out, after deducting the expences of management. To retrieve the Capital and apply it to the purposes originally intended and to add to the facilities of the Interests more purely mercantile I directed the debtors by public Advertisement to repay the Sums borrowed in the following proportions, commencing from the 1st of June 1808, viz. The Inhabitants of Cape Town 10 per Cent annually of the principal. The Inhabitants of the Country 6 per Cent, and all parties in future to pay the Interest at 6 per Cent, vide Govern- ment Advertisement No. 3. The mode of collecting this branch of Eevenue is by the Debtors paying their Quota (Colonial term for the proportion of the principal recaUed) into the Bank. The Collection is attended with no other expence than the Salaries of the Officers of the Establishment and Bank directors. Duty on public Sales. The duty on public Sales amounted for the Year 1808 to Bix- dollars 122,905-4-5 ; moveable as well as immoveable property when sold by public auction is subject to a duty, the former rated at 5 the latter at 2J per Cent, out of which 3J per Cent on move- ables and If on immoveables is to be paid (at the expiration of every month as it becomes due) into the Colonial Treasury after the Account shall have been examined and admitted by the Auditor of Accounts. 182 Records of the Cape Colony. To give your Lordship a clear view of this branch of revenue, I must state that the Dutch East India Company formerly appointed its own Vendue or Sales Master, who possessed the exclusive right of selling or causing to be sold by public auction all property whether moveable or immoveable, he being responsible to the Company for the payment of the percentage charged on the Sale. So early as the year 1795 Sir A. Clarke and Sir Geo. K. Elphinstone abolished by a joint Proclamation the exclusive priviledge enjoyed by the Vendue Master and granted a general permission to every person to exercise that office who could give the requisite Security and pay the Licence. This exclusive priviledge ceased from that period until the 1st of June 1808 when I received Your Lordship’s commands to appoint Mr. Eagel Sole Vendue Master, with such advantages as were enjoyed in former times by his predecessor ; pursuant therefore to Your Lordship’s instructions I prohibited any other person the exercise of this employ, and gave him for his guidance the regula- tions contained in No. 5, which will explain to Your Lordship the nature of his duties and the method of collecting this source of revenue, which it will be perceived is attended with no expence. What led in a great measure to this Branch of revenue being so productive was the facility with which the person when goods were sold obtained the purchase money. The Vendue Master according to Law is not obliged to make his payment until 3 Months be expired, within Cape Town, or within Six Months if beyond the limits, but formerly the Vendue Master who always possessed a command of Money was the general discounter, and although allowed credit as above stated as he guaranteed the debt because he was entitled to prompt payment, he charged the parties 10 per Cent discount. After Mr. Eagel received his appointment I found from the want of sufficient Capital that it was not in his power to pursue this system nor did I consider myself justified in acceding to his request of advancing him a supply from the public Treasury, but I also felt that unless Government interfered, not only Mr. Fagel would have been unable to have carried on the duties of his situation, but this branch of Colonial revenue would have been materially diminished, and the Individuals who sold under temporary pressure be altogether unable to obtain relief; these circumstances weighing upon my mind and unable to obtain Your Lordship’s pleasure sufficiently soon to guide me in what Records of the Cape Colony. 183 required speedy decision, I directed a proportion of the public money for which there was at that time no immediate use, to be applied on the part of Government in discounting those Vendue Bills or Extracts which the Vendue Master had endorsed, Certify- ing that no Sum had been advanced by him on account to the holders thereof, this measure I have found by the experience of twelve Months to be highly convenient to the Inhabitants, and as it is productive of income to Government I shall notice it under the head of the Lombard Discount Bank. The Lombard Discount Bank. The Lombard Discount Bank is a branch of the Lombard Bank, it being under the control of the same members and having nothing more attached to its Establishment than a separate Bookkeeper, Cashier, and two Clerks. I established it on the 12th August 1808, and it received in loan from the Lombard Bank by my order on the 25th of the same month 55,000 Rixdollars and on the 4th October in the same year a further Loan of Rixdollars 25,000, which sums form the Capital 80,000 Rixdollars. The mode of obtaining a discount from this Bank is as follows. The person who sells his property through the Vendue Master and wishes to procure immediate payment submits an application to the members of the Bank for the amount which appears on the face of the Vendue roll, if acceded to a bill of acceptance for the amount is drawn by the holder upon the Vendue Master payable to order, when upon his acceptance at the rate of 6 per Cent the discount takes place. The Bills when due have upon all occasions been regularly honored, nor do I imagine that any risk is incurred by the Bank, as according to law a Vendue Master is entitled to summary execution upon all property possessed by the purchaser and Persons concerned in the Security in failure of his or their making the payment. But for the accommodation of such Interests, whether Agri- cultural or Commercial, as have not Vendue Bills to offer, I have left a Sum of 150,000 Rixdollars at the disposal of the Directors of the Lombard Bank to be lent in Sums under Rixdollars 5,000, upon landed and collateral Security and for a term not exceeding 184 Records of the Cape Colony. Six Months, to extend as far as possible the advantage of temporary credit to all classes. Enclosed is a Statement of the Accounts of the Bank with an explanation of its concerns, as given by the President. No expence is incurred on account of this establishment, except the annual Salaries of the Bookkeeper and Cashier. Land Bevenue. The Land Bevenue for the year 1808 amounted to Bixdollars 90,687-3-5, and is derived from payments made upon Landed property held under one of the four following Tenures, viz. 1st. Eigendoms Land or Land in perpetuity. 2nd. Erfpacht or Quitrent Ditto. 3rd. Leenings Eigendom or Loan property. 4th. Leenings Loan or Copyhold. Of Eigendoms Land or Land held in perpetuity is the property conveyed to the party by a Stamped deed bearing the Governor’s Signature and countersigned by the Colonial Secretary, a diagram descriptive of its situation and extent being previously registered in the records of the Colony. This Land the original purchase money being paid is not subject to any burthen excepting the payment of 4 per Cent upon the Sale and transfer over and above the Vendue charge. The Erfpacht or Quitrent. To hold under this tenure it is requisite that the Land should be surveyed when the possessor receives a Title deed upon a 10 dollar Stamp, and is subject to the Yearly rent of from 4 to 8 skillings per Morgen (two English acres). The right to such Land is also transferable, but the grant is only for the space of fifteen years, at the expiration of which period if not renewed it reverts to Government. This description of property is likewise subject to the Transfer duty of 4 per Cent. Leenings Eigendom or Ljoan property. The nature of this tenure is not materially different from the Eigendoms Land or Records of the Cape Colony. 185 freehold, except in this respect, that the possessor pays an annual rent to Government of 24 Kixdollars. Land granted in this manner is usually attached to an Eigendom and partakes of the advantages of the extent of the Loan place and the permanent tenure of the Eigendom. The Grantee holds the property by a Letter of estate granted by the Governor on a Stamp of from 25 to 100 Eixdollars, the diagram for the Eigendom part being previously framed and duly registered. It has of late years been considered as fixed property and is also considered the most valuable tenure in the Settlement, but for some time past no grants of this description have been made. It is subject to the Transfer duty. The Leening or Loan Places. A Loan place is generally speaking a grazing farm which embraces a space of one hour’s walking (about three English miles) in diameter or half an hour’s walking in each direction from the house or beacon whence it is supposed to be measured. It is granted by the Governor at a rent of 24 Eixdollars, and is renewed annually upon a Stamp of Eive Eixdollars. Custom has established that the buildings upon loan places should be considered as the property of the Individual erecting them, in cases therefore where Government assumes the occupancy such buildings must be valued and paid for, or if transferred by the proprietor are subject to a duty of 2J per Cent. General Janssens, the last Dutch Governor, had it at one time in contemplation to have changed the nature of the tenure by granting all Loan places in property, and did actually cede some, but in consequence of several representations made to him against this measure and among others a very strong one by Mr. Eyne- veld, the President of the Court of Justice, he desisted from his intention. Exclusive of these Lands there are others called Government places which are detached Farms formerly possessed by the Dutch East India Company’s Servants, but which being mort- gaged as a guarantee for the redemption of the paper money, I conceived under the existing circumstances as unalienable ; part of these Lands I let in the year 1807 by public auction for short periods. The mode of obtaining Lands from Government under any of the foregoing tenures is as follows. The party requiring a given 186 Records of the Cape Colony. spot sets forth in a memorial to the Governor that there is such a place unoccupied and prays that it may be granted to him on Loan, Quitrent, or as the case may be. The Memorial is referred to a Committee of investigation, usually composed of the Inspector of Government Lands and Woods, a Member of the Court of Justice, a Member of the Burgher Senate, and the Sworn Surveyor, or the Landdrost and Heemraden, or such persons as the Governor may select ; this Committee repairing to the spot examines how far the right of Government or privileges of Individuals may be concerned and reports accordingly. In distant parts of the Settlement the Commission is commonly composed of the Landdrost and Heemraden, and it is by reports so transmitted that the Governor’s decision is generally regulated. I now beg to observe to Your Lordship that since His Majesty has been pleased to confide the management of this Settlement to my care, I have but in a few instances granted Lands in perpetuity and none in Loan property, and for this amongst other reasons that such Grants might militate against any views which His Majesty may entertain at a future period for a more permanent distribution of His territorial possessions. In those cases where I had the option I have preferred granting Land on Quitrent in leases for 15 years, as such Grants like those in loan are resumable, and are not like the latter subject to that fixed and unfair rent of 24 Bixdollars, unfair inasmuch as Lands being of unequal value should not be subject to equality of rent. The quantity of Land now held and occupied under the different Titles will be seen by a reference to the enclosure No. 11. The rents upon land are received by the respective Landdrosts or the Eeceiver General of Land Bevenues as it suits the convenience of the tenant. The expence of surveys falls upon the party applying for the grant or Transfer. No expence attends the collection unless where prosecutions are entered for the recovery of arrears. Purchase Money for Lands. The purchase Money paid for land ceded in property in the year 1808 amounted to Bixdollars 275. This branch of Eevenue Records of the Cape Colony. 187 must of course vary and be dependent upon the applications for Land which may be made and complied with. As I deemed it imprudent until I became better acquainted with the Colony to alienate much land in property, the source at the present appears unproductive, but if hereafter it were the policy to change the nature of the tenure in Loan and give the landholder a fixed property in the Soil or to make grants in Eigendom in preference to other tenures, the purchase money for Lands would in either case form a most lucrative branch of Colonial revenue. The collection is made by the Eeceiver General of Land Eevenue. Transfer Duty. This duty which amounted in the year 1808 to Eixdollars 66,723-3-4, is collected previous to the registry of the Transfer. Immoveable property such as houses pays a duty of 4 per Cent, also Land in freehold or Quitrent, but a duty of only 2^ per Cent is charged upon the Opstal or buildings erected upon a Loan Land. In the year 1807 I found it expedient to take a measure of additional precaution for the due collection of this part of the revenue which I believe is now properly enforced. No additional expence arises for the collection of this branch of revenue, this duty being paid by the parties into the office of the Collector of inland Customs in the Cape District, in the remote districts to the Eeceiver General of Land Eevenues. Tythes. The amount of the Tythes upon Grain for the year 1808 produced the sum of Eixds. 32,344. All Grain, Wine and Brandy upon passing the barrier on its entrance into Cape Town is subject to a charge denominated Tythe. This is not levied upon a tenth of the produce, but is collected according to a Tariff commuting the payment as per No. 12. Sir George Yonge when Governor directed a tenth of the market price to be collected, but this caused such discontent that Lieutenant General Dundas upon succeeding to the Government cancelled the order, in consequence of which the duty continues to be paid as formerly. 188 Records of the Cape Colony. The only expence attending the collection of this branch of revenue is the Salary attached to the Office of the Collector of inland Customs and the inferior Officers employed in the collection. Proceeds of the Grain Committee. The proceeds arising from this Fund amounted in the year 1808 to Eixds. 42,930. The Colonial Granary is under the charge of two Superintending Commissioners who have authority to purchase Grain when it does not exceed a certain price. The present establishment was formed by Sir David Baird upon the precedent of a similar institution under the first British Government, and he created a sum of 80,000 Kixdollars as its Capital. In the year 1795 when the Cape was captured by His Majesty’s arms, there was found in store sufficient for one year’s con- sumption, it being the policy of the Dutch E. I. Company annually to provide by such a measure against the failure of the ensuing harvest, but a scarcity being apprehended at home in the year 1796 all the Grain was at that time exported to England and the Granary converted into a Naval Hospital, to which purpose it is still applied. Since the period that surplus Stock was so exported, the price of Grain has not fallen sufficiently low to enable the Com- missioners to purchase enough for one year’s consumption, and therefore the Colony is almost wholly dependent upon its annual harvest. In the year 1807 I had the honor of acquainting Your Lordship that I deemed it prudent to avail myself of the return of some Transports from Madras to obtain a supply of rice as an unusual drought at the commencement of the season indicated a partial failure, and it was from the public Sale of this supply at regular intervals that the general account has been credited the amount already mentioned. There is no expence attending this establishment except that of Store hire, the Commissioners acting without Salary or emolument. Records of the Cape Colony. Printing Office. 189 The amount of revenue arising from the Printing Office for the year 1808 was Eixds. 8,509-5 stivers. This arises from payment made for the insertion of Notices and Advertisements in the Government Gazette. No expence attends the collection, as the parties pay the charge to the Superintendent of the press upon the insertion of the Article, and he pays into the Office of the Receiver General at the conclusion of every Quarter all monies so collected. Post Office. The income arising from this department for the year 1808 amounted to Rixds. 4,694. Letters to and from England are subject to a postage as well as those to the interior of the Colony. The expence attending this Establishment exclusive of the Salary of the Postmaster and his Clerk consists in the relays of Post Boors, which it is found necessary to hold in readiness for the purpose of keeping up a fixed mode of communication between Cape Town and the Country Districts. Fees Received in the Colonial Secretary’s Office. The fees received on account of Government in the Colonial Secretary’s Office amounted for the year 1808 to Rixds. 6,716-7-4. Previous to my leaving England I had it in command from Mr. Secretary Windham that the Fees and perquisites which might be received by any public office established or to be established under the Government of the Cape of Good Hope should in no case whatever belong to the person or any of the persons employed in such offices by right of office and without account, but that all such Fees and perquisites should be appro- priated to the payment of the fixed appointments of the persons employed in such offices. In pursuance of which all Fees, per- quisites and emoluments are now credited to Government and paid into His Majesty’s Treasury at the end of every Quarter with the exception as directed by Mr. Secretary Windham in his 190 Records of the Cape Colony. Letter addressed to Sir David Baird under date the 8th of December 1806. The fees payable in the Colonial Secretary’s Office are regulated according to the subjoined Tariff. No expence is incurred in the collection. Fees from the Chamber for Regulating Insolvent Estates. The amount of Fees paid into His Majesty’s Treasury from this Chamber for the year 1808 was Rixds. 11,578-2-1. The Secretary of the Court of Justice formerly acted as Seques- trator, but the Commissary General De Mist in the year 1803 instituted this Establishment, which is now composed of a President, two Members and a Secretary. The Insolvent Estates Chamber takes cognizance of all property sequestered by order of the Court of Justice and executes those decrees of the Court with which it is charged, it likewise grants Certificates of Bankruptcy and acts both as assignors and Com- missioners of Bankruptcy in England. The Fees are regulated by the Tariff hereby subjoined, and are paid into His Majesty’s Treasury at the end of every Quarter. No expence attends the collecting of them. Licence for Retailing Wine. The Sum paid into His Majesty’s Treasury for the exclusive priviledge of retailing Wines, Beer and Brandy for the year 1808 amounted to Rixds. 99,177-34 stivers. It has been the constant usage to farm out to the highest bidder annually at public auction the sole permission of selling by retail Cape Wines and Brandies, Cape Beer and foreign Liquors. No person whatever except the one obtaining the Contract and those duly appointed by him can according to Law vend in small quantities Wine, Beer, or Spirituous Liquors. Some abuses having been found to exist, General Janssens in the year 1804 issued a Proclamation which I beg to refer to as containing the regulations under which the Farmer !s authorized to act, as also to Enclosure No. 18 being a Copy of the particulars of the Contract granted by me for the year 1808. Records of the Cape Colony. 191 Sir J. Craig in the year 1796 attempted to substitute licensed Wine Houses in lieu of the monopoly to an Individual, but the measure so far failed as to have been comparatively unproductive in a financial point of view, and in the following year he had recourse to the former mode. Your Lordship will perceive that in the year 1808 this source of revenue formed one fifth of the Colonial income, and by a comparison it is found to have gradually increased. There were I understand several propositions laid before the late Government for the abolition of this monopoly, and it is so obnoxious to the lower classes, particularly to the soldiery, and is so constant a source of dispute between the Commanding Officers of Corps and the Farmer, that an alteration in the system is very desirable. Forming as it has done so important a branch of revenue I have hitherto felt unwilling to attempt any innovation, but if the Committee of Privy Council for Trade should approve of a change, the substitution of licensed wine houses under proper regulations would probably after the two or three first years produce an income equal to what is now paid by the Farmer. There is no expence incurred in collecting it. Stamp Duty. The duty upon Stamps in the year 1808 amounted to Rixds. 63,268-6. No branch of Revenue has had a greater encrease than this, and which I presume to think has arisen from the Tariff which I issued by Proclamation on the 7th December 1807, and to which I beg to refer. The collection of this branch of Revenue is attended with no expence, as the Collector does not receive any Salary but a certain emolument varying according to the amount of Stamps which he issues. Rent of a Mill. Under this head the public account for the year 1808 is credited Rixds. 305. Formerly the grinding of Grain was a priviledge enjoyed 192 Records of the Cape Colony. exclusively by the Dutch East India Company, who possessed all Mills, but this monopoly has gradually ceased, and the last Mill possessed by Government was granted in perpetuity to an individual in the year 1803 on condition that he shall pay to Government a duty of two Stivers for each muid of Grain that is ground by him during the year. Fines. The proceeds of Fines for the year 1808 amounted to Rixds. 10,498. Fines in this Colony are imposed either according to the Statute Laws or are adjudged by the Court of Justice for offences to which the law does not attach a fixed pecuniary penalty. The appro- priation differs according to circumstances. In penalties for defrauding the Colonial revenue Government usually receives a third part and sometimes the whole, as in example in fines respecting the Transfer duty. When there is an informer he generally receives a third part, and the residue is adjudged to Government and His Majesty’s Fiscal as public prosecutor. In petty cases there is not always a fixed guide for the distribu- tion, as sometimes the fines are adjudged to the Fiscal alone, some- times to the injured party, and not unfrequently to the fund of the public Schools. The collection of Fines in cases where the Fiscal or any Officer of Justice has prosecuted is by execution as in civil pecuniary Sentences. Port Dues. The Port dues for the year 1808 amounted to Pdxds. 5,545-4. This source of revenue arises from the dues received by the Harbour Master and paid by him into the office of the Receiver General at the end of every Quarter at the rate of 6 Stivers per Ton. Customs. The Customs for the year 1808 amounted to Rixds. 64,138. U nder the Government of the Dutch East India Company before our first conquest of the Colony, the Customs were principally Records of the Cape Colony. 193 considered as a matter of police and regulation and were put under the controul and management of the Fiscal and his Officers and Assistants. This continued to be the case until the year 1793 and 1794, when an order of the Government was made to pay their amount to the Receiver General. No establishment had taken place nor had the Dutch East India Company decided upon any system of collection when the Capitulation took place. Lord Macartney made certain rules and regulations for their collection, which I presume is stated in his correspondence. But the Acting Collector of the Customs left no documents by which I can judge of the incidental expences of the establishment at that period, their general produce Your Lordship will see by the annexed table, but the percentage of collection cannot he calculated. Since our last arrival the table for the years 1806, 7, and 8 will show the receipts and expences. The great receipts in 1806 arose from the Importation of English Goods, Wares and Merchandizes, principally from Bio la Plata, which then paid a duty of 3 per Cent. At the commencement of 1807 the duty of 3 per Cent was still paid, which accounts for its excess over that of the year 1808. The augmentation of expences arises from appointments made in England being now completely filled up, and in the particulars of the incidents, chiefly by placing tidewaiters on board of vessels arriving and otherwise employing these officers on an occasional duty. I have hitherto, My Lord, not pressed very closely the collec- tion of this Branch of Revenue from the difficulties connected with it. The Code of Law may appear in some instances deficient. Lord Macartney’s regulations were in a great measure adopted by the Gentlemen whom I deputed to form Instructions for the Officers in their respective duties and those I transmit. I also transmit a Table of the duties imposed under the powers given by His Majesty’s Order in Council of the 11th of June 1806, and I have acted upon a presumption that the powers vested in me by the order of Council of the 6th June 1806 were similar to those vested in Lord Macartney. But that either never was sent VII. o 194 Records of the Cape Colony. out to me or it miscarried on its passage, and no copy has to my knowledge been ever received in the Settlement. I have observed such regulation as I found established. The Officers valueing the Goods from the Invoices when Invoices exist or according to the last Invoices by other Ships when no Invoice existed or was not produced. I should propose to remedy the expence, uncertainty and frauds such a system may be liable to. A Book of Rates, Bills of View when no Invoice existed, a duty ad valorem where Articles are not mentioned in the Book of Rates, and above all to introduce a new principle, that all Goods should be taxed according to their value here and not upon invoices of the money paid for them at the place from whence they come. I should not seek to introduce new Oaths, but I would introduce the practice of England that if the party importing under valued the Colonial worth of the Goods, Wares or Merchandizes, the officer, and I would add any Bystander, should have the power of taking them paying the merchant’s valuation and 10 per Cent additional, as I understand the case to be in England. But until I receive the Order of Council of the 6th of June 1806 and am assured of my powers I have not ventured to impose any new pecuniary penalty or enforce by other than the old means the collection of the revenue, as the expression of the Proclamation is that the duties shall be rated and collected as has been usually done, nor indeed have I felt it wise to make any great restriction upon European consumption. All captured prize Goods pay their duty according to the Vendue Master’s Rolls, and upon them there is no loss. If the duty of three per Cent upon British Goods is restored, to which as that expence will fall entirely upon the Colonial consumer, and every article brought out being bought up with avidity, I am not aware of any valid objection, and goods are ordered to be valued not as is the practice of this Colony but as I have pointed out herein, I conceive the Customs of this Colony would materially contribute to the public exigencies, but as the principal exertion of the custom house officers is directed against the smuggling in of East India Goods for the sake of the re-export, if a more extensive revenue establishment is deemed wise, I should hope that the East India Company would contribute to its being carried into execution. Records of the Cape Colony. 195 Payment by the Prize Agents. In the account current for the year 1808 there appears a credit to Government for Rixds. 107,123-5-3, under the head of Payment by the Prize Agents. This Sum arises from Money repaid into the Colonial Treasury by the Agents for Prize property at the capture of the Settlement, in consequence of my order to that effect. If the Committee should wish for information upon this subject I beg a reference to my Dispatches to Your Lordship Nos. 3, 12, and 48. Stellenbosch Annual Payment. The annual repayment of Eixds. 3,000 by the Inhabitants of Stellenbosch, like the repayment of money by the Prize Agents, cannot be properly considered Colonial revenue, but as these sums appear in the general account of the Colony for the year 1808 already laid before Your Lordship, an omission of them now might give rise to confusion if a comparison of the statement were made. A sum of 75,000 Eixds. was created by the Batavian Government in the year 1804 as a loan to the Inhabitants of the Village of Stellenbosch to enable them to rebuild their Houses which had been destroyed by fire, and by the Proclamation which was issued for the creation of this Sum it was also provided that 4 per Cent of the Loan (which amounts to 3,000 Eixds.) should be annually repaid, and on the 1st of October be publicly burnt and destroyed. The first instalment was lying in the Treasury for this purpose when His Majesty’s Forces took possession of the Settlement, but instead of executing the original intention the amount was con- sidered booty, and again came into circulation. I have had the honor of representing this circumstance before, but until His Majesty’s pleasure is received by me of the disposition he may command of the supposed prize property in general and of this sum in particular, I have considered it in- expedient publicly to burn and destroy according to the tenor of the Batavian Proclamation the second and third repayments since received into His Majesty’s Treasury. I have thus submitted to Your Lordship the whole detail of the revenues of this Colony and accompany it with a Table shewing their gradual increase since the year 1795. I refer to the Opgaaf, which contains the best official account of 196 Records of the Cape Colony. the population and property of the Colony, but to which even in the Articles enumerated I think it might be fair to add one fourth, as it must be obvious to Your Lordship there must be many omissions, great classes of people connected with the Civil and Military Departments not being included, property in itself, such as the Goods, Wares and Merchandizes in the Shops and Ware- houses, the plate, the furniture, agricultural instruments, shipping of the Colony, are not enumerated, and it is not perhaps overrating the value of these Articles to estimate them at a fourth part of the whole Colonial wealth. I am thus particular in calling Your Lordship’s attention to the amount of the property of the Colony and to its revenues to shew how inadequate the circulating medium is to its wants and necessities. They who possess money have certainly great advantages in their transactions either in treating with the Individuals or the persons drawing bills of exchange for the use of the army or the navy. From long habit of distrust private credit is as yet hardly a resource nor is there any general punctuality in payment, except those due to the Vendue Master. The consequence of keeping up their credit at Vendue Sales is almost as great here as it is to a Merchant in Europe not to commit an act of Bankruptcy and I cannot give a more convincing proof of the general want of money than the fact I quoted that the former Vendue Masters received ten per Cent upon the discount of every Vendue Bill even if it had but a week to run. After all the information I have been able to collect and lay before Your Lordship I consider either as direct revenue or as a powerful Instrument of promoting great Interests to which private exertions are unequal, that it is my duty to propose to Your Lordship to augment the paper money of the Colony to Three Million Bixdollars gradually at the discretion of the Governor for the time being and by sums not exceeding 500,000 Bixds. and to apply it all in such Loans on mortgage thro’ the Lombard Bank, such discounts or such public works as would in the case of its restoration liquidate the claims arising out of its creation and in the interim would enable His Majesty more fairly to understand the capabilities of this most valuable Colony. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 197 [Copy.] Tariff of Tythes. 1 Leaguer of Wine • . Eds. 3 0 0 1 do. of Brandy 3 0 0 10 Muids of Wheat 3 0 0 10 do. of Barley 1 2 4 10 do. of Oats 1 0 0 10 do. of Eye . 2 2 4 10 do. of Beans 4 0 0 10 do. of Pease • 5 0 0 [Copy.] Tariff of Import and Export Duties. Importation Duties. European Manufacture. Duty free. 5 per Cent. 7 per Cent. 15 per Cent. 5 per Cent. Duty free. 1. British Goods in British Ships 2. Foreign Goods in British Ships 3. British Goods in Foreign Ships 4. Foreign Goods in Foreign Ships 5. Prize Goods on the Yendue Boll 6. Goods transhipped in the Harbour are to pay Importation Duties, but they may be afterwards landed ....... Indian Produce. 1. By British Ships from any part of India or the Eastward, on prime Cost .... 2. By Neutrals from a foreign Settlement (supposing a permission to be granted) .... 3. Prize Goods, supposing them to be sold here under peculiar circumstances for consumption, upon the Sale Price thereof .... 4. Indian Articles imported here from England in British Ships ...... 5 per Cent. 15 per Cent. 10 per Cent. 7 per Cent. 198 Records of the Cape Colony. Exportation Duties. Colonial Produce. 1. To a Foreign Port ..... • 3 per Cent. 2. If Shipped for a British Port . • 2 per Cent. 3. Provisions ...... • 5 per Cent. But Sea Stock (Liquors excepted) for Passengers is allowed to be shipped • Duty free. European Articles. 1. Ke-exported if for a Foreign Port , 5 per Cent. If for a British Settlement - 4 per Cent. Indian Articles. 1. If exported by the East India Company or by Licence from the same . . . .5 per Cent. 2. Prize Goods sold for Exportation . . .5 per Cent. Tariff of Fees and Expenses to be charged at the Custom House. Eds. Sts. Entrance of Ships ....... 4 0 For landing a Cargo . . . . . . 10 0 For shipping Do. . . . . . . 10 0 Entrance of a Coasting Vessel ..... Gratis For landing her Cargo . . . . . .20 For shipping Do. . . . . . .20 For a Permit to import or export Merchandize . . 10 Do. for Sea Stores, Baggage and other Trifles . . 4 Boat Bill ........ Gratis Manifest ........10 Clearance of Ships ....... 4 0 Do. Coasting Vessel . . . . .10 Pass for a Vessel trading on the Coast . . .20 Records of the Cape Colony. 199 [Copy.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon. Oxford Transport, Table Bay, October 17 th, 1809. My Lord, — Adverting to the dispatches Your Lordship has received from His Majesty’s Governor of Ceylon, and on the subject of which Your Excellency has been pleased to confer and communicate with me, and fully aware as I am of their nature and the important consequences attached to them, I am earnestly solicitous to render Your Excellency every assistance in carrying the most speedily into effect your intentions of sending a Military Force to India, so far as relates to the Men of War and Transports that may be required for the occasion. But as I have strong and specific Instructions to employ my whole Force in the Blockade of the Mauritius, I am not at liberty to divert any part of it from that object without an especial requisition from Your Excellency, by which it shall appear that the services of them demanded are of such importance to His Majesty’s Interests as shall be my compleat justification for the adoption of the measure, and this is still more expedient as from the information communicated by me to their Lordships on the subject of the Mauritius, it is not an improbable inference to deduce that steps will be (should they not already have been) taken for offensive operations against that Colony, in the event of which a calculation will be made on the effective cooperation of the Naval Force on this Station, both as it respects the Ships of War and Transports. It is necessary that Your Excellency should be apprized that from the present orders of the Squadron I do not calculate on the return of any Ship of War into port before the month of January next (with the exception of the Cliarwell). I have at the same time indirectly understood that the Magicienne was on her way here to be placed under my command, but as from that statement she should have arrived nearly a month since, there are strong grounds to suppose her destination has been altered. I inclose for the information of Your Excellency a statement of the Transport Tonnage on the station, with the disposition and probable period of arrival of the vessels absent, and I have to add that it will be indispensably necessary that I should shortly send 200 Records of the Cape Colony , a further supply of Bread to the Blockading Squadron, to enable them to continue the allotted period on the cruising ground. Before I conclude this detail, it is my duty to observe to Your Excellency that any Ships dispatched now cannot go into Madras Boads and also that any Vessel sailing from hence in November will have to cross the track of the Hurricanes during the Season they are most frequent in their fatal effects. I need make no comment to Your Excellency, at the same time I do not wish to be understood that Ships may not pass in safety. The many points which this letter embraces being intimately connected with the objects proposed to be carried into effect by Your Excellency will, I am persuaded, induce Your Excellency justly to appreciate the motives by which it is detailed. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Vice Admiral Bertie. Castle of Good Hope, \lth October 1809. Sir, — I have this moment been honored by your letter of this day’s date, and tho’ desirous of paying by due reflexion every respect and deference to such suggestions as you may be pleased to favor me with, yet having in concurrence with the Commander of the Forces deemed it wise to send forward a body of Troops to India for the purpose of assisting the legal Government of that Country, I cannot consider any measure against which such a resolution may militate otherwise than as a secondary considera- tion. Acting upon this principle I do not hesitate in thus formally requesting your assistance and cooperation, a request which from our Conversation yesterday without the receipt of your letter this morning I should have thought superfluous. Allow me Sir to make this observation upon the expediency of the step I am taking as relating to the Blockade of the Mauritius. Of what consequence, of what utility can the Isles of France be to Great Britain if she loses her Empire in the East, but in Records of the Cape Colony. 201 point of fact how is the Blockade of these Islands effected ? The only Ships belonging to the Naval Department at the present applicable to the conveyance of Troops are the Anne and Oxford Transports. The former had been already granted to me for a Colonial purpose, and if the latter had been in the contemplation of my Lords Commissioners as an adjunct to your Squadron, surely it would not have been sent a circuitous voyage with a detachment of Eecruits. When I received your letter I was on the point of praying (which I now do) your goodness in ordering the Ariel Ceylon Government vessel the assistance of the Naval Yard in giving her such repairs as may be necessary to enable her to proceed to St. Helena with Governor Maitland’s dispatches, from whence I presume the Governor of the Island will without loss of time expedite them by the Camperdown Cutter or otherwise to England. I am aware that it would be desirable if a direct communication to England could be obtained, but I cannot see how this can be done without deducting from the tonnage and Mariners which will be required for the Transport of the Troops, or without delay. I beg to return my thanks for the information and manner of communicating it with which you closed your letter, and have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, October 19 th 1809. My Lord, — The Ceylon Government vessel Ariel arrived here on Sunday night with a letter addressed to me by General Mait- land requesting that I would with the least possible delay forward the despatches with which she is charged either by sending her on direct or substituting any other more advizable mode for their conveyance. General Maitland for reasons sufficiently obvious did not officially communicate to me his knowledge of or opinion upon the state of affairs in India, but through the channel of his infor- mation I am aware of the very dangerous position of His Majesty’s possession in that Quarter. 202 Records of the Cape Colony. Under the forcible impression that no exertion even to the actual risk of the retention of this Colony should be withheld, I wrote the letter to General Grey of which together with his answer I have the honor to enclose copies. I now throw myself upon Your Lordship’s favourable . consideration of the motives which led me to such a step, and as I consider it my duty not to detain the vessel which takes these dispatches, I feel it sufficient to add that General Grey acquiescing in my reasoning has deter- mined to detach part of His Majesty’s 21st Light Dragoons, 90 Artillery, and the 72nd and 83rd regiments, if the necessary tonnage, of which I am sorry to add there is but a small pro- portion, can be procured for their conveyance. Yice Admiral Bertie having communicated to me his sentiments upon the subject, I beg to refer Your Lordship to his letters and my answers as contained in the enclosures. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon. Nereide, Table Bat, 19th October 1809. My Lord, — The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having by their letter addressed to me, bearing date the 18th March last, transmitted a copy of a letter from His Majesty’s Secretary of State to the Commissioners for the affairs in India on the subject of providing a. Garrison for the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, or either of them, in the event of their surrender to His Majesty’s Arms, in which His Majesty’s pleasure is signified that they do cause Instructions to be sent to such Presidency in the East Indies as it shall be judged proper to communicate with, “for preparing a body of Forces to take possession of and garrison the Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon if upon application from Yice Admiral Bertie it shall appear that the said islands, or either of them, is likely to surrender to His Majesty’s Arms,” and further stating “ that in the above case Instructions have been sent to the Gover- nor and the Commander of the Forces at the Cape of Good Hope to furnish a European regiment, in order to compose a part of the garrison.” Records of the Cape Colony. 203 And their Lordships having been pleased, with their letter addressed to me of the 27th March, to transmit for my information and guidance a copy of an Instruction from the Commissioners for the affairs in India, to the Governor General in Council at Calcutta, on the subject, a copy of which I understand to have been sent direct from the different departments to Your Excellency, and wherein it is further signified that “in case the Island of Eodriguez should have been occupied by a detachment from Bombay,” it is to be considered “ whether the Troops stationed in that Island may not constitute a part of the Eorce to which these directions relate,” as no reason would exist for retaining any longer in such case possession of Eodriguez. It becomes my duty in reference to these communications, and in consequence of the gallant atchievements of the combined Force under Lieut.-Col. Keating, and of the Squadron under my command and acting under the orders of Captain Eowley, (the whole of which details have been laid before Your Excellency) to state to Your Excellency that the principal defences of the Island of Bourbon have been so effectually destroyed that it is the opinion of Lieut.-Col. Keating, of the Commander of the Squadron and my own, that the Island may be taken possession of and retained with a certain number of Troops ; on the expediency and practica- bility of which measure I am to solicit the opinion and assistance of Your Excellency and the Commander of the Forces, and shall whenever Your Excellency may think proper give you my senti- ments more fully either in writing, or by conference, and to submit to you those of the Officers of my Squadron. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl oe Caledon to Vice Admiral A. Bertie. Castle of Good Hope, 19th October 1809. Sir, — I hasten to reply to your letter of this day’s date, to which I find it necessary as a basis to state what I consider the spirit of the Instructions received by me from His Majesty’s Ministers, as far as relates to the detaching of a Eegiment from this Colony to the Isle of France ; and Lord Castlereagh, to guard against mis- 204 Records of the Cape Colony. conception on this head, communicated to me for my guidance and to put me in possession of the views of Government a Secret order which was sent to the Governor General in Council at Bengal upon this subject. Under an impression that the effects of famine and the pressure of a strict blockade might produce a surrender, Instructions were sent out by His Majesty’s Commands to a Presidency in India (I believe Bombay) for preparing a force for taking possession of and garrisoning the Islands in question, if upon application from you it shall appear to the Presidency that the said Islands are likely to surrender, and in the above case a European Regiment from hence is to compose a part of the garrison. This, as I understand it, is the purport of His Majesty’s pleasure. It appears therefore to rest upon your representation to the presidency in India, and upon their decision of its merits, whether any and what force should be employed in taking possession of and garrisoning either of the Islands, and in the event of its being determined to detach a force from the presidency for such a pur- pose, a requisition may then be made upon the Colony for a European Regiment, upon which point I am directed to concert with the Commander of the Forces. As you have now done me the honor to invite me to a conference in conjunction with General Grey upon the expediency and prac- ticability of taking possession of the Island of Bourbon I must express myself highly flattered by such a proposal, and certainly shall be ready at any moment to lend by advice or otherwise whatever the public welfare may require of me. To the question of expediency, presuming it to apply to the present time, I shall beg even before we meet to offer some obser- vations, to a case of practicability without documents by which I can judge or even with documents from my incompetent know- ledge in Naval or Military affairs I could scarcely hazard a serious opinion. The point to be weighed is the ability of that Country to which you are referred for a force, this might be best answered if the application were made, but now arises the expediency of making such an application. The perilous state of India is known alike to both of us. The British dominion which when united in itself was not at all times sufficiently powerful to control the natives, is now convulsed. A large proportion of those very Individuals who by every tye of honor and principle were bound Records of the Cape Colony. 205 to support, have cast off their allegiance and are actually and openly in hostility against those whom His Majesty and their Honble. Employers chose to place over them. Whether they have cause for complaint or otherwise is not the question, the means of redress they have had recourse to we know to be illegal. This is not matter of conjecture, but comes from a high authority, it is information not couched in ambiguous terms, but in stated specific facts, and it was from as forcible an impression of rectitude as ever possessed my mind that I did conjure General Grey to reflect upon and assist me in the means of lending that aid which India and with it our country at large most imperiously demands. The manner in which he acquiesced is not unknown to you, and never can be forgotten by me. I should indeed be guilty of presumption and should richly deserve the punishment it produces, were I to imagine my judg- ment unerring, but if a thorough conviction points out to me what is right and my actions are in opposition to that conviction, then should the punishment be doubly severe. India in her misfortunes produces a heavy responsibility, a responsibility which may be visited upon each Individual, even him most remotely concerned, and if I am to suffer in a cause I should rather my sufferings arose from errors produced by my zeal than from calamities produced by my inactivity. I pray you to pardon this digression if it be considered one, but I am desirous of speaking strongly my feelings upon this occasion and with my feelings my most decided opinion that whatever measure deprives India of succour cannot be otherwise than essentially detrimental to the greatest state possessed by Great Britain. Having thus apprized you of my sentiments I beg leave to repeat my sense of obligation for the honor you proposed to me and my perfect readiness to meet you and General Grey whenever it may suit your pleasure. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. 206 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Vice Admiral Bertie. Castle of Good Hope, 19/7t October 1809. Sir, — The Force proposed to be embarked for India if the necessary tonnage can be procured is communicated in the margin. It is the wish of Lieutenant General Grey to furnish Salt Provisions and bread for the Troops, which will be embarked in the Vessels taken up by the Colonial Government, the Transports with your permission to be supplied by the Naval Department, the same arrange- ment to be enforced with respect to the pro- viding of Water Casks unless a better regulation occurs to you in which I shall hope to be favored with a communication. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. Men. Artillery . . 90 Dragoons . 316 12nd Regt . 840 83rd Regt . 1032 Including Non-Com- missioned Officers. Commisd Officers 100 [Copy.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon. Nereide, Table Bay, 19th October 1809. My Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s Letter stating the force proposed to be embarked for India, and acquainting me that the Commander of the Forces will provide the salt provisions and bread, as well as the water casks for the troops, which shall be embarked on board vessels which shall be taken up by the Colonial Government. I have therefore directed the Agent Victualler to prepare all other Articles of the daily ration for the full number of 2400 Men for three months, and to complete altogether in provisions and water casks the equipment of the transports for the number of troops they are competent to carry, and it does not appear to me that any better regulation can be adopted than this which has been proposed by your Excellency. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 207 [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Nereide, Table Bay, 20 th October, 1809. Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, that I am in hourly expectation of the arrival here of His Majesty’s Sloop Otter with La Caroline, French Frigate, the Grappler, Corvette, the Streatham, Indiaman, recaptured deeply laden with indigo, and five or six other prizes, which (together with the Europe, Indiaman recaptured at the same time, and sent under the charge of her own captain to Bombay) were taken possession of at St. Paul’s, in the Island of Bourbon, where all the batteries were successively stormed, and completely destroyed in a most gallant and masterly manner by the joint operations of Captain Bowley with His Majesty’s squadron under my command, and a detachment of the force stationed at Eodriguez, under Lieut. Colonel Keating. This has been an enterprize planned with judg- ment, and executed with promptitude and gallantry, the object has been completely effected, and the troops are returned to Eodriguez. As I do not consider the vessel that carries this to St. Helena trustworthy, and as another conveyance is there to be sought for the forwarding to England the dispatches from this Government, of which she is the bearer, it is my intention, on the arrival of the ships and vessels above mentioned, to forward the details to their Lordships by a direct and safe conveyance, as the Nereide, the only ship here, cannot be spared. The Island of Bourbon appears to be at our disposal. I shall offer no observations on the subject of a detachment of troops about to proceed from hence to India, as His Excellency the Governor has adopted the present means for the conveyance of his dispatches with those of the Governor of Ceylon, which will put their Lordships in full information of the circumstances to which they relate, as well as of the force which will in such case remain in this Colony. I am happy to add that our loss at Bourbon has been very 208 Records of the Cape Colony. inconsiderable, and the property rescued from the hands of the enemy estimated by them to be worth three millions of dollars. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to John Pringle, Esqre. Castle op Good Hope, October 22 nd 1809. Sir, — Advice having been received from India that a considerable proportion of the Company’s Army had manifested a disposition extremely hostile to the established Government, I have in con- junction with the Commander of the Eorces deemed it expedient that a body of troops should without loss of time be forwarded either to Madras or elsewhere in India, as may hereafter be deter- mined upon, and the troops which have been selected for this service are detailed in the margin. Applica- tion being made to Vice Admiral Bertie for such assistance as can be offered on the part of the Navy towards the conveyance of this force, I have been acquainted by the Vice Admiral that the vessels named in the margin being already in His Majesty’s transport service are applicable to the purpose required of them, and that the Nereide frigate and Otter sloop of war, shall be attached as convoy. But as the number of transports is by no means equal to the quantity of tonnage requisite for such a body of men, and as I understand it to be the practice at home that the expences attend- ing the conveyance of His Majesty’s regular regiments to India are defrayed by the Honble. the East India Company, I am to request that you do take upon yourself on the part of the Company the arrangements for supplying the deficit in shipping upon this occasion, either by the hire of English or neutral merchantmen or by any other means which you may judge more advantageous if equally expeditious. That every previous information should be procured for you, I have directed an enquiry as to those vessels which from their general good state or size are considered most eligible. Men. Artillery . . 90 Dragoons . . 316 72 Beg‘ . . 849 S3 „ . . 1032 Transports. Tons. Oxford . . 480 Anns . . . 280 Flora ... 240 209 Records of the Cape Colony. In Table Bay, exclusive of the transports and Americans, the only ship reported fit for the service is the prize ship Tilsit ; such information as has been obtained respecting the Americans is laid before you. In Simon’s Bay are the ships, as per margin. That no time might be lost, I directed Mr. Ormond, a person of good charac- ter and apparently of great zeal and activity, to undertake the inspection and repairs of these vessels ; it will rest with you to continue him in that employment or to substitute an- other person. From what I have experienced, I am induced to recommend him. The re- pairs of the Tilsit have been undertaken by Mr. Philips. It is proposed that the troops embarked in the ships to be taken UP by you shall be found in salt provision and bread by the Commissary General, and that the remainder of the ration shall be supplied by the Agent Victualler, who will victual in all respects in the regular transport service. For the greater expedition I am to request you will address yourself directly either to the Colonial, or Deputy Colonial Secretary, in matters wherein you judge them competent to act without my special authority, and that you will proceed in perfect confidence of receiving every assistance my Government can give you. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. Table Bat. Tons. Tilsit. . . 560 3 Americans Simon’s Bay Prize Ships. Tons. Tanyebar . 400 Peggy . . . 300 Ceres . . . 300 Merch. Ship Dandels . . 230 [Copy.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Earl of Caledon. Nereide, Table Bay, 24<7t October , 1809. My Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency’s letter of yesterday’s date, enclosing for my informa- tion a copy of a letter addressed by your Excellency to Mr. Pringle on the subject of the proposed measure of forwarding troops to India. I feel myself called upon, from this official communication made to me by Your Excellency, as a duty in which in my VII. p 210 Records of the Cape Colony. professional situation I owe to the service, and with a view to the safety of the troops to be embarked, so well as the effectually pro- moting the object of the expedition, to offer to Your Excellency the observations which suggest themselves to me, as it respects the prize vessels intended to be employed as transports for this service. The greater part of these ships, it cannot be unknown to Your Excellency, have been lying here for months, exposed to the weather, without any repairs, and on their several arrivals had encountered the wear and tear of long voyages, and were in general very ill equipped. Your Excellency’s letter to Mr. Pringle states that you had directed Mr. Ormond to undertake the inspection and repair of these vessels, to which as a shipwright I deem him fully com- petent ; but it is equally necessary that proper persons should be appointed to inspect and report the condition of the rigging, sails, anchors, cables, and stores of these ships, in all which respects, I apprehend, they will be found very deficient for the performance of a voyage of the description intended and in the latitudes they must have to cross, added to which, officers having charge of convoys are instructed before proceeding to sea to ascertain that every vessel is in a proper state to prosecute her voyage ; the usage of the naval service is strong on this precautionary measure, and I have inclosed for the inspection of your Excellency a scale of the equipment adopted in the transport service for vessels taken up by that department, which as it respects the articles essential to their security should be adhered to as far as possible. It is further to be considered that there should be on board each of these vessels at least two persons competent to their navigation in the capacity of master and mate. These observations, as affecting the important object proposed, and which I have the honor to submit to Your Excellency will be found of material interest, and as it is with a view to the further- ance of this object that they are offered, I trust they will be so appreciated. I have at the same time the honor to renew to Your Excellency the assurance that I am earnestly solicitous of affording every assistance in the departments under my controul. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 211 [Copy.] Government Advertisement. In order to prevent the prerogatives granted to the Farmer of the Wine Licence by proclamation of the 4th March 1788 and the 29th August 1804 being rendered illusory in prejudice of the Farmer and the Eevenues of Government, no Dealer in Wine shall in future be permitted to sell and supply Wine to any Officer, or for the use of any Mess either in the Castle, Barracks, or in Camp, without having previously obtained a written Order for that purpose from the Officer who requires the Wine for his own use, or for that of the Mess ; and the Dealer in Wine shall be moreover obliged, prior to its delivery, to produce to the person stationed by the Wine Farmer at the entrance of the Castle, Barracks, or Encampment, a certificate to whom the Wine is to be delivered, on pain, in case of transgressing these Regulations, or any part thereof, of being considered as Smugglers, and forfeiting the penalty of Three Hundred Rixdollars, mentioned in the said pro- clamation of the 29th August 1804. Castle of Good Hope, 26th October 1809. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Hy. Alexander, Secretary. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Whereas it appears that the provisions made from time to time for securing the fulfilling of Contracts of Hire between the Inhabi- tants of this Colony and Hottentots are not sufficient for the intended purpose ; and whereas for the benefit of this colony at large, it is necessary that not only the individuals of the Hottentot nation in the same manner as the other inhabitants should be, subject to proper regularity in regard to their places of abode and occupation, but also that they should find an encouragement for preferring entering the service of the inhabitants to leading an indolent life, by which they are rendered useless both for them- selves and the community at large ; 212 Records of the Cape Colony. I therefore have thought proper to establish and ordain, and by these presents do establish and ordain : 1st. — That all and every Hottentot in the different districts of this colony, in the same manner as all inhabitants, shall have a ffixed place of abode in some one of the districts, and that an entry icsf the same shall be made in the office of the fiscal, or the mespective landdrosts, and that they shall not be allowed to change their place of abode from one district to another, without a certifi- ceaite from the fiscal or landdrost of the district from which they irsmove, which certificate they shall be bound to exhibit to the Ifiseal or landdrost of the district where they intend to settle, for fihe purpose of being entered in their office ; while every Hottentot neglecting this order shall be considered as a vagabond, and be treated accordingly. 2nd. — That every inhabitant who engages a Hottentot in his .■service for the space of a month, or any longer period, shall be iboramd with the same to make his appearance before the fiscal or tike landdrost, or the field-cornet of his district, and there enter into and sign in triplo a proper written contract, containing (a) The name of the person who takes into service. (b) The name of the person who enters into service. (c) The terms of the contract. (d) The amount of the wages. (e) The time of payment ; and (/) Such further conditions as the persons contracting shall agree upon. Of which contract, after having been duly signed in triplo, each of the parties shall be furnished with one counterpart, and the third counterpart is to remain in the office of the fiscal, landdrost or field cornet ; while, for the sake of facilitating the execution of this measure as much as possible, the fiscal and respective land- drosts shall upon applying for the same be furnished on the part of government, gratis, with the necessary printed copies for their own offices, and those of the field cornets under them. This being neglected, no contract of hire against a Hottentot shall stand good ; and in a case where it is proved that the Hottentot was ignorant of these present regulations, upon the existence of a hire contract being satisfactorily proved, the engagement shall stand good in favour of the Hottentot, who shall be entitled to all the advantages 213 Records of the Cape Cdony. secured by this proclamation to Hottentots entering into contracts before the fiscal, landdrost or field-cornet. 3rd. — In such cases where a Hottentot entering any service, with the consent of the person whose service he engages in, includes his wife and children, or any of them, in the contract, the same shall be supplied by such person whose service the said Hottentot enters with the necessaries of life, (lodging included,) in the same manner as the person who made the contract, provided they have not made a personal engagement for themselves ; as in this case a separate agreement must be made with them, and duly signed. 4th. — That the agreement expiring on the last day of the time stipulated in the contract, the servant shall not be obliged to continue his services any longer, but be at liberty with his wife and children, (if they are with him) and with all his cattle and other property of whatever nature it may be, to leave the master, and enter another service, or act in any other manner the laws of this colony admit of, without being hindered by the master, or any one on his part, on pain of forfeiting 100 rix dollars, to be divided in three shares, one third for the treasury of the district, one third for the magistrate who prosecutes, and the remaining third for the Hottentot thus molested. 5th. — That the master shall be obliged to pay the wages agreed for strictly on the periods mentioned in the agreement ; and that in case of neglect, upon the Hottentot’s lodging a complaint, the case shall be tried by a committee of the court of justice, in. the presence of the fiscal, if in the district of the town, and by the board of the respective landdrosts and heemraaden if in one of the country districts, which Board, upon a summary investigation, shall administer justice ; and in case the complaint is well founded, the master not only shall be obliged to pay the servant his wages, but shall over and above forfeit all claim to the further fulfilment of the contract, as likewise all claim on account of such necessaries as he may have provided. 6th. — That before the said committee of the court of justice, and the board of landdrost and heemraaden, in the same manner shall be tried all cases in which a Hottentot lodges a complaint against his master for ill treatment ; when if upon a summary investiga- tion the fact be found true, the Hottentot shall be discharged from his service, and the master be fined in a fine not exceeding fifty rix dollars, and not less than ten rix dollars, according to 214 Records of the Cape Colony. the nature of the ill treatment ; and the Hottentot, if found to have urged his complaint wantonly or malignantly, shall receive such correction as the nature of the case shall require. (This article is not to extend to ill treatment accompanied by mutilation or injury done to any part or limb of the body, by which the com- plainant may be deprived from the use thereof for some time or for ever ; but in these cases the fiscal or the landdrost shall prosecute according to the common law in use in this colony,) 7th. — That in case the Hottentot, at his own request, shall have been supplied by the master during the term of contract with clothing or other necessaries, in deduction of the amount of his wages, the nature and value of such supplies shall, at the time of supply, be stated to the ward-master, or field-cornet, who upon the Hottentot’s affirming the same, shall make a memorandum thereof, in order to be had recourse to in case of any dispute about the payment of the wages ; but in case of the supplies not being stated at the time, and registered in this way, no allowance for them shall be made : this same rule is to be observed when any claim arises between a master and Hottentot on any other account, during the term of the contract, by which the Hottentot becomes the debtor of the master. 8th. — That no wine, brandy, or other spirituous liquors, shall be considered as necessaries of life, and consequently no allow- ance shall be made for the supply thereof to a Hottentot by his master, during the period of his employment. 9th. — That in case it is found, at the expiration of the term of contract, that the Hottentot has been supplied with more than what the amount of the wages he agreed for comes to, the master shall not have any claim on that account on the Hottentot’s or his family’s further services, but shall notwithstanding be obliged to let him or them depart without any ways detaining him or them, and to prosecute the Hottentot before a committee of the court of justice, in the presence of the fiscal, or the board of the respective landdrosts and heemraaden, who upon finding the claim to be founded, shall condemn the Hottentot to the payment thereof, leaving to the plaintiff to carry his condemnation into effect, ordinario modo. 10th. — That the master shall in no case be allowed to detain, or prevent from departing, the wife or children of any Hottentot that has been in his service after the expiration of the term of 215 Records of the Cape Colony. contract of their husband or father, under pretence of a security for what he may be indebted to him, not even if he had any claim on the wife or children themselves, for money or any other advances ; but he shall be obliged to have recourse to the mode of proceeding prescribed in the last preceding article, and not be allowed by his own authority to attempt the repayment of himself, by the personal services of these natives. 11th. — That likewise in case of the Hottentot’s dying, through which the effect of his personal contract of hire ceases, the wife and children shall be at liberty to depart, (if not personally engaged,) and to take with them all their property, of whatever nature it be ; and all disputes arising on this head shall come under the summary cognizance and decision of the said com- mittees of the court of justice, or the heemraaden. 12th. — That the whole of the property which a Hottentot may leave behind on his decease shall be given up by the master, to those who according to the laws and customs of this colony shall be entitled to the same. 13th. — That the Hottentots engaged in the manner prescribed in the second article shall be bound diligently and honestly to serve their masters during the period of their contract, and to behave with proper submission, on penalty, that in case any founded complaints about their noncomplying with their contract be lodged against them, to the fiscal or respective landdrosts, they shall by order of the same be subjected to domestic correction ; or if their misconduct deserves a severer punishment, they shall, upon a summary investigation of the case, by a committee of the court of justice, or heemraaden, be punished with confiscation of the wages due to them, or part of the same, or a temporary confine- ment, or a more severe domestic corporal punishment, according to the exigency of the case, independent of their being bound to serve out their full time according to agreement. 14th. — That this, however, shall not extend to cases where any public criminal offence has been committed by the Hottentots, who are in such cases to be prosecuted by the fiscal or landdrost of the district in the usual manner. loth. — That no Hottentot shall be taken into service without being provided with a certificate, either of his master or the fiscal, landdrost or the field- cornet, under whose district he did serve, containing a declaration that he has duly served out his time — or 216 Records of the Cape Colony. in case he has not served out his time, that he left the service of his former master with proper consent, or upon due authority ; while the Hottentots that have been in the military service, must be provided with a legal discharge, before any one whosoever shall be allowed to take them into his service ; and any one taking into his service a Hottentot not provided with such certificate or dis- charge, shall forfeit 100 rix dollars — one third for the informer, one third for the public treasury, and one third for the magistrate who carries on the prosecution. 16th. — Lastly, The Hottentots going about the country, either on the service of their masters, or on other lawful business, must be provided with a pass, either of their commanding officer, if in the military service, or the master under whom they serve, or the magistrate of the district, on penalty of being considered and treated as vagabonds ; and moreover, the tenor of a Proclamation of the 17th of October 1797, respecting soldiers, sailors, servants, &c. as well as military deserters, is to be strictly attended to in regard to Hottentots going about the country ; so that every one is to ask a pass from any Hottentot that happens to come to his place, and in case of his not being provided with it, to deliver him up to the field-cornet, landdrost or fiscal, in order to act as after due inquiry they shall feel incumbent to do. And in order to give the fullest publicity to this my intention and command, besides the usual means of making the same known, I do hereby direct each and every ward-master of this town to appoint and assemble one Hottentot from ervery house in the res- pective wards, and each field-cornet in the several country divisions one Hottentot from each house in such division, as early as possible after the receipt of this proclamation, and to explain, or cause to be explained to such Hottentots so assembled, the full meaning thereof ; and I do further direct the ward-masters and field-cornets aforesaid to report to His Majesty’s fiscal, and to their respective landdrosts, their having complied with this instruction, as they shall answer the contrary at their peril. Given under my Hand and Seal, at the Cape of Good Hope, this 1st day of November 1809. (Signed) Caledon. Becords of the Cape Colony. 217 [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, November 2nd 1809. Mr Lord, — Together with the Accounts of the Keceiver General for the months of June, July, and August last, I have the honor to transmit the several Proclamations and Government Advertisements issued between the 7th July and 1st Instant. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle or Good Hope, November 3rd 1809. My Lord, — In reply to Your Lordship’s Dispatch enclosing the memorial from Mr. D. G. van Reenen, directing me to com- municate my objections, if any should exist, against completing a grant of Land to this Gentleman, I have now the honor to state that not long after my arrival in this Colony I notified to the Inspector of Government Woods and Lands that I should not admit as good the right of any individual to landed property unless a cession of it by a formal grant or deed of the same had been made. In consequence of which notification Mr. Van Reenen addressed a memorial to me claiming as his property the Land in question, and this claim I resisted upon the following grounds. To constitute a legal tenure to land in property it was necessary in the time of the Batavian Government that the party wishing: to obtain it should apply by Memorial to the Governor in Council by whom the Memorial was confided to a Commission of in- spection, and upon a report favourable to the petitioner the Governor in Council usually passed a Resolution purporting that a Survey should be made. The next stage of the business was that the Sworn Surveyor should form a Diagram of the property for the purpose of its being submitted to the Governor in Council and afterwards, if approved of, to be inserted in the records of th© Colony, and the party then paying the sum affixed upon the value. 218 Records of the Cape Colony. received the Erfgrondbrief or deed of property, if no matter inter- vened to induce a change in the resolution. The case between Government and Mr. Van Eeenen seems to me to turn upon this point, whether a resolution by the Governor in Council gives an actual title to Land in property or whether a registry of the Diagram and the payment of the equivalent is not an absolute requisite for its completion. A case very much in point will be found in my Dispatch No. 5, by which it appears that the Governor in Council has in the case of Mr. Van Eeenen resolved to grant a tract of Land to Baron Hogendorp, but so conscious was the Batavian Government of the insufficiency of such an instrument as giving a legal possession, that by the 11th Article of the Capitula- tion it was attempted to be stipulated that the British Govern- ment “ should grant him (the Baron) all such rights and privileges as from the public records it shall appear the Batavian Govern- ment meant to have given.” This was refused, and that Land remains still subject to His Majesty’s disposal. Had Mr. Yan Eeenen addressed a memorial to me in the usual terms praying a Grant of Land, and had urged the intention of the Batavian Government it would certainly have been considered as an additional plea for compliance with his request, if there were not other strong grounds of objection to it, but when he claimed it as positive property I felt that I could not be too guarded in tenaciously retaining His Majesty’s rights. Your Lordship must not consider this as an Insulated case, but as involving a great principle, and what I consider very extensive rights of the Crown. There are numberless resolutions of the Governor in Council not acted upon, some of which have been dormant for many years. These from the growing value of property would of course be revived, and Your Lordship will at once see to what such a precedent would give rise. The conduct of the Batavian Government on this point was extremely decided. An Individual had obtained a resolution consenting to grant the District of Plettenberg’s Bay with its Woods and Forests. Prior to the grant being executed, the Dutch Government upon a reconsideration rescinded their resolution and preserved for the public those Woods, which are now found of such consequence as to supply His Majesty’s Navy on this Station with Timber for ship purposes, and which I am informed are adequate to become a Records of the Cape Colony. 219 source of general supply for His Majesty’s Navy at large to a great amount. If Mr. Van Eeenen should prefer a Memorial in the usual manner I would take the means of obtaining the information I always do and regulate my conduct by what I conceive the interests of His Majesty and the Colony, but I cannot admit of such a precedent being established as that a resolution which would not have bound the Batavian Government should bind His Majesty’s Government, a precedent which would revive a multi- plicity of claims from men who have evaded paying the Sums stipulated for the benefit of Government, and in many instances might involve others in litigation who have obtained grants of lands upon the supposed dereliction of those in favour of whom the Kesolutions were originally made. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Orders for the licensed Bakers. Art. 1. — Any person desirous of obtaining a licence to carry on the baker’s trade, either in Cape Town or Simon’s Town, must address himself, either personally or in writing, to the burgher senate, and acquaint them of his intention, before the 16th December of the current year. Art. 2.— He shall, however, not be allowed to commence baking before the 1st of January subsequent to said notice having been given, nor shall he discontinue till the expiration of the year ; and he shall bind himself by a bond, executed before commissioners of the burgher senate, in a penalty of Eds. 1,500, for the payment of which he is to find two good and sufficient sureties, who must also bind themselves by the same bond. Art. 3. — The said bond being executed, the baker so admitted is to apply to the colonial secretary’s office for his licence for one year, which is to be on such stamp as is enacted by the colonial laws. Art. 4. — The baker thus licensed is to place a board outside his front door, with his name distinctly painted thereon in large letters, and underneath, the words “ licensed baker.” 220 Records of the Cape Colony . Art. 5. — The baker shall be obliged to keep his shop open every day, in the morning from sun-rise till eleven o’clock, and in the afternoon from three o’clock till sun-set ; during which time he is to supply every one, without distinction, with good and whole- some bread or biscuit (provided he bakes the latter article), for ready money, agreeable to the directions and price assized by the burgher senate at the commencement of every month, and which •assize the burgher senate is to regulate according to the market price of wheat, the expenses of the bakers, and other attendant circumstances. Art. 6. — In case the bakers may consider themselves aggrieved by the price of bread, they shall have the liberty of addressing themselves to the burgher senate, and in case of not obtaining redress there, they may then apply to government. Art. 7. — In order that the public may be properly informed of the price of bread, the burgher senate, at the commencement of every month, is to cause the necessary notice, signed by their secretary, to be affixed under the sign-board of each baker, by the town messenger ; and if such notice should be lost, immediate information to be given to the secretary, who shall cause another of the same tenor to be affixed in the place thereof. Art. 8. — The bakers shall be obliged to mark their bread with their initials, as has hitherto been customary. Art. 9. — The fiscal, as well as the burgher senate, and the re- spective landdrosts, shall have the right, whenever they may think proper, or on complaints being made of the weight or quality of bread, to cause the bakers’ shops to be visited by one or more of the members, in order to examine into the weight and quality of bread. Art. 10. — In case that on examination it is found that each loaf of bread does not contain its proper weight, the baker so detected shall forfeit Rds. 100 for the first offence, for the second, lids. 300, and for the third offence, Rds. 1,000, and at the same time be obliged to supply the deficient weight on delivering the loaves to his customers; over and above which fine, the baker who may for the third time be found to have baked and delivered loaves of bread short of the weight they ought severally to contain, shall be deprived of his licence ; and in case the loaves contain their proper weight, but the bread is found of bad quality, the baker so offending shall forfeit for such offence Rds. 100. 221 Records of tlie Cape Colony . Art. 11. — On refusal to pay the above-mentioned penalty, the burgher senate is to forward to the fiscal a certificate from the two said commissioners who have examined the shops and detected the transgression, in order that he may take the necessary steps for recovering the same ; the respective landdrosts are to act upon certificates from a commission of heemraden. Art. 12. — No other persons but the licensed bakers shall be' allowed to bake and sell bread or sea biscuit, under a penalty of Eds. 500 ; neither shall any other person sell flour from Cape wheat, in a less quantity than two hundred pounds, under a like penalty of Eds. 500. Art. 13. — The price of sea biscuit and fine flour shall also be fixed by the burgher senate ; but the biscuits usually called butter or sugar biscuits, are not included therein. Art. 14. — In case of a complaint being lodged, or a difference arising respecting the price of baking biscuit, the parties are to’ address themselves to the burgher senate for their decision. Art. 15. — None of the above-mentioned orders shall extend to the contractors for supplying government, the army or navy, with bread, biscuit or flour ; such contractor must act agreeable to the tenor of his contract ; but, however, he must be obliged to apply at the secretary’s office for a licence. The penalties levied by virtue hereof to be divided : one third to the fiscal or landdrost who prosecutes for the same, one third to the informer, and the remaining third to government’s treasury ; but should there not be any informer, in such case his third to be paid into the town treasury, or that of the district where the penalty has been levied. Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, this 14th November 1809. (Signed) J. J. Vos, President. By order of the Burgher Senate aforesaid. (Signed) J. B. Hoffman, Secretary. Piat. (Signed) Caledon. 222 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Regulations for the Licensed Butchers. Art. 1. — Any person desirous of carrying on tlie Butcher’s trade in Cape Town or Simon’s Town, is to acquaint the burgher senate of his intention either personally or in writing before ultimo October of the then current year, and he is not to commence until the 1st of January following, nor to discontinue till the expiration of a year ; for the due performance of which he must bind himself by a bond, to be executed before the commissioners of the burgher senate, in a penalty of Rds. 1,500, for the payment of which he shall find two good and sufficient securities, who must also bind themselves by the same bond ; he is then to apply at the secretary’s office for his licence for one year, which is to be on such stamp as is enacted by the colonial laws. Art. 2. — Every butcher shall be obliged to place a sign-board outside the door of his shop, with his name distinctly painted thereon in large letters, and underneath, the words 1 licensed butcher.’ Art. 3. — The butchers shall be obliged to keep their shops open every day from sun-rise till eleven o’clock in the forenoon, and from three o’clock in the afternoon till sun-set, during which time they are to supply every person without distinction with good and wholesome meat for ready money. Art. 4. — Eight days before the expiration of each month the butchers are to inform the burgher senate of the price at which they intend to sell meat and fat the ensuing month ; which price they are not to raise during that time without the express consent of the burgher senate, which is to examine their reasons for so doing, and if they appear unfounded, to refuse complying there- with ; but should the butchers find themselves aggrieved thereby, they shall have the right of addressing government. Art. 5. — In order that the public may be properly informed of the price of meat, the burgher senate, at the commencement of every month, is to cause the necessary notice, signed by their secretary, to be affixed by their messenger under the sign-board of each butcher; and if such notice should be lost, immediate information to be given to the secretary, who. shall cause another of the same tenor to be affixed in the place thereof. Art. 6. — In case a butcher is found to have given short weight, 223 Records of the Cape Colony. or to have sold meat or fat at a higher price than has been fixed agreeable to the foregoing article, he shall forfeit for the first offence Rds. 100, for the second Rds. 300, and for the third offence Rds. 1,000. Art. 7. — The fiscal, as well as the burgher senate and the respective landdrosts, shall have the right, whenever they may think proper, to cause the butchers’ shops to be examined by one or more of the members ; and in case unwholesome meat, or weights not properly assized be found, such butcher shall forfeit for the first offence Rds. 100, for the second Rds. 300, and for the third offence Rds. 1,000, and be deprived of his licence. Art. 8. — Every butcher shall furnish the person or persons whom he employs to purchase cattle agreeable to the custom at present in use herewith, the following documents : (a) A written instruction, on which such person or servant is to make oath before the fiscal, or the magistrate thereto appointed, that he will not act otherwise than is laid down therein, unless he has legal permission to the contrary. (, b ) A printed list in blank, which is to be filled up with the number of wethers or black cattle which he has purchased, the names of the sellers, the price of each, and the total amount. (e) Printed orders, usually called bonds, in blank, (to be had at the printing office,) which must be signed by the butcher himself, to be filled up by the purchaser, and then also signed by him ; any butcher transgressing this Article shall forfeit Rds. 1,000 ; and if the purchaser transgresses, he renders himself liable to be punished by confinement in prison, or in such other manner as the case may require. Art. 9. — In case any butcher fails to make immediate payment of any of the said bonds on their being presented, the holder is to make application to the president of the court of justice, who shall send the messenger of the court to demand payment, which, if not then made, a decree to be granted for immediate execution. Art. 10. — The butchers shall cause the cattle to be driven in to their slaughter-houses, and there slaughtered early in the morning before eight o’clock, under a penalty of Rds. 100 for each beast killed in the town after that hour ; and in case any butcher may be under the necessity of killing cattle after that hour, he may do so, but it must be done at a kraal outside the town, and have the meat brought to his shop. 224 Records of the Cape Colony. Art. 11. — The butchers shall have the blood of the cattle killed in their shops, and other filth, put into tubs, and have the same •carried away and thrown into the sea, under a penalty of Rds. 100 ; hut the blood and filth so removed must not be carried through the streets between the hours of eight in the morning and six in the •evening. Art. 12. — No butcher or other person shall slaughter cattle in the street, or with open doors, on a penalty of Rds. 100. Art. 13. — The butchers shall cause their shops to be properly ■cleaned twice a day, namely at twelve o’clock and at sun-set, under a penalty of Rds. 25 for each offence. Art. 14. — The butchers shall report at the end of every month to the burgher senate the number of cattle killed and sold by them in the course of said month, and also the quantity still in their possession, together with the number of persons they have sent into the country to purchase cattle, under a penalty of Rds. 100 for each offence. Art. 15. — On refusal to pay any of the above-mentioned penalties, the fiscal to commence the necessary prosecution before the court of justice, or their commissioners, for the recovery of the same, agreeable to usage. The penalties levied by virtue hereof to be divided : one third to the fiscal or landdrost who prosecutes for the same, one third to the informer, and the remaining third to government’s treasury ; but should there not be any informer, in such case his third to be paid into the town treasury, or that of the district where the penalty has been levied. Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, this 14th November 1809. (Signed) J. J. Vos, President. By order of the Burgher Senate aforesaid. (Signed) J. B. Hoffman, Secretary. Fiat. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 225 [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. La Bourbonaise, Table Bat, 15 th November 1809. Sir, — I am to acknowledge the honor of your letter from Mr. Barrow under date the 24th May received by His Majesty’s Ship La Magicienne the 7th instant, acquainting me it is their Lord- ships’ particular direction that I should desist from the practice of putting Black Slaves into any of His Majesty’s Ships proceeding to England. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. La Bourbonaise, Table Bat, 16 th November 1809. Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, that La Caroline French Frigate, captured at St. Paul’s in the Island of Bourbon, having been surveyed and found fit for His Majesty’s Service, I have commissioned that Ship under the name of La Bourbonaise, and have given the command of her to Captain Corbet of His Majesty’s Ship Nereide, and the temporary command of the latter to Captain Willoughby of the Otter, until their Lordships’ pleasure shall be known. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. La Bourbonaise, Table Bat, 16<7i November 1809. Sir, — I have the honour to transmit herewith, for the informa- tion of their Lordships, copies of my correspondence with His VII. Q 226 Records of the Cape Colony. Excellency the Earl of Caledon Governor of this Colony, relative to the equipment and convoy of an expedition proposed by His Excellency to be sent from hence in consequence of recent un- favorable intelligence from India. The policy, or the expediency of this equipment not having been referred to me for any opinion, (and, as it will be seen by the several communications) the requisition from His Excellency for co-operation and assistance very urgent, no exertion has been wanting in the naval depart- ment to facilitate and to forward the object in view. In selecting a competent force for the convoy of the troops, it has been a leading consideration to reconcile the necessary diver- sion of a part of the naval force on this station with the strong and specific Instructions I have received from their Lordships for its direction to the blockade of the Isles of France and Bourbon, the beneficial effects of which to the interests of the Country have been already manifested. The absence of the Leopard and Iphigenia from the station, the Sapphire being ordered by their Lordships to be sent to England and the Charw.ell rendered unfit for further service, I have determined on directing the equipment of La Caroline in the best way the means of the naval yard will admit to proceed with the Nereide on this service. The crew of the latter divided between two ships will, with the artillery and troops intended to be embarked in them, sufficiently strengthen their defence, and the committing the charge of the convoy to an officer of the judgment and experience of Captain Corbet, more particularly at this season of the year and in the latitude they will have to cross, will, I consider, tend much to their safety. Under the circumstances I trust the arrangements I have made will meet the approbation of their Lordships. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. La Bourbonaise, Table Bay, 16 November 1809. Sir, — I have the honor to congratulate their Lordships on the beneficial effects that have already manifested themselves to the 227 Records of the Cape Colony. interests of His Majesty’s Service, and particularly those of the Honorable East India Company, by the measures their Lordships have been pleased to adopt for the Blockade of the Isles of France and Bourbon, and by the prompt reinforcements they have been pleased to place under my orders for the furtherance of this object. The communications from Captain Bowley and Lieutenant Colonel Keating, copies of which are forwarded herewith, so fully explain the nature of the services performed, the able manner in which they have been conducted, and the unanimity, zeal, and discipline which have distinguished the whole proceeding, merit my highest approbation, and to which I feel that no comment or encomium of mine can render sufficient justice. The objects pro- posed by Captain Bowley and Lieut. Colonel Keating in undertak- ing this enterprise were very considerable, and have succeeded in every point. All the Batteries, Guns, and Mortars at St. Bose, St. Paul’s, St. Gilles’, and St. Luce, in the Island of Bourbon have been effectually and completely destroyed ; and in these harbours the enemy can no longer find that protection for their own ships or their captures, which they were accustomed to seek when the rigour of the blockade opposed their entrance into the Isle of France. Their naval force is reduced on this station by a frigate, {La Caroline ) of 44 guns, and a corvette, (the Grappler) of 18 guns, besides merchant vessels ; but what is still more gratifying is the recovery out of the hands of the enemy of the Honble. Company’s ships Europe and Streatham, with a considerable part of their cargoes, being the only two ships belonging to the East India Company which have to my knowledge been brought within the limits of this station since my arrival on it. I cannot forbear to observe to their Lordships that on the present occasion the service has been particularly indebted to Captain Corbet of His Majesty’s ship Nereide, and on every service in which he has been employed he has displayed a zeal, activity, and universal abilities, which are the lot of few, and which when united must distinguish their possessor. Captain Bowley and Lieut. Colonel Keating alike express their high approbation of the conduct of Captain Willoughby of the Otter, both by sea and land ; his many wounds are honorable testimonies of his former services, and on no occasion can he have distinguished himself beyond the present. It gives me much satisfaction to add that the loss, considering y 2 228 Records of the Cape Colony. the service performed, has been comparatively inconsiderable, a statement of which with other documents is herewith transmitted. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, November 18th 1809. My Lord, — I do myself the honor of acknowledging the receipt of Your Lordship’s Dispatches by the hands of Colonel Macquarrie, containing your instructions from No. 25 to No. 27 inclusive. The signification of His Majesty’s and Your Lordship’s approval of my conduct in the different points which I submitted has been a most abundant source of gratification to me, and I hope by my exertions to merit a continuance of such countenance. I have no other circumstance to state to Your Lordship than the receipt of the arms which I had placed at the disposal of Lord Strangford. His Lordship observes that he has written to His Majesty’s Government a full account of the transaction, which renders it unnecessary for me to trouble Your Lordship any further upon this head. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle, Cape of Good Hope, 18<7t November 1809. My Lord, — When I last addressed Your Lordship it was under the presumption that the Vessel which bore my dispatches con- veyed to you more accurate and authentic information respecting the posture of affairs at Madras than what I could be supposed to furnish, but as it may in possibility occur that the Vessel by which X wrote shall not reach her destination before the present oppor- tunity, I beg to lay before Your Lordship copies of the documents 229 Records of the Cape Colony. by which I was induced to take so strong a decision as that which I originally made of forwarding Troops to India. It has not been without a just sense of the delicate situation in which I am placed by the necessity I feel in using private letters (altho’ authentic and referred to in an official dispatch) for public purposes, but when those letters brought to my knowledge circum- stances so important I could not hesitate between what I owe to private confidence and public duty, and therefore submit them for the double purpose of apprizing Your Lordship of events which have taken place and bearing my vindication for what I have done upon a contemplation of the consequences to which such events may lead. Later and more direct communications will most likely in all other respects than as in an explanation of my conduct render these sources of information unnecessary, in which case I entreat Your Lordship to consider what I have stated as con- fidential. It unfortunately occurred that the Agent for the East India Company was absent when I decided in conjunction with General Grey to forward a Force to India, and as I was aware that the expences attending its conveyance would fall upon the Company, I presumed it would be most proper that their Agent should have the entire management of the equipment, but that no time might elapse in inactivity I directed those Vessels which were best adapted either from general condition or from their quantity of tonnage to be prepared, and I was conducting this arrangement in the best manner my abilities enabled me to do when the Agent returned, to whom I immediately remitted the trust. Mr. Pringle (the Company’ s Agent) then represented to me the impossibility, as he expresses it, of conducting the measure unless through the several Departments of Government, whether Naval or Military, upon which I wrote to Lieutenant-General Grey and Vice Admiral Bertie requesting a daily conference for the purpose of entering into such arrangement as seemed best calculated to promote our object. But as the Vice Admiral at our first meeting proposed to charge himself with the assistance of Commissioner Shield in the superintendence of the Naval part of the equipment we readily assented, and I am now happy to acquaint Your Lord- ship that the service in its different branches is carried on with an alacrity that promises to realize the hopes I entertain of dis- patching the Force within a fortnight, if authentic and highly 230 Records of the Cape Colony. satisfactory accounts do not supersede the present apparent necessity. Under the enclosures Your Lordship will perceive the correspondence which passed upon this occasion. As I conceived so pressing an emergency justified the greatest exertions, I directed a general embargo on all the vessels within Tilsit these ports and then appropriated as Transports the Peggy, several prize Ships named in the margin, but previous to Tangebar, latter step I consulted with and obtained the consent of the Agents for the Captors, which Consent being with- drawn I had no other alternative left than to persevere in their application to the public service after having an exact appraise- ment made of their value, but I beg to assure you that had other means offered it was far from my wish to have moved out of the ordinary course, and I trust the correspondence contained under enclosure No. 3 will amply prove the sincerity of my assertion. The high state of health and discipline of the Troops make me confident if their services are requisite that they will be found effective and however much I should rejoice if our exertions are found unnecessary, still it is a pleasing reflection to know how mmediately our resources can be applied. Enclosure No. 4 contains a return of the number of the Forces ordered upon this service with their proposed distribution, and the only alteration which appears from the former return is the deduc- tion of 300 men (Dragoons) which arose from a want of sufficient tonnage. J ha ve &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Government House, Cape of Good Hope, 18 November 1809. My Lord, — To my other dispatches I add that the circumstances of the day enable me to apprise you of The arrival of the Extra India Ships Wellesley and William, the former from Bengal the latter from Bombay, held out to me some expectation of receiving intelligence from the Presidencies of India, but I have received none officially. 231 Records of the Cape Colony. These Vessels have brought the Gazettes of Bombay, Madras and Bengal, by which I observe the fermentation still exists and that blood has been shed, the public Treasure seized, and denunciations very general and comprehensive officially proclaimed against a great body of the Madras Army. Under such circumstances, after the most painful deliberations and weighing all the probable consequences of my conduct, I have deemed it my duty to His Majesty to apply to the protection of so valuable a part of His dominions all the means within my power. I have, notwithstanding the silence of the respective Governors, whether intentional or accidental, acted upon general principles and such less authentic information as I could obtain, confirmed by finding nothing to contradict those general principles and reasoning in the dispatches to the Court of Directors, which I thought it my duty to open. The agitation has for a long time existed, the parties have had great and frequent opportunities of calculating upon their strength, a regular Committee appears in the Capital of a newly conquered and disaffected Kingdom, the public Treasure has been plundered, the whole body of Officers concerned are declared guilty of rebel- lion, and an action has actually taken place by which many are involved in all the consequences of treason, consequences as I am aware only to be remitted by the Crown. Thus placed submission or negotiation are attended with great difficulties, and altho’ I have heard favorable rumours of the Forces at Seringapatam being willing to submit themselves to the Governor General’s mercy and discretion, until that rumour is confirmed by an actual submission and surrender I have not felt myself authorized to remit any exertion in my power, as men under such circumstances may have objects to gain by delay or may alter their intention were they even sincere in their overtures of submission. I have considered in every point of view the state of India on the arrival of the Troops and in every point of view I see strong reasons for their proceeding. If an amnesty has taken place, that amnesty cannot render cautionary measures unnecessary, and the movement of the Troops, some losses that must have occurred and the great temptations held out by our unfortunate dissensions, will in all probability produce some agitation in the Country powers, the repression of which will render an additional force particularly desirable. If 232 Records of the Cape Colony. the commotion or rebellion is quelled by force unhappily many lives must be lost, and Your Lordship will agree with me that to replace them is of the utmost consequence. If the contest is still carried on such additional strength may produce great effects, and my conduct will then stand only liable to the imputation of not having lent a greater degree of assistance. It is justice to presume of all public men that they do what is right, but I cannot but regret I am left to account for my conduct upon general principles, and that I have received no official information, but from that silence I cannot be withheld from giving an aid my understanding informs me is right, and I trust to your representations and the just feelings of my Sovereign that if I have been guilty of error His goodness will forgive the error of the head and impute to my zeal and the greatness of the objects concerned my exceeding the boundaries of my powers. I cannot derive Military honor from my conduct. I have no other motive than His Majesty’s and the public good, but I have a confidence in His Majesty’s favorable acceptance of well intended exertions and a perfect confidence that His Majesty’s advisers will justly appreciate the difficulties of my situation. I send Your Lordship in another letter the detail of my information of the shipping and how acquired and the best con- jecture I can form as to the probable time of sailing. I recommend my interests and my character to Your Lordship’s favorable representation and have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle, Cape op Good Hope, 21st November, 1809. My Lord, — The difficulties I laboured under for want of in- formation respecting the state of India have been happily relieved. The Bengal Country Ship arrived here on the night of the 19th, the day upon which I forwarded my dispatches by Mr. Bird, the Deputy Colonial Secretary, of which I herewith send duplicates. 233 Records of the Cape Colony. I thought it my duty to open a dispatch from the Governor in Council at Madras addressed to the Court of Directors, of which I enclose you an Extract. As your Lordship will perceive that my determination to exceed the bounds of my authority was formed upon circumstances which appear no longer to exist, I have in concurrence with General Grey determined to suspend forwarding the troops, but as the principal expence has been already incurred and the Shipping is almost ready I consider it wise to remain prepared in case any new emergency may arise. I must again entreat your Lordship’s favorable construction upon my conduct, and I trust upon a mature consideration of the extract that I shall not appear to have abandoned lightly a deter- mination taken upon strong grounds, but after the clear and definitive declaration by the Governor in Council of Fort St. George “that the plans of the disaffected have been entirely defeated, that all officers who were in open rebellion (excepting the Officers at Jaulhah whose public submission was daily expected) have submitted unconditionally to the authority of Government, have signed the declaration prescribed by its orders of the 26th of July and have thrown themselves on its mercy,” and “ that it now only remains to reward those Officers who have faithfully discharged their duty to their country, to punish those who have violated that duty, and to make such arrangements as shall effectually guard the public interests against the recurrence of the dangers by which they have been assailed,” I feel I have no longer the evidence of the greatness and importance of the necessity which could alone justify me in exceeding my authority and appropriating His Majesty’s forces to services not authorized by His Majesty’s commands. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Whereas J. A. Truter Esqre. His Majesty’s Fiscal and J. J. Vos Esqre. President of the Burgher Senate have, in obedience to my commands, assessed the different farmers in such proportions of 234 Records of the Cape Colony. barley and chaff as it will be incumbent on them to furnish for the supply of His Majesty’s cavalry during the ensuing year ; I do therefore hereby think proper to notify my approbation of the abovemen tioned assessment, and further to direct that ■ the several farmers herein named do deliver at the Commissary General’s Stores in Cape Town, on or before the last day of April 1810, the several quotas of barley and chaff expressed against their names in the following list : (Here follow the names of the farmers assessed to furnish 9,000 muids of barley and 5,000 sacks of chaff for the supply of His Majesty’s cavalry for the ensuing year 1810.) And if any farmer or farmers so assessed shall not have delivered his or their proportion of forage on or before the day above stated. His Majesty’s Fiscal will be instructed to cause an equal quantity to be purchased at whatever the market price may be, at the expence of such farmer or farmers, and to be delivered into His Majesty’s Stores. The Inhabitants dwelling in the neighbourhood of Saldanha Bay may deliver their quotas to the Superintendant Mr. Kendler, who will be directed to give receipts for the same ; and such farmers as may not be able to furnish the whole proportion of their assessment in barley will be at liberty to deliver oats, provided five muids thereof be given in lieu of four of barley. And whereas it has been reported to me that the sum of three Bixdollars for a muid of barley or a muid and a quarter of oats, and fifteen skillings for each sack of chaff or oat straw, if delivered in Government sacks, or two Bixdollars if delivered in the farmers’ own sacks, appears to be a fair and equitable price for the same : I do therefore hereby make known that the above sums will be paid by the Deputy Commissary General for the forage he may receive during the before stipulated time. ■ Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 24th day of November 1809. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 235 [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, 2,7th of November 1809. My Lord, — I have the honor to transmit Your Lordship the duplicate of my last Dispatch, and as no Vessel has arrived from India subsequent to the date of it I have nothing now to com- municate upon this head farther than that the Vessels taken up as Transports are still held in a state of readiness to proceed should circumstances render it necessary. Lieut. Dobbin, Port Captain and Harbour Master, died on the 29th ultimo. I have appointed Mr. Blair, Collector of the Customs, to act in the situation of Port Captain and Harbour Master until I am made acquainted with His Majesty’s pleasure, and I have been in a great manner induced to select Mr. Blair from the facilities which this appointment will give him in preventing smuggling, as he thus acquires the command of the boats under the direction of the Harbour Master, without imposing additional expence upon the Colonial Government. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint Charles Blair Esqre, Collector of Customs, to be captain of the Port and Harbour Master of the Cape of Good Hope and its Dependencies, until His Majesty’s pleasure is further known ; and that for the purposes of a better collection of the Eevenue, Mr. William Bridekerk, Deputy Captain of the Port, is appointed tide surveyor, to which the different tide waiters, and all others whom it may concern, are to take due notice ; and that the boat or boats, and their crew or crews, hitherto employed in the service of the Port Captain or Harbour Master, are to all intents and purposes now appointed to be used for the purpose of a better Collection of the Eevenue, in 236 Records of the Cape Colony. the prevention of illicit traffic, and in the discharge of such duties are entitled to all the protection and aid of the Civil and Military Authorities. Castle of Good Hope, 1st December 1809. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Henry Alexander, Secretary. [Copy.] Proclamation iy the Earl of Caledon. Concerning the exchange of worn out and defaced paper money for new, and the destruction of the old. Similar to many preceding proclamations to the same effect. 7th December 1809. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Government House, December 9, 1809. My Lord, — As no intelligence has reached the Cape from India since the 21st of November, the date of my last dispatch, I have nothing to add to what I have already written upon the subject farther than to acquaint Your Lordship that as I have reason daily to expect the Honble. Company’s Ships Boyne , Providence, and Warren Hastings from Madras I have considered it advisable to retain the transports in readiness until the arrival of those Ships, a measure which will be attended with no great expence and which I hope Your Lordship will approve of. His Majesty having been graciously pleased to approve of the respite which I granted to Michael Kelly and Adonis, both under sentence of death for high Treason, I avail myself of the first opportunity which has offered since the signification of His Majesty’s pleasure for sending M. Kelly to England, as his Records of the Cape Colony. 237 liberation here might be attended with bad effects, and Vice Admiral Bertie has directed him to be received on board of the Bourbonaise frigate now under orders to be dispatched. I have directed the Prisoner Adonis to be transported to Bobben Island, a place set apart for Convicts. Vice Admiral Bertie having transmitted to My Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty copies of intercepted letters from the Mauritius, all of which shew the miserable state to which those Islands are reduced by the strict Blockade and the facility with which a moderate force could possess itself of Bourbon, I feel it unnecessary to press upon your Lordship’s notice a subject which will of course be laid before you, but it may be important to observe that all the English with whom I have spoken who were prisoners at St. Paul concur in opinion upon the two most material points. 1st. That the Colonists would prefer to their own the protection of the English Government. 2nd. That the means of resisting an English Force are very limited. The information respecting the Isle of France is not so full as that concerning Bourbon, but the letter the copy of which I enclose and which was found secreted on the person of a prisoner of war strongly marks the opinion of the Colonial Prefet. In explanation of the expression “ l’esperance du payement des traites l’avait fonde votre Excellence a detruit ce seul moyen qui me restait pour faire le service,” it is to be observed that the Govern- ment Bills of exchange drawn upon France were protested, although to satisfy the Holders and give additional confidence in the security, the Brother of the Captain General Decaen was sent home to explain the circumstances under which they were issued and to press their payment. Here Bills of Exchange drawn by the proper authorities upon His Majesty’s Treasury invariably are sold at the rate of five per Cent above the best private bills, a fact which must be known in the Isle of France and may amongst other circumstances contribute to render British connexion still more desirable. The condition of these Islands and more particularly the cir- cumstances in which Great Britain may be placed with regard to the Spanish and Portuguese possessions in South America if reverses upon the Continent subject the peninsula to the power of 238 Records of the Cape Colony. France, augment the objection which I have of sending Troops to India unless the greatness of the necessity is very apparent ; but these are subjects upon which it is my duty to await your Lord- ship’s communication of His Majesty’s pleasure. The Inhabitants of Cape Town have been kept in a state of alarm for some days past in consequence of repeated shocks of an earth- quake. On the 1st and 2nd of December the heat was unusually oppressive, on the 3rd the weather was more temperate and con- tinued so the following day. On the night of the 4th between 10 and 11 o’clock the first shock was felt and within a few minutes the second, these were succeeded by slighter ones to the amount of nine or ten, each being more feeble than the preceding one, but all of them attended with an unusual noise and the signs which are generally visible upon such occasions. The greater part of the buildings in and about the Town have been injured and some thrown down, but the alarm is now subsiding and the Inhabitants are returning to their Houses which for the greater part were abandoned on the nights of the 4th and 5th Inst. I do not under- stand that any material injury has been sustained in the Country although the sensation appears to have been felt at every place within the Cape and Stellenbosch Districts as also at the Drostdy of Tulbagh. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Office Copy.] Letter from Cecil Jenkinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 22 nd December, 1809. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint you that permission has been granted to the bearer, Mr. Henry Nazen, M.D., to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope for the purpose of arranging some family affairs in that Colony. I have etc. (Signed) Cecil Jenkinson. Return showing the Population and Cattle in the Possession of Individuals at the Cape o0 Good Hope in the Year 1809. Records of the Cape Colony. 239 CATTLE: •sSij co 05 to •*}* 04 | co oo co 04 04£- £- • • 04 CO r*H CO i tj* ,-T -T 1 CO •sassy 116 13 4 CO CO •S*BO0 16,653 70,671 123,207 75,189 56,633 CO to CO 04 Tl* CO •daaqg qsmBdg 10,084 635 2,984 82 1,105 9,031 04 05 CO 04 •deeqs Suipeeag r-t \Q * * # * CO 00 * * * * 00 05 * * * : « 5 § 2 2L £ ^ H tf (M e * 05 •siaq^AV 611 1,878 1,715 20 13,237 CO T* •t- •0IM*O Saipaajg co co co co 04 co 04 00 CO 00 05 r-i • 05 05 05 04 04 -tr. tO to CO p-H CO CD CO tO CO •— < co co Tf ■naxo iqSmuQ; 04 t}* CO CO 04 ~-i CO r-4 O 04 *- CO • tO CO O Cl CO X- OcT CO CO 04 00 04 2 CO 00 •sac-jou Suipaajg 3,085 7,699 6,875 5,740 1,596 6,716 31,711 •sasioH 9IPP^S paB ho93*m. t* © ©5 04 CO CD C5 04 04 05 T* O • 05 o t* r- co r-T tO r-t »4 CO 15,284 SLAVES : •area a. fi japan uaaioAV O o f— CO © CD 00 rrj ©5 tO 04 00 O i- 04 i-t to & *3 1,773 •9-ra>A tl aAoqi? aarao^V 3,322 917 1,840 905 495 261 825 8,565 •MTOi 91 japun uai\[ o o O CO 04 CO — _ t- o O CO 00 04 04 i-H U3 <3 *3 1,960 •area A 91 aAoq'B uaj\[ 5,513 2,716 4,226 1,506 830 311 1,616 00 *- CO HOTTENTOTS : •area a fi japan uauio^ O O 05 CO CO O 00 n-T r3 r- 1 o 05 ■ w to CD 04 CO t- 00 CO to CO *area»A y i aAoq'B uaaioAY 04 1— tO 04 .t-” ‘ © t* *- «-* —1 04 04 04 CO r-H co O 00 05 to •area a 9i japan uaj\[ O o *- CO CO C5 CO •a •a C5 ^ O r-J to 00 tO r-l t1* *- "8 ^ o 04 CO •8JU9^ 91 aAoq'B U3H 233 420 699 954 1,328 464 998 CO 05 © to CHRISTIANS: ■BjuBaaag ....... 00 •sj-saA tl japan uaaio^v 0 05 1— I Tl* 00 04 T* Or to CO O CO to CO w CO 04 Tl* »0 05 «3 ^ J ^ t}* CO ) CO •SJB3A tl 8AoqB aauio^v 3,034 208 911 834 946 461 615 © o •area a 91 japun uej^ &d° 363 1,036 1,303 1,634 836 872 Tl* Tl* o CO •SITO.\ 91 eAoqv uaj\[ 3,263 487 1,383 1 1,360 i 1,272 648 958 CO 05 1 Cape Town . . Cape District . Stellenbosch . Swellendam . Graaff Reitiet UiteDhage . . Tulbagh . . . Total. . . . j (a) The figures omitted in this column are illegible in the MS. Return showing the State of Cultivation and Quantity of Land occupied at the Cape of Good Hope in the year 1809. 240 Records of the Cape Colony. LANDS IN QUIT-RENT : j •epoo'a 556 187 582 tO d CO 1 •neSiojq j 00 00 ID d rH • • • W N • • • ■ to 1 •naAjg; | •sao^id LANDS IN FREE- HOLD: •spoon Cl rjl Cl CD CO Cl • • • • rjl l~H • • • • d o •uoSioh CD tO tO O CO CD to CO X— ... X- to CD o p^h • • CO CO d d rH rH -*« X- ■9mjW jo sionSirag *4n r4» d tO X- d • • i— 1 CO H* rH to • • d CO rH CO X- 00 ■SHNIA 1,602,015 1,232,712 351,341 105,189 1,341,013 o d CO CD rdT MUIDS REAPED : ■sia 00 d rH d rH ^ Cl • • TJ1 • Cl rH d Hot CO to •<* •<* •sto 20,368 1,412 6,438 00 d 00 •Xopreg 17,678 14,475 4,230 1,105 15,7381 CD d d CO to •praqM. 49,299 102,128 8,432 4,994$ 35,394 Hct d o o d MUIDS SOWN : -H« -frt Wto CO CO O O 00 • • ^ CD • . rH d •sjuo 00 CO • • O tO • • rH . .00 . . ^ CD d ••feting Hrt Ht4 oi^ji »|co d CD X- O tO • • O d CD CO d • • rH X- rH 00 rH -to d O Cl d •juoqAV Hct C5|® Ho Cl d O rH CD • • Cl Tt* to CO CD ■ • CD CD d CO O O rH CO Cl 00 Cl © rH 1 Cape Town Cape District Stellenbosch Swellendam Graaff Reinet Uitenhage . Tnlbagh . 3 © H Records of the Cape Colon y. 241 Abstract of the Accounts of His Majesty's Receiver General at the Cape of Good Hope , for the Year 1809. REVENUE. Rixds. skill. St. Balance 77,807 4 1 Lombard Bank ....... 42,248 3 1 do. (repayments) .... 55,000 0 0 Vendue duties ....... 104,213 2 0 Customs ........ 39,283 i 5 Land revenue ....... 88,112 4 4 Tithes and transfer duties ..... 170,167 0 1 Stamps ........ 60,357 5 0 Sequestrators department ..... 7,648 1 1 Printing department ...... 7,641 2 0 Port dues ........ 3,063 3 0 Postage ........ 4,224 7 0 Fines ........ 9,613 6 1 Fees of offices ....... 47,254 2 0 Annual repayment by Stellenbosch 3,000 0 0 Purchase money of lands ..... 1,040 4 H Rent of a mill ....... 277 0 0 Old paper money formerly in circulation, and omitted to be exchanged ...... 701 2 0 Grain fund ....... 58,002 0 0 Miscellaneous receipts ..... 1,047 6 1 Rixds. 780,703 7 1-2 EXPENDITURE. Rixds. skill. 6t. Civil list, sterling salaries ..... 159,766 0 4 Colonial salaries ...... 233,932 2 0 Public buildings, (erection of new, and repairs of old buildings, including waterworks, &c.) 30,892 1 1 Cape regiment ....... 188,376 5 on 2 Burgher senate, on account of interest . 7,811 3 0 Expenses of offices ...... 14,165 6 2 Criminal prisoners and convicts .... 14,397 3 5 Government Constantia wine .... 5,743 4 0 Timber ........ 1,366 6 0 Roads, bridges, &c. ...... 14,827 5 2* In lieu of old paper money formerly in circulation . 701 2 0 Carried forward ...... 671,980 7 3-5. J1 2 R VII. 242 Records of the Cape Colony. Rixds. skill. St. Brought forward .... , 671,980 7 O 5 °1 2 Grain fund ..... . . 55,000 0 0 Expenses of Dr. Cowan and Lieut. Donovan’s journey into the interior . 2,887 6 0 Miscellaneous expenditure . . 13,156 5 0 Balance . • 37,678 4 4| Rixds. 780,703 7 If J. W. Stoll, Recr. Gen1. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS 1809. Rds. skill, st. Fiscal’s department ; the amount of expenses re- funded by several masters, whose slaves were criminally prosecuted, and afterwards returned to them ....... 807 6 1 Inspector of lands and wood ; the amount of timber sold ........ 240 0 0 Rixds. 1,047 6 1 J. W. Stoll, Recr. Gen1. EXPENDITURE: SUNDRIES, 1809. 43. C. F. Muller, in reimbursement of certain transfer duties ....... 61. C. Bird, Esq. the amount of fees on the orders for issuing gunpowder ..... 100. J. Bonthuyzen, in consideration of his having consented to the freedom of his slave Onrust . 238. Premiums given at the farming of the wine licences ....... 242. Mr. Muller, for one hundred and twenty Spanish sheep, furnished to the agricultural board 125. Orphan chamber, in payment of the reward to which the slave boy Onrust is entitled, in con- sequence of his having given such information as led to the discovery of the murder committed at Mr. Gall’s house ..... 140. J. Sehultze, in payment of six sticks furnished by him for Hottentot captains .... 80 0 0 334 3 0 600 0 0 1,125 0 0 600 0 0 500 0 0 150 0 0 Carried forward . 3,389 3 0 w|ta Records of the Cape Colony. 243 Brought forward. ...... 231. Mr. J. H. Brand, in reimbursement of the money paid by him to the ordnance department for 520 lbs. of gunpowder furnished to the Colonial Government ...... 293. A. Stockenstrom, Esq., for twenty cows presented to the Caffre chief Gaika .... 325. Mr. Schultze, tools furnished by him for the use of the missionary establishment at Groene Kloof 327. Ditto for tools furnished by him for the stone quarry at Kobben Island 328. Mr. Lidstone, in reimbursement of certain export duties paid by him ..... 331. The commander of the Ceylon Government vessel Ariel, on account of said Government, £200 or 800 Spanish dollars ..... 333. Rev. Mr. Anderson, for tools, &c. bought by him for the use of the missionary establishment at the Great River ...... 336. Acting colonial paymaster, for a particular service 340. A. Stockenstrom, Esq., presents for the Cadres and Boschjesmen ...... 346. J. Wiedholdt, for several engravings. 350. Mr. Breda, trees for Government garden Kixds. skill, st. 3,389 3 0 455 0 0 200 0 0 140 0 0 306 6 0 30 0 0 1,000 0 0 400 0 0 6,050 0 0 781 4 0 24 0 0 380 0 0 Rds. 13,156 5 0 J. W. Stoll, Recr. Gen1. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to the Honourable W. W. Pole. Charwell, Table Bay, 1 January 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, of the arrival here on the 30th ult. of His Majesty’s Sloop Eesper, and avail myself of the Honble East India Company’s ship Fort William preceding the Convoy to England, to state that I apprehend, from the reported defects of the Racehorse (which sloop arrived yesterday) it will be expedient, in compliance with the tenor of their Lordships’ directions com- R 2 244 Records of the Cape Colony. munieated by their letter bearing date the 12th September, to send that Sloop to England for repair. I consider it equally my duty to apprize their Lordships that I have indirectly understood that the Leopard on being taken into Dock at Bombay was found to be so defective that she will not be serviceable as a cruizing ship ; the Charwell being here in a state which renders it very doubtful whether she will be equal to encounter a summer’s passage to England, and having received their Lordships’ directions to send home the Sapphire, the Nereide having been ordered to Simon’s Bay, at the recommendation of the Resident Com- missioner, to be there hove down and coppered, which from the great reduction of the Naval Yard Establishment must necessarily be a tedious process, the squadron under the circumstances is in its effective strength considerably diminished, and I hence there- fore take the earliest opportunity to make the same known to their Lordships. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to make the following appointments, viz. : — P. S. Buissinne Esqre. to be Landdrost of the District of Swellendam in the room of A. A. Faure Esqre. resigned. J. H. Brand Esqre. to be Deputy Fiscal at Simons Town vice P. S. Buissinne Esqre. J. H. Fischer Esqre. to be Deputy Landdrost of Tulbagh vice D. J. van Eyneveld Esqre. Mr. J. Wege to be Vendue Master of the Stellenbosch District. Mr. P. B. Borcherds to be Secretary of the District of Stellen- bosch vice Mr. J. Wege, and Mr. J. F. Munnik to be Secretary of the District of Tulbagh vice J. H. Fischer Esqre. Castle of Good Hope, 1st January 1810. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) H. Alexander, Secretary. Records of the Cape Colony. 245 [Office Copy.] Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 3rd January 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint you that permission has been granted to the bearers Mrs. Lisette Walthausen, Miss Georgina Walthausen, and Miss Lauretta Walthausen, natives of Hanover, to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) H. E. Bunbury. [Office Copy.] Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 3rd January 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Dr. Frederick Huzuenelle to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) H. E. Bunbury. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to John Wilson Croker, Esqre. Charwell, Table Bat, 13 th January 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to transmit, for the information of their Lordships, a Copy of the Report of the Officers of the Naval Yard on the state of the Racehorse, from which, and the tenor of their Lordships’ Order of the 12th September last, I have judged it expedient to order that sloop to proceed to England to be docked, and to take charge of the homeward bound East India Ships awaiting Convoy at this anchorage. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. 246 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from the Collector of Customs to Viscount Castlereagh. Custom House, Cape of Good Hope, 13 tli January 1810. My Lord, — In pursuance of the directions contained in His Majesty’s Order in Council of the 16th March 1808 I have the honor to transmit herewith a General Return, specifying the numbers, names, sexes, and ages of the Negroes received, enlisted, entered, apprenticed, or otherwise disposed of, and the names and places of abode of the Masters and Mistresses to whom they have been respectively bound by me as Collector of His Majesty’s Customs at the Cape of Good Hope between the 20th day of December 1808 and the 31st day of December 1809 inclusive. I have &c. (Signed) Charles Blair. Here follow the names of seventy-three boys about fourteen years of age entered for the navy and of ninety-two other rescued slaves, mostly girls, apprenticed for fourteen years to private individuals. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Viscount Castlereagh. Castle of Good Hope, 20 th January 1810. My Lord, — Having been informed of the death of Mr. Rayns- ford, late Comptroller of the Customs, I have appointed Wilber- force Bird Esqre. to act as Comptroller until I am made acquainted with His Majesty’s pleasure. Since my last dispatch to Your Lordship under date the 9th December, I have received a letter from the Governor General acquainting me with the happy termination of the disturbances in the Madras Army, in consequence of which I took immediate steps for restoring those vessels that were taken up for the conveyance of the Troops. Records of the Cape Colony. 247 Nothing has lately occurred in the Colony upon which I feel it necessary to solicit Your Lordship’s Attention. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 22 nd January 1810. My Lord, — I herewith transmit to your Lordship an account of extra sums paid by Mr. Agar, the Colonial agent for the Cape of Good Hope, to the Persons for the purposes therein mentioned by directions from me : amounting to the sum of £591 2s. Id. for the service of the settlement ; and I am to desire that your Lordship will be pleased to give directions that the sum should be remitted to Mr. Agar as soon as possible, in order to be placed to the credit of his account with the Colony. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to John Wilson Croker, Esqre. Charwell, Table Bay, 22 nd January 1810. Sir, — Be pleased to acquaint their Lordships that on the 19th instant arrived here two prizes captured by His Majesty’s ship Boadicea, La Jeune Lize from Bourbon to the Isle of France, and La Marguerite, the latter having left Port Louis on the 21 December bound to Bordeaux with a French Captain, Cargo, and Colours, having no other Frenchman on board, but manned by thirteen American seamen, and the captains of two American Vessels as passengers, who had sold their ships in the Isle of France. This vessel having left the island so recently, I have examined the persons on board, and taken great pains to obtain intelligence from them, the which, though to be received with much caution and suspicion, I nevertheless consider it my duty to communicate for the information of their Lordships. 248 Records of the Cape Colony. It appears from their accounts that the Principal Works carried on by General Decaen are for the defence of the town and harbour ; a strong fort is thrown up between Fort Blanc and the Town, another above FortTramolin, and several forts on Petite Montagne, by the Bridge over the Eiver ; on the Street de Mocha there is a fort constructed, mounting 12 guns and intended to mount many more This is the Eoad from the Grande Eiviere. Of any other part of the Island they take no notice. At Port S. E. nothing according to their Accounts has been done : De Caen is stated by them to have at length carried his point in arming, but a great difference is made in the accounts given in this respect by the two American Captains, the one making the number so armed to amount to 4000, and the other only to 800 ; the former seems the most probable, as every owner of five slaves was compelled to give one. This measure is of course unpopular, payment for these slaves being made by bills on France, which the owners are aware will not be honored. The whole of them agree in the above particular, as well as to bear testimony that General Decaen is under so much alarm that he sleeps very little during the night, and secretly visits the Guards both near the town and outposts and acts as a spy on all descrip- tion of persons ; and more honorable proof cannot be given of the vigilance exercised by the Captains and Commanders of the blockading squadron than that the Marguerite waited forty days an opportunity of escaping, that frequently during that period, as well as at other times, General Decaen went in his boat without the harbour’s mouth to watch our Cruizers by night ; he himself gave the Orders for the sailing of the Marguerite. St. Paul’s, in the Isle of Bourbon, is stated to be much stronger in its defences than previous to its Attack. A small prize captured by La Manche and Venus arrived three days previous to the sailing of La Marguerite. These Frigates had left Tappanooly, and were watering at Port Nias, to enable them to return to the Mauritius, their provisions being nearly expended ; they had made only four captures and those of no value. A vessel had been dispatched to Bourbon to know if the Frigates had arrived there. The Bellona was on a separate cruize, not known where, but had not spoken the former ; the Enterprenante Brig was cruizing in the bay of Pen gal. Tfie Laurel was loaded for Europe, and was expected to sail the Records of the Cape Colony. 249 night the Marguerite left Port Louis. The Mohawk (an American Brig) was loading at the Isle of Bourbon, and to sail under French Colours for France. She is 300 tons and mounts 22 guns, and a very fast vessel. Several other Vessels were waiting the breaking up of the Squadron to sail for Europe ; from the vague account given of these, I apprehend many of them to be American Vessels. It appears by the Log Books of prizes in my possession that the Runners homeward bound strike soundings on the Lagullas Bank, pass within sight of St. Helena, and close to Ascension, to correct their Longitude for making the coast of France by night. I had hopes that some of these Vessels would have fallen into the power of my cruizers, which from all accounts I apprehend would cause a general Bankruptcy in the French Islands ; and being fully persuaded they would avail of the moment Captain Rowley quitted the Blockade, to pusli out, I intended to have stationed the Ncrcide, Racehorse, and Olympia between St. Helena and Ascension, to be there at the time the Squadron left the Isle of France ; but this intention has been frustrated by the necessity for sending the Racehorse to England to be docked, and the Nereide having only six hands employed on her will be still three weeks longer in the progress of the Naval Yard, and the Olympia is reported for the 10th of next month, by which time the whole will have passed. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to John Wilson Croker, Esqre. Charwell, Table Bay, 22nd January 1810. Sir, — The detailed communications which I have already had the honor to submit to their Lordships by mv dispatches forwarded by La Bourbonaise, and in duplicate by the Racehorse, in relation to the various difficulties with which I have to contend in con- ducting the Service as Commander in Chief on this Station, embrace so many points of grave consideration that it is only 250 Records of the Cape Colony. from my deeming it an indispensable duty I owe to the Country, to their Lordships, as well as necessary for my own justification, as it respects the Instructions I have received for my guidance, that I now press the subject further upon their Lordships’ attention. From the system of Blockade which has been established these last eighteen months against the Isles of France and Bourbon, and from their Lordships having been pleased to strengthen the Squadron on this station, following up in the most prompt manner the suggestions which circumstances had impelled me to lay before them, with this view, the Operations have generally been productive of so much discomfiture and harass to the Enemy, and so effectually conducive to the protection of the Commercial Interests of the Country, that the maintenance of this system of Rigorous Blockade in all its vigour is become most important and essential, as well in support of these great National Objects as for the furtherance of any measures which may be contemplated against those Islands. To this end I have been desirous that every effort should be directed, and this can alone be effected by the most zealous exertion and co-operation in the several departments in which the repairs and equipment of the Ships devolve, and it is reasonably to be concluded that on a Service requiring the whole effective force to be at Sea and absent from any port of refit for ten months out of the twelve, the Ships will in these latitudes, where decay is so rapid, require something more than trifling repairs to enable them to resume their stations, and the Naval Yard Establishment has recently experienced such considerable reduction in point of Artificers that, though supported at no small expense, is productive in this point of view of very little real utility ; and from the slow and tedious progress attendant on the works performed from time to time on the Ships, it is very evident that if the present system be pursued it is incompatible with the carrying into full effect the Spirit of the Instructions I have received from their Lordships ; to this, Sir, I am to add the decided and determined opposition and hostility I have to encounter in the Head of the Naval Yard Establishment, and whose supervision of the Other Departments operates, according to his extended ideas of the Authority vested in him, to the exclusion of all Controul in the Commander in Chief, which has arisen to so serious a height that though a sense of duty Records of the Cape Colony. 251 to my Country will ever actuate me to make those representations on various points of Service which I judge calculated to promote its interests and enable me to Obey their Orders, it is painful to me to add that they are made under a pre-conviction that they will be disregarded. The Appeals daily made to me for my interference in the Concerns of the Victualling department, where the mis- understanding and litigation is become seriously alarming, and on which, though invested with the Nominal Controul of the Depart- ment, no power rests with me to redress or to decide, and in consequence of which every branch of the duties connected with it are not only impeded and retarded, but in fact upon the point of being suspended, are alike subjects of real import to the Service, and on which the interference of their Lordships’ Authority is most essentially necessary. The responsibility attaching to Me, as Commander in Chief on this Station, to whom the Country and their Lordships look for the due execution and fulfilment of an important trust, calls upon me thus far to exonerate myself under circumstances of peculiar anxiety and Interest. In the promotion of the latter, the zealous and active exertions of the Squadron are checked and cramped, and a system introduced of Innovation on the prerogatives and powers of the Officer intrusted with the Command of it, which can find no foundation but an Economy false in its very principle, and fallacious in its operation, for if the Eigorous Blockade of the Isles of France and Bourbon be an Object of Interest to the Country, it is my duty to their Lordships unequivocally to declare that the present system must defeat it and render abortive every measure that can be adopted by me, aided by the talents, judgment, and abilities of the Officers serving under my Command, to render it effectual. I have, etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. 252 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Government A dvertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint William Wilber- force Bird, Esqre., to act as Comptroller of Customs in this Colony until further orders. Castle of Good Hope, 25 January 1810. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) H. Alexander, Secretary. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 5th February 1810. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 8th February 1810. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 8th February 1810. My Lord, — Your two Dispatches of the 18th Novr have been received in Duplicate and laid before the King. His Majesty directs me to signify to you his entire approbation of the prompt and ready manner in which you prepared to send the greatest part of the Military Force of the Colony under your Government to the Records of the Cape Colony. 253 assistance of Sir Geo. Barlow. Measures had been taken for re- inforcing the Cape with a proportion of British Troops, but in consequence of the accounts which have been received from India, of which your Lordship is apprized, of the favourable termination of the disturbances, the destinations of these Troops have been altered. Under the pressure of such peculiarly urgent circumstances there can be no doubt but that the measures adopted by your Lordship for procuring Craft for the conveyance of the Troops must have been attended with some Inconvenience to individuals and considerable expence to the public, your Lordship may, however, rely upon His Majesty’s Government putting the most favorable construction on all those measures indispensably necessary to fulfil the important object you had in view. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Office Copy.] Letter from Cecil Jenkinson, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 12tli February 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint you that his Lordship has given permission to the Bearers, Frederick Meyer and Frederick Beaumann to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) Cecil Jenkinson. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 12 tli February 1810. 254 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Whereas it has appeared that a very pernicious practice is in use of returning counterfeit Paper Money to the party by whom it is paid, by which means it has frequently happened that the same piece of counterfeit Money has repeatedly been offered in payment at the same Office by different persons ; and as by this practice the circulation of counterfeit Money is promoted, and the discovery of it rendered extremely difficult, all persons without distinction are therefore hereby ordered and directed, on finding any counterfeit Cards among Money offered them in payment, not to return such Cards to the Persons who pay the Money, hut immediately to deliver them to His Majesty’s Fiscal, and at the same time to ac- quaint him with the blame of the person from whom they may have received them, in order that he may take such measures as, ex Officio, he may deem necessary. And such persons as may be found to Act contrary to this order shall be looked upon as having wilfully and intentionally aided and assisted in the circulation of counterfeit Money, and as such be punished according to the existing Laws of this Settlement on that head. And in order that the marks by which such counterfeit Money is known may be concealed as little as possible, it is hereby further notified that no Card of the New Paper Money stamped since the 1st of April 1809 will be accepted as good and lawful if the back thereof be so covered with paper as to preclude a knowledge of its colour and mark. Castle of Good Hope, 16 February 1810. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) H. Alexander, Secretary. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. It being of the utmost importance to Government, as well as of the greatest consequence to the Inhabitants, that the communica- tion between the Capital and the Country Districts should he as speedy and secure as possible ; and experience having taught that Records of the Cape Colony. 255 the manner in which this communication is at present kept up is not only very irregular, but at the same time extremely tedious, and that in consequence it often happens whole Packets of Letters are either lost or detained for months upon the road : Notice is here- by given that from the 1st of April next all Government Dispatches will be forwarded to and from the Country Districts by the route herein laid down, those from the Capital to the Country regularly every Saturday, and those from Graaff Eeinet (as the farthest stage) to the Capital on every first and second Wednesday after the first Monday in each month, exclusive of the extraordinary Posts which Government or the Magistracy of the respective Districts may deem necessary to dispatch. And in compensation to each In- habitant who may reside at one of the hereinafter-mentioned stages, for the duties required of him, it is hereby notified that Government will pay to the Post holders three Kixdollars in the month for every hour on horseback between the stages, who, over and above (on ordinary occasions) shall not only be exempt from personal service, but likewise from the furnishing of Waggons, Horses, Labourers, etc., for the Public Service; the whole under the following Kegulations, viz. : 1. The carrying of Packets and Letters shall, for as much as possible, be done by Christians, or else by Hottentots or Slaves on whom a full dependance can be placed, the Postholders being on all occasions held personally responsible for the due delivery thereof. 2. The Postholders shall be obliged to keep, besides a fit Person for carrying the Packets and Letters, two good saddle Horses in their Stables, which Horses shall be fed upon dry Porage. 3. All Packets or Letters shall, immediately after they are re- ceived, be forwarded without any delay, whether by day or by night, to the next stage, and the time employed in changing Horses, etc., at each stage shall at the utmost not exceed half an hour ; and should this time be exceeded, the Postholders shall for every half hour the Packets or Letters may be longer detained be fined a penalty of 10 Rixdollars to be forfeited to the Treasury of the District in which such Postholder resides. 4. The Postholders shall also be obliged to write down in the open Letters which accompany the Government Dispatches the date and the hour when such Packets or Letters arrive at their house, and likewise the time at which they forward them to the next 256 Records of the Cape Colony. stage ; and they shall over and above be obliged to give a Receipt to the Person from whom they receive the Packets or Letters, in which Receipt they shall also specify the day and the hour such Packets or Letters were delivered to them. It having likewise further appeared that the Newspapers and Proclamations sent by Government to the Country Districts for the purpose of being distributed for Public information, are suffered to lay without any notice being taken of them, by which means the Inhabitants are not only prevented from obtaining timely informa- tion of the Orders and Regulations of Government, but Government itself at the same time exposed to its Orders being rendered illusory by the like neglect ; it is hereby further ordered that the Field Cornets residing nearest to their respective Drostdies do direct every week one of the Inhabitants of their Field Cornetcy, who will also take it in turn, to repair to the Drostdy, and there fetch the Newspapers, Proclamations, and Letters which arrive from the Capital, taking with them such Reports as the Field Cornets may have to make to their Landdrosts. These Newspapers, Pro- clamations, and Letters being then received by the said Field Cornets, they shall in the same manner be fetched from them, by order of the Field Cornet of the adjoining Division, and so on by every Field Cornet as he follows ; besides this, another Inhabitant of the Field Cornetcy (to be chosen likewise by turns by the Field Cornet) shall be obliged to take round the Newspapers, Proclama- tions, and Letters to the other Inhabitants of the Division, who shall, on a separate piece of paper, sign for having read the News- papers or Proclamations and for the receipt of the Letters addressed to them, which paper shall be transmitted the following week by the Field Cornets to the Drostdy, whence they shall be forwarded to the Capital at the end of every quarter. And all the Landdrosts and Field Cornets are hereby required and commanded to take care that not only the Orders herein contained be strictly attended to and obeyed, but the former likewise to make such arrangements with the Field Cornets as to the fetching of the Newspapers, Proclamations, and Letters, as they may conceive best calculated to obtain the object in view. Castle of Good Hope, 16th February 1810. By command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) H. Alexander, Secretary. Records of the Cape Colony. 257 New Post Route. 1. From Cape Town to Stellenbosch, Post Waggon. From Stellenbosch to Eikenboomen, at D. Malan’s, 6 hours. From Eikenboomen to the Drostdy of Tulbagh, 4b hours. From Tulbagh to Breede Biver, at Smit’s, 4b hours. From Breede Biver to Hex Biver, at Naude’s, 5 hours. From Hex Biver to Gourits Hoogte, at Mrs. Sandenberg’s, 2 hours. From Gourits Hoogte to Sarah’s Bivier, at A. le Boes, 5 hours. 2. From Sarah’s Bivier to the Drostdy of Zwellendam, 4 hours. 3. From Zwellendam to the Duivenhoks Bivier, at Pieter Lombard’s, 5 hours. 4. From Duivenhoks Bivier to the Hooge Kraal, at J. P. la Grange’s, 4 hours. 5. From the Hooge Kraal to the Gourits Bivier, at E. E. Meyer’s, 4 hours. 6. From the Gourits Bivier to the Mosselbay, at the Superinten- dant H. Abue, 4 hours. 7. From the Mosselbay to the Post in the Oute Niqualand, at the Overseer S. Fend, 4 hours. 8. From the said Post to the Zwart Bivier, at S. J. Weyer’s, 5 hours. 9. From the Zwart Bivier to the Knysna, at Mr. G. Bex’s, 4 hours. 10. From the Knysna to the Post in Plettenberg’s Bay, at the Superintendant J. F. Meeding’s, 4 hours. 11. From the said Post into the mountains, undertaken by Messrs. Bex and Meeding, 4 hours. 12. From the last mentioned mountains to the Lange Kloof, Steph. Ferreira, Hz., 4 hours. 13. From the Lange Kloof to the Ivromme Bivier, at Petrus Ferreira’s, 4 hours. 14. From the Kromme Bivier to the Cauga, at J. L. Bautenbach’s, 4 b hours. 15. From the Cauga to the Gamtoos Bivier, at Jan Meyer’s, 5 hours. 16. From the Gamtoos Bivier to the Van Staden’s Bivier, at I. S. van Niekerk’s, 5£ hours. VII. s 258 Records of the Cape Colony. 17. From the Van Staden’s Eivier to the Drostdy Uitenhage, 3 hours. 18. From the Drostdy of Uitenhage to the Zoutepan’s Nek, at G. Stolts, 12 hours. 19. From the Zoutepan’s Nek to the Zondag Eivier, at E. P. Greet" s, 8 hours. 20. From the last mentioned higher up to the Zondag Eivier, at F. J. du Preez, 5 hours. 21. From that to the Drostdy Graaff Eeinet, 5 hours. [Original.] Letter from the Eeverend J. Scholtz to the Earl of Liverpool. King’s Arms Inn, Leadenhall Street, Feb. 25, 1810. Mv Lord ! — Being informed by Dr. Werninck that your Lord- ship has been pleased to appoint me to one of the vacant livings at the Cape of Good Hope, for which I return my sincere and grateful thanks, I beg leave to state to your Lordship that I have had the misfortune of losing all my baggage and money on account of shipwreck on the coast of England near Yarmouth on the 13th ultimo, in consequence of which I am unable to pay my present lodgings and prepare myself for the voyage to the Cape. For these reasons I humbly request that your Lordship will have the goodness to grant me six months Salary in advance, that I may be enabled to proceed to the place of my destination as soon as the conveyance will be ready. I have &c. (Signed) J. C. Scholtz. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, February 26th 1810. My Lord, — I have had the honor of receiving Your Lordship’s Letter acquainting me that His Majesty had been pleased to honor you with the Seals of the Colonial and War Departments and that Records of the Cape Colony. 259 it is His Majesty’s pleasure that my dispatches should for the future be addressed to Your Lordship. Agreeable to these instructions I shall not fail to keep Your Lordship apprised of all matters affecting the interest of this Colony, and shall discharge with my best abilities such commands as I shall receive from Your Lordship. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Government House, Cape of Good Hope, February 26 th 1810. My Lord, — I have done myself the honor of replying in another letter to your Lordship’s dispatch of the 1st November 1809, but I beg to repeat the expression of my anxiety to Execute with my best abilities those commands with which your Lordship may honor me and to assure you of the zeal with which I shall attempt to fulfil the duties incident to my situation. Nothing has lately occur’d in this colony upon which I feel it necessary to request your Lordship’s attention. The season promises an abundant harvest and the inhabitants enjoy the most perfect tranquillity. A Cartel arrived here on the 24th Instant having on board part of the crews of His Majesty’s late Ships Laurel and Victor and the Captain and 15 seamen of the late Portuguese frigate Minerva which was captured in the Indian Sea by the French frigate Bellona ; I am unable to give your Lordship any farther particulars as from the violence of the wind there has been scarcely any communication with the vessel. If my services can be at all useful in procuring for your Lord- ship any Natural productions of this country, I shall feel much flatter’d by a communication of your wishes, or if in any other respect I can be of service I hope your Lordship will not hesitate to employ me. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. 260 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 27 th February 1810. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 3rd March 1810. My Lord,— Your Lordship’s dispatches down to No. 77 of the 27 Nov1 1809 have been received and laid before the King. Having observed that Col. Collins in his report transmitted by your Lordship strongly recommends the increase of Local Magis- tracies, and that this recommendation is specified by your Lord- ship, I have now to signify to you His Majesty’s Pleasure that you do increase these Magistrates from 6 the present number to 9. The Limits of their respective Jurisdiction must depend so much upon local circumstances that I do not judge it advisable to give your Lordship any detailed Instructions on this Point, which you must have so much better means of determining yourself. Erom your Lordship’s Dispatches and from the very intelligent Communications made to me by Major Bird it would appear that the principal if not the only circulating Medium of the Cape of Good Hope consists in the Paper Currency issued under the Authority of Government, and it would further appear that an increase of this circulating Medium is extremely desirable. The sum proposed to be added by your Lordship by this means to the Circulation of the Colony is to the amount of one Million of Eix Dollars, and it is of course upon your Lordship’s representa- tions of the necessity as well as Propriety of the Measure that I feel myself justified in authorizing this increase of the Issue of Paper Currency. To prevent however the inconveniences which might arise from Records of the Cape Colony. 261 it without some precautions being adopted, I should request that the following rules should be observed, which I apprehend are strictly consonant with your Lordship’s View of the Subject as detailed to Lord Castlereagh in your Dispatch. 1st That of this Sum 500,000 E. Drs should be advanced to individuals by the Directors of the Lombard Bank, subject to the Approbation of the Governor, upon sufficient security being produced. 2nd That the other 500,000 Eix Dollars should be taken up by Government, not to be used by it as any part of the ordinary Eevenue, but to be disposed of in the erection of such Public Buildings as the Governor for the time being shall judge most necessary to the Public, and the Eevenue from which wrnuld be adequate to the interest of the Money so advanced. 3rd That the Eegulation adopted with respect to the former advances of the Lombard Bank, which requires the repayment of the Capital as well as interest by instalments, should be adopted on the present occasion. 4th That the issues of the Paper Currency subject to the above regulations and conditions should be made at intervals from time to time, both that which respects advances to the Public and those which are made to Individuals, and should be so regu- lated by the Governor as not to encrease the circulation too rapidly. There are many other Regulations which your Lordship’s local Knowledge will -enable you to adopt on this important subject, and which it is impossible for me to suggest. With respect to the Colonial Regiment of Hottentots, altho’, from the many Calls upon the Military Establishment of this Country, it may be doubtful whether any diminution of Colonial force can be allowed whereby it might happen that a further Call upon the British Army might be rendered necessary, yet well considering the Representations of your Lordship of the vast expence of this Corps, its incompetency to a variety of services, and the difficulty of recruiting it which Major Bird has represented, I have now to signify to you His Majesty’s Pleasure that you do reduce its Establishment to 500 Men by placing each Company ht the Establishment of 50 Men. I have given directions that New Dies for stamping the Paper Currency of the Colony, as requested by you thro’ Major Bird, 262 Records of the Cape Colony. should be sent out to you with a proper stamping Press by the first oocasion. The Gazettes shall in future be duly forwarded to you. With respect to the doubts which prevail respecting the Aboli- tion Act being so extensive in its signification as to prevent the Transfer of Slaves within the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, I have taken such Measures as will enable me to judge how far such doubts are justified by the terms of the Act, and if they should be grounded I shall feel it my Duty to take such Steps as may be necessary to submit to Parliament the necessity of relieving the Colony from the difficulties consequent to this. At the same time it should be observed that it may be desirable to avoid as much as possible the interfering with a Subject on which so much public feeling and anxiety prevails. With respect to the duties which are now levied on the Wines imported into this Country from the Cape of Good Hope I shall not fail to make such representations to the Committee for Trade of His Majesty’s Privy Council as will completely bring this Subject under their Consideration. The Circumstances stated in Your Lordship’s Dispatch relative to the Duties now levied by Government on Goods imported into the Colony will likewise be submitted to the Committee of Privy Council, and their Lordships moved to enable the Governor by an order of Council to establish a Book of Kates conformable to the value of such Goods in the Colony. Communication has already been made to the President of the Board of Controul requesting him to ascertain how far it will interfere with the exclusive Charter of the East India Company that a traffic should be established between the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope and New South Wales, exporting from the Cape under the Authority of Licences obtained from the Governor of the Cape its Produce and British Manufactures and bringing back from New South Wales Coal and Wood. As soon as an answer shall have been received on this subject, I shall not fail to transmit it to your Lordship. With respect to the Abolition of the Slave Lodge, which your Lordship considers of no Utility to the Government of the Colony and as a considerable expence, I should wish that the question relative to the Legality of the transfer of Slaves in the Colony should be first decided previous to any arrangement being made Records of the Cape Colony. 263 with respect to this latter point, as it may be a question how far it would be justifiable that Government should, without equiva- lent, dispose of 300 Slaves Men and Women, however useless such an Establishment may be to it at the present. As from Communication with Major Bird it appears that you are desirous of knowing the Sentiments of His Majesty’s Government on the subject of the Claims of Mr Van Reenen to a Portion of Land in the Colony of the Cape which were referred to your Lordship and most ably reported on in your Dispatch, I am now to assure you of the compleat Concurrence of His Majesty's Govern- ment in the View you took of those Claims and of its Conviction of the Necessity of such Claims being resisted in the first instance with a View to prevent their recurrence on occasions of greater moment which your Lordship suggests might arise in the Event of Government admitting the Validity of those of Mr Van Reenen. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 3rd March 1810. My Lord, — The Revd Jacob Scholtz, a Minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, having been strongly recommended to me by The Revd Dr Werninck as a proper Person to fill one of the Livings at the Cape of Good Hope which you represent to be vacant, I have accordingly appointed him to go out for this purpose, and have given directions that he may be provided with a Passage by the earliest opportunity. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. 264 Records of the Cape Colony. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 3rd March, 1810. My Lord, — I am to signify to you His Majesty’s Approbation of the Appointment of Mr. Blair to succeed Lieut. Dobbin as Port Captain and Harbour Master of the Cape of Good Hope. I have &c. (Signed) Liverpool. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 5th March 1810. [Original.] State and Condition of the Force under the command of Vice Admiral Bertie, Commander in Chief at the Cape of Good Hope , the 8th day of March 1810. Raisonable Cha,rwell . Caledon . Sirius Nereide . Boadicea . Leopard . Magicienne Iphigenia Otter . Staunch . Olympia . In Table Bay, refitting to proceed with the convoy to England. In Table Bay, fitting for Sea, to resume the Blockading Station. Cruizing under the Orders of Captain Lam- bert off the Isle of France. Daily expected to arrive. In Simon’s Bay, ready for Sea, assisting to unload the Abundance Store Ship. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 265 [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. CharweU, Table Bay, 8th March 1810. Sir,— The Ships named in the Margin having been reported to be in such a state as to render it necessary they should be sent to England, and their Lordships having been pleased to Ckarweli6 order home His Majesty’ Sloop Sapphire, from which Caledon circumstances the effective force under my command will be considerably reduced, I have judged it ex- pedient that no time should be lost in making their Lordships acquainted therewith, and have therefore dispatched the Sapphire as the forerunner of the Convoy which will shortly sail accom- panied by the Ships before mentioned; and have the honor to transmit herewith a Statement of the strength and disposition of the Squadron. Their Lordships are already apprized that a division of the force, under the Orders of Captain Lambert, have continued at Sea with the view to preserve the blockade during the hurricane Season. I herewith inclose for their information copies of the most recent Communications received from him, together with the state of the Enemy’s force, which their Lordships will also learn by this conveyance is augmented by the Capture of the Minerva, Portu- guese Frigate, which I understand to be a much finer ship than any the enemy have in these Seas ; and it is further to be observed, that on the recent capture of the Honorable East India Company’s ship the United Kingdoms, the Guns of the Creole Corvette were put on board that ship, together with her Crew, and the Command of her given to the Captain of the Creole. Having in my separate letter of the 6th instant acquainted you, for the information of their Lordships, of the Arrival here of a Cartel from the Isle of France, I have further to observe that it appears from the Report of the several Officers arrived that our Prisoners have been very ill treated there, and the Officers closely confined for seven months, which conduct may justly call for recrimination, but as the odium of this proceeding falls only on the Governor General De Caen, it is execrated even by the military, and appears to be a source of general reproach and discontent among the Inhabitants, who have shewn strong marks of kindness 266 Records of the Cape Colony. and hospitality to the English Prisoners of every description, even to the incurring great risk by so doing. I trust when their Lord- ships are in possession of the Report herewith transmitted, made by my Flag Lieutenant, Henry Lynne, who was confined there eighteen months, and who from being conversant in the French Language, and having the entree into every house of respectability, had opportunities of making accurate remarks, they will be of opinion that prudence and policy dictate a more than common attention to the French Prisoners on their return, as most con- sonant with the national dignity. The Inhabitants of the Isle of France are aware what has been the treatment of their prisoners here, and the Contrast will thus be held more strongly up to View. From a personal communication with, and examination of every person whom I considered capable of affording intelligence relative to the state of things in the Isle of France, and the sentiments of the Inhabitants of that Colony, I am strongly of opinion that the Majority of them would consider a change of masters as a desirable Event, and that protected by an adequate Force, they would declare themselves; but without this security it is not to be expected. I have directed Captain Woolcombe to proceed to England in the Sapphire, should their Lordships be desirous of calling on him for information. On this subject I have only further to observe that having most minutely questioned Lieut. Lynne on every point to which his Remarks tend, I am of opinion that the fullest dependence may be given to all therein stated. I am concerned to state that a Fever, which in the first instance had an alarming appearance, broke out on board the Boadicea about two months since, and subsequently in the Nercide, but by the prompt adoption of every precautionary measure it gives me satisfaction to add that it is now gradually subsiding, and that very few cases have proved fatal. Captain Rowley who, in the Raisonable, will have charge of the Convoy, takes from hence three homeward bound East Indiamen with the Diadem Transport, and will be instructed to ball at St. Helena for any trade lying there. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 267 [Original.] Letter from W. Merry, Esqre., to Lieutenant Colonel Bunbury. War Office, 20 th March 1810. Sir, — I have received the Secretary at War’s directions to transmit to you, for the information of the Secretary of State for the War Department, a copy of a letter from Lieutenant Colonel Torrens, signifying His Majesty’s pleasure that in consequence of the earnest representation of the Earl of Caledon relative to the expense of the Cape Begiment of Hottentots, the difficulty of recruiting it up to its present establishment of 800 rank and file, and of the number of Persons thus taken away from the Agri- cultural Population of the Colony, each Company be reduced to 50 men, which will then leave the Establishment at 500 rank and file. I have &c. (Signed) W. Merry. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, March 21sf 1810. My Lord, — I have little to add to my late dispatches addressed to my Lord Castlereagh and transmitted by the Deputy Colonial Secretary Mr. Bird, to whom I beg to refer Your Lordship as a Gentleman perfectly conversant in the affairs of the Colony. There is however a subject upon which I shall trouble Your Lordship and upon which I shall expect to be honored by your instructions. By Memorial of Mr. Alexander Eobertson, Agent for the Master and several Owners of the recaptured brig Rhander Bux, it is stated that eighty-seven persons, natives of India, were found on board destitute of every necessary of life, that the Memorialist from motives of humanity furnished them with the means of subsistence, but prayed that I would be pleased to appoint them a place of residence and subsistence to be provided for them. This Memorial was referred to the Agent of the Honble. East 268 Records of the Cape Colony. India Company, lie having on a former occasion made provision for certain Lascars under nearly similar circumstances, to which the Agent replied stating that the vessel was navigated under Moorish colours and not under the Company’s license or protec- tion, adding his opinion that the persons in question should be sent to India by the Captors or His Majesty’s Government generally, and if any fair claim can be made by the Government or Captors it must be preferred at home, where a circumstance of this nature can alone be decided. As my Lord, the Honorable Company’s Agent seemed to doubt the parties being Subjects of British India and of the Vessel being navigated under the Company’s licence I directed Mr. Eobertson to prove these facts, which he did by the oath of the Master, and by which it appears that the said persons were natives of British India paying revenues to the Honorable Company and acknow- ledging no other Sovereign than the said Company, and that the said vessel was cleared out as per the Manifest annexed to the affidavit. I referred the case under all these circumstances again to the Company’s Agent, and upon receiving his decided refusal to interfere I consulted His Majesty’s Fiscal, who has given his opinion upon the legal question put to him and also upon the political duties of the East India Company to their immediate subjects, arising out of my conversation with him. I trust Your Lordship will settle with the Company a question of great impor- tance to this Colony. I am told these unhappy men are all dealers in retail business in their markets or clerks incapable of earning their bread here and must therefore be sent back to India. It is impossible to permit the Individuals to starve, and as the Ship, if even liable, is not equal to their maintenance and trans- port to India I must provide for these objects. I avail myself of the present opportunity to send to Your Lordship’s address by His Majesty’s Ship Raisonablc the usual quantity of 30 aums of Constantia wine for His Majesty. Under the present state of the wine countries in Europe I beg to attract Your Lordship’s attention to the encouragement of the ordinary Cape Wines and Brandy ; the Constantia has been hitherto the sole wine usually exported to England, but is even here an extremely expensive Wine, being in price about one hundred Eixdollars or £20 for 19 Gallons. But My Lord I send you eight kinds of the common wines and some Cape Brandy with 269 Records of the Cape Colony. their prices, such as they could be furnished by contract to almost any amount, and if it be the pleasure of His Majesty to encourage the growth of Wines in this Colony for the supply of the Navy or Home consumption, and to reduce the duty to that upon the home made Wines and Spirits, I have little doubt of this Colony becoming in a few years competent to supply any demand that can arise. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lord Minto to Commodore Eowley or the Officer commanding the Squadron employed in the Blockade of the French Islands. Fort St. George, 26th March 1810. Sir, — The information which I have received from the Copies of your Dispatches to His Excellency Vice Admiral Bertie on the subject of the late brilliant and successful attack on the Town and Shipping of St. Paul’s, which with your permission were trans- mitted to Bombay, and the communications which I have received from Lieutenant Colonel Keating, Commanding at the Island of Ptodriguez, having satisfied my mind regarding the expediency of undertaking an expedition directed to the Conquest of the Isle of Bourbon, and the practicability of accomplishing that important object by an extent of force which can be furnished from this Country without inconvenience, added to the Troops composing the Garrison of the Island of Kodriguez aided by a part of the Squadron under your Command, and understanding from your Communica- tions that you will be prepared at a proper Season to cooperate in this enterprize, I have resolved to dispatch a force consisting of the Troops noted in the Margin, to be employed under the Command of Lieutenant Colonel Keating in effecting the Conquest of that Island. H.M. 69 Reg'. . . H.M. 86 D». . . Flank Companies of H.M. 12th & 80th Regiments Madras Regiment . Artillery .... 1st Battalion 1 6th Regiment N.I. j 2nd Battalion 1 12th Regiment N.I. j Pioneers .... 730 420 400 182 100 850 850 200 3732 Ordnance Tons. Brass Howitzers . 8 2 D". D». . 5J 2 D°. Guns 6 pound 14 Iron Guns 18 D°. 4 100 Horses 270 Records of the Cape Colony. The Arrangements for the Expedition are in considerable forward- ness, and I expect that the Armament will sail under the protection of an adequate Convoy on the 1st of May. The Troops will proceed in the first instance to the Island of Kodriguez, where by the time of their Arrival I trust that the Naval Force which may be destined to cooperate in the reduction of the Isle of Bourbon will be assembled. Lieutenant Colonel Keating will be prepared, according to instructions which I have issued to him, to concert with you the details of the proposed Expedition. That Officer will communicate to you Copies of those instructions and of Letters which I have judged it proper to address to the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and to His Excellency Vice Admiral Bertie on the Subject of the Expedition. I have etc. (Signed) Min to. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Boadicea, Table Bay, 26th March 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of a Letter, (by His Majesty’s Ship Inconstant which arrived here on the 10th inst.) from Mr. Barrow, under date the 15 December last, enclosing a Warrant from their Lordships appointing Dr. Halloran to be Chaplain of His Majesty’s Ship Leopard, and directing me to give him leave of absence to enable him to perform his duties on Shore. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 271 [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Boadicea, Table Bat, 26 March 1810. Sir, — I am to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th December last, communicating their Lordships’ directions to me to send home the Leopard and to shift my Flag to such other ship under my Orders, as I shall think proper ; and to use my utmost endeavours in hastening the Leopard that she may reach St. Helena before the 15 th April, or as soon after as possible, to strengthen the Convoy of the homeward bound East India Ships, as well as to give her the advantage of going home in fine Weather and in company. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Gastle of Good Hope, 30th March 1810. My Lord, — Together with the Accounts of the Eeceiver General for the months of September, October, November, and December 1809 and January 1810, I have the honor to transmit the several Proclamations and Government Advertisements issued between the 20th November 1809 and the 5th Instant. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Memorial of the Eeverend Dr. Halloran. To the Eight Honourable the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury, etc., etc. The Memorial of Laurence Halloran, Doctor of Divinity and Chaplain of Brigade to His Majesty’s Forces at the Cape of Good Hope, 272 Records of the Cape Colony. Most respectfully Setteth forth : — That your Memorialist had the Honor to address to your Lordships a former Memorial, bearing date, the 17th March, 1808 ; praying, “ that Your Lordships would be pleased to fix the quantum of pay, and Allowances, which it should appear to your Lordships, proper and equitable, to attach to your Memorialist’s Appoint- ment.” That, in Answer to this Application, Your Memorialist receiv’d a Letter, dated the 24th August 1808, from F. Moore, Esqre., the Deputy Secretary at War, stating, “ That he was directed to acquaint me that a Communication had been made to the Secretary at War, by Command of your Lordships, signifying, that your Lordships having consider’d my Memorial, dated the 17th March, 1808, were pleased to consent to my being allowed the pay of a Major of Infantry, on the terms and Conditions of my residence in this Colony ; ” but, “ that conceiving the Situation of a Chaplain of Brigade, not as a regimental, but as a Staff Appointment, Your Lordships were of Opinion, that the other Allowances of Bat, and forage Money, etc., etc., attaching to it, should be those issued to “ Majors of Brigade on foreign Service.” Your Memorialist, fully satisfied with these clear and explicit directions from your Lordships, did conceive that they would set the question entirely at rest, and prevent the Necessity of troubling your Lordships with any further Appeal, on such subjects. Your Memorialist, however, feels it a duty to himself to acquaint your Lordships, That, notwithstanding the Communication of these directions, repeatedly made to Him, the Acting Deputy Commissary General (Robert Hill Esqre.) has persisted, and still persists, in issuing to your Memorialist, partly the allowances of a Brigade Major, partly those of a Captain, thereby rendering your Memorialist’s Situation of a Nature strangely anomalous, and acting in direct opposition to your Lordships’ Injunctions. Your Memorialist therefore prays, That your Lordships will be pleased to give such farther directions on this point, as may appear to your Lordships’ Wisdom, and Justice, best calculated to prevent future Misunderstanding, and difficulties. Your Memorialist begs leave to represent farther, That he has now for two Years, and Six Months, (exclusively of all professional Services to His Majesty’s Garrison in this Settlement,) performed all the duties of a Colonial Chaplain also, (as will appear from the Records of the Cape Colony. 273 accompanying papers,) without any Recompense, or Allowance, whatever, from His Majesty’s Government. And, That He has form’d, at an Expence of more than two thousand Pounds, an Establishment for the liberal Education of the Dutch and British Youth in this Colony, and a similar Estab- lishment for female Education conducted by his daughters, under the Sanction of the Colonial Government; but, without any pecuniary Aid, or Support, in forming, and maturing such expen- sive Institutions. Your Memorialist therefore earnestly prays, That Your Lord- ships will be pleased to take into Consideration, these, his public Services ; And to grant some Remuneration for his performance of the duties of Colonial Chaplain (if it be only, by nominating Him to that Appointment without any Salary, or Allowance, beside his military Establishment ; but merely with an House for his Resi- dence ; and rather as an honorary, than a lucrative Situation ;) And, that your Lordships will be pleased to take into Consideration, the propriety of affording the Countenance, and Support of His Majesty’s Government, to the Scholastic Establishments, which Your Memorialist with much Labor and expense has form’d in this Colony. And, Your Memorialist will ever, most gratefully acknowledge Your Lordships’ condescending Attention, etc., etc. (Signed) L. H. Hallorax, D.D., Garrison Chaplain. Cape Town, Cape op Good Hope, 30th March 1810. [Enclosure 1.] See page 449 of Yol. VI. [Enclosure 2.] The Reverend Doctor Halloran, having for two Years, perform’d Divine Service in this Colony, for the English Civil Inhabitants, and for which he receives no Emolument whatsoever, The Under- signed British Inhabitants, sensible of His unremitted Attention, take the Liberty of making him a Christmas Offering,* which they * This offering was the Sum of one thousand Dollars, for the purchase of a piece of plate. VII. T 274 Records of the Cape Colony. hope he will accept, as a Testimony of their high Kegard and Respect for his Character, and exemplary Conduct; and of their grateful sense of his Zeal, and Exertions for the Promotion of Religion, in this Colony. (Signed) Thomas Rowles John Houghton H. Pallister A. McDonald G. Reynolds H. Home Jno. Elmore H. Murray W. Robertson J. C. Cadogan Robt. Stuart Hamilton Ross W. WlLBEREORCE BIRD Alexr. Robertson Watts & Smith Chas. McKenzie Watts & Ebden John Osmond J. Rowe W. F. Venables Eyan Rogers John Murray Henry Phillips Thomas Melvill [Copy.] Letter from the Commissary General to George Harrison, Esqre. Great George Street, 4 April 1810. Sir, — The Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury having deemed it expedient to establish a Deputy Commissary of accounts at Malta and Gibraltar for the express purpose of checking the Military and Civil Expenditure of those Stations on the Spot, it appears to me that the same principle may be usefully extended to the Cape where the Expenditure must be no less considerable than at either of the above places, the force at the Cape at present exceeding by one third the Humber of Troops either at Malta or Gibraltar, the garrison at each place by the latest returns being as follows, viz. : Malta 4042 Gibraltar . 4167 Cape 6407 It is necessary to observe that the accounts of the Cape under the present system cannot be brought under a due Examination for Records of the Cape Colony. 275 nearly twelve Months after the Disbursements have taken place, and it will be found that the Accounts of the present Acting Deputy Commissary General for the half year ending 24 Deer. 1808 were not forwarded from the Cape until the September following. In addition to this delay it may be stated that the difficulty of procuring correct information at so remote a distance by persons who are unacquainted with the local Nature of the transaction will unavoidably leave many points in an unsettled state, and upon which it is very probable that no accurate Con- clusion can ever be drawn, a Circumstance that must operate both to the Disadvantage of the Public and the Accountant. It is to obviate this difficulty as well as establish a speedy and effectual check over the whole expenditure of that Colony that I take leave to submit for the Consideration of the Lords Com- missioners of His Majesty’s Treasury the Expediency of the Civil and Military Expenditure of the Cape of Good Hope being made liable to the same examination on the spot as has been established under similar Circumstances at Malta and Gibraltar. I have etc. (Signed) J. H. Gordon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Graham to Lieutenant General Grey. Wynberg, 10 th April 1810. Sir, — My anxiety for the proper Equipment of the Corps under my command induces me to make a direct communication to you, and to represent the impossibility of having the Regiment so well constituted, or in such order as it ought to be, unless many alterations are made and many wants supplied. The Hottentots being in every respect particularly well calcu- lated for Sharpshooters, the Cape Regiment has from its first formation been regularly trained as such. Having been informed that proper Arms were ordered to be sent from England, I con- sider it unnecessary to make any remark respecting that article. The clothing which has always been received here is Blue with T 2 276 Records of the Cape Colony. Scarlet facing, and a Round Hat, ornamented with white tape and tuft, instead of which I beg leave to take the liberty of suggesting the propriety of clothing the Regiment in the manner most suitable to the nature of the service they are trained to ; and of proposing a Round Green Jacket with black facing and a plain Felt Cap and Green Tuft. 1 will here remark that Two Years Clothing will be due to the Regiment on the 25th of December next, and also that the quantity of materials hitherto received has on every occasion fallen considerably short of that required for the full establishment of the Regiment. I am informed that an Idea prevails in England that the Hottentots do not wear Shoes, and to this I attribute the cause of none ever having been sent to the Regiment ; whereas they not only have constantly worn Shoes, but are totally unable to do duty without them ; and as from His Majesty’s Regulations I conceive there are at present 3,678 pair of Shoes due, I trust they will be made good, together with Great Coats, with which article I imagine it is intended the Regiment should be supplied every second year, though with the exception of 300 purchased in the Colony 3 years and a half ago, none have ever been received by the Regiment, although in this climate essentially necessary to preserve the health of the men. A Sergeant Armourer is indispensably necessary in order to have the Arms of the Regiment kept in a serviceable state, which it is otherwise impossible to do here for want of proper workmen. I have the honor to enclose herewith for your information a return, specifying the period at which some of the articles alluded to became due to the Regiment, and also stating such as are required for its use. I humbly submit the above statement, Sir, to your consideration, and with a most earnest request that should it meet with your approbation you will be pleased to make such representation of the wants of the Regiment as may cause measures to be taken for their being supplied. I have etc. (Signed) John Gkaham, Lieut. Colonel Commanding Cape Regiment. Records of the Cape Colony. 277 [Office Copy.] Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 19 April 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Christian Albert van der Riet of the Cape of Good Hope to return to that Colony. I have etc. (Signed) H. E. Bunbury. [Office Copy.] Letter from H. E. Bunbury, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 24 April 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Mr. John Gottlieb Modger to return to the Cape of Good Hope on mercantile affairs. I have etc. (Signed) H. E. Bunbury. [Copy.] Letter from the Chairman of the East India Company to the Right Honourable Robert Dundas. Sir, — I have received and laid before the Committee of Corres- pondence the favor of your Letter of the 3rd Instant, with its enclosure from Mr. Cecil Jenkinson, and after apologizing to you for its not having been immediately answered, I am desired to state to you that the Trade proposed to be carried on between South Wales and the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope is clearly within the limits of the East India Company’s Charter. But that it never has been in the Company’s contemplation to urge any of their exclusive rights except as far as has been absolutely necessary for their own preservation, and as far as the inconveniences to be entailed upon the Company by the relaxation of those privileges 278 Records of the Cape Colony. would have counterbalanced the advantages to be derived from what was proposed, and that even then the Company have ever felt a sincere disposition that those exclusive privileges, which they have ever conceived were granted for general public purposes, should not be urged in a pertinacious or questionable manner. It must, Sir, be obvious to you and to Mr. Jenkinson, that a full and unlimited intercourse between South Wales and the Cape of Good Hope, and subject to no restrictions, might be attended with consequences injurious to the Nation at large and not in the contemplation of yourself, Mr. Jenkinson and Lord Caledon ; and that therefore you would all concur in such restrictions as far as the same might be required, to confine this intercourse to the objects in view and answer purposes of public utility. I am, therefore, desired to request that Mr. Jenkinson will have the goodness to explain to you to what extent, and in what manner he proposes, that the intercourse now in contemplation should be authorized to be carried on ; to which as early an answer shall be returned as may be possible. I have etc. (Signed) Willm. Astell. East India House, the cl~lth April 1810. [Copy.] Letter from Lord Minto to Vice Admiral Bertie. Fort St. George, 28 th April 1810. Sir, — By His Majesty’s Ship Bucephalus, which arrived at this Presidency on the 25th Instant, I had the honor to receive your Excellency’s Letter under date the 11th of February, and I request your Excellency to accept my acknowledgments for the information which it contains relative to the proceedings and disposition of the Ships under your Excellency’s command employed in the Blockade of the French Islands and to the mode in which the Seychelles are rendered subservient to the supply of the former. Your Excellency’s Communications demonstrate the importance of an effort to check the growing Strength and Consequence of the French Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon and to acquire the possession of them if possible, and confirm the expediency of Records of the Cape Colony. 279 the measures adopted by this Government in co-operation with the Squadron under your Excellency’s Orders for the attainment of these objects, as reported to your Excellency in my late dispatches. I concur entirely in opinion with your Excellency that the Sources of supply to the Isle of France, which the Enemy is endeavouring to improve at the Seychelles, require attention, and your Excellency will probably have the satisfaction to learn that an enterprize in that quarter lately prosecuted under the Orders of Eear Admiral Drury has been attended with Success. I request your Excellency to accept my acknowledgments for the instructions which you have been pleased to issue to Captain Lambert of His Majesty’s Ship Iphigenia, to communicate any particular occur- rence that may arise to me and to the Governor in Council at Bombay. I have etc. (Signed) Minto. [Copy.] Letter from Lord Minto to Vice Admiral Bertie. Fokt St. George, 30th April 1810. Sir, — In my dispatch of the 26th ultimo I had the honor to apprise your Excellency of the measures then in progress for the equipment of an Armament directed to the object of obtaining possession of the Isle of Bourbon and ultimately of the Isle of France. The armament being now on the eve of its departure, I take the opportunity of again addressing your Excellency. Deeming it proper that your Excellency, as well as the Right Honble. the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, should be informed of the whole scope of my views and my intentions relative to the French Islands, I have transmitted to His Lordship Copies of my Instructions to Mr. Farquhar, whom I have pro- visionally appointed to be Governor of the Isle of Bourbon and eventually of the Isle of France and its dependencies, and to Lieutenant Colonel Keating, appointed to command the Troops employed on this expedition, and have requested His Lordship to communicate them, together with my Letter to His Lordship’s address, to your Excellency. 280 Records of the Cafe Colony. Those documents will apprise your Excellency of the detail of the Arrangements which I have prescribed for the occupation and Government of the Isle of Bourbon, and eventually of the Isle of France and its dependencies, until the pleasure of His Majesty, in whose name these Islands, if surrendered to the British Arms, are to be occupied, shall be known. Your Excellency will observe the cases in which it is proposed to follow up our success at the Isle of Bourbon by a further expedition against the Isle of France. If circumstances should warrant the prosecution of this ulterior undertaking, I am satisfied that I only render justice to your Excellency’s patriotic Zeal and Ardour in relying with confidence on your Excellency’s cordial co-operation. Enclosed I have the honor to transmit for your Excellency’s information, a Copy of a Letter which I have on this occasion addressed to Commodore Rowley, or the Officer Commanding the Blockading Squadron off the French Islands. I have etc. (Signed) Minto. [Copy.] Letter from Lord Minto to Commodore Rowley or the Officer commanding the Squadron employed in the Blockade of the French Islands. St. George, 30 th April, 1810. Sir, — Agreeably to the intimation contained in my Letter to your address of the 26th ultimo, the Armament intended to effect the reduction of the Isle of Bourbon in the first instance now proceeds to its destination. Mr. Farquhar, whom I have appointed to be Governor of the Isle of Bourbon on its surrender to the British Arms, and eventually of the Isle of France and its Dependencies, will communicate to you the Instructions with which I have furnished him relative to the occupation of the former Island. You will observe that I have desired that Mr. Farquhar should be joined with you and Lieutenant Colonel Keating in adjusting and signing the Terms of Capitulation for the Surrender of the Isle of Bourbon, and in regulating the tenor of any proclamation which 281 Records of the Cape Colony. it may be judged expedient to convey to the Inhabitants of the Island, with a view to diminish opposition, or promote its peace- able surrender. The communications which you will receive from Mr. Farquhar preclude the necessity of entering in this Dispatch into a detail of the arrangements connected with the occupation of the Island, and I shall only add my request that you will afford the benefit of your local and professional knowledge and advice in the con- sideration of those points upon which depends the dispatch of a second armament for the Purpose of undertaking the conquest of the Isle of France. I have etc. (Signed) Minto. [Original.] Letter from Sir David Baird to the Earl of Liverpool. 1 Duchess Street, Portland Place, 30th April 1810. My Lord, — Amongst various other descriptions of public property which came into the possession of the British on the reduction of the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, and which has since been con- demned by the High Court of Admiralty in England as lawful prize to His Majesty’s Forces employed on the late conjunct Expedition against that Colony, was a quantity of Grain, which had been collected by order of the Batavian Government with a view to prevent the recurrence of those periods of scarcity and famine with which the Inhabitants of the Cape had previously, from a variety of causes, been repeatedly visited. Aware of the advantages that were likely to arise from a Measure of precaution, which would not only secure subsistence to the Inhabitants, but ensure an adequate supply of Bread to the Garrison and His Majesty’s squadron on: that station; I determined, during the period of my Command at the Cape, to purchase, on the Colonial Account, the Grain in the public Store Houses, and to pursue the system laid down by the former Government, under certain modifications ; and, as a fund was indispensably requisite to carry into effect the object in view, I was induced to issue a Proclamation (Extracts from which I have the honor to enclose), and in order to avoid drawing upon England for Money intended 282 Records of the Cape Colony. for a Colonial purpose, I directed the fabrication of 80,000 Paper Eix Dollars, which sum was considered amply sufficient for the intended purpose of purchasing and storing an adequate quantity of Corn to meet every exigency to which the Colony was liable. By the plan I laid down, which is explained in the Proclamation, of purchasing on Account of Government when Corn was at a certain rate, an encouragement was held out to the Cultivators to raise as much Grain as their Parms were capable of producing, by the security it afforded them of obtaining a fair tho’ moderate price for whatever Corn they might bring to Market ; and by only opening the Granary to the Public when a temporary scarcity or shortness of supply enhanced the Market, it obviously followed that a considerable advantage or profit to Government must be derived. This profit was to be applied to the gradual extinction of the sum or Capital of Eighty Thousand Dollars originally created for the purchase of the Grain, and a number of Paper Dollars, equal to the profits of the preceding half year, were to be destroyed every Six Months, from which it would necessarily result by the operation of this measure, that, in the Course of a very limited portion of time, the whole of the Eighty Thousand Dollars so created would be redeemed from circulation and destroyed, leaving the Grain the exclusive property of Government. I did not fail at the time to communicate to His Majesty’s Government this arrangement, which I certainly should not have presumed to carry into execution without its previous sanction, but for the very peculiar situation in which I found myself placed after the surrender of the Cape. At that time all the Inhabitants were restricted to a very short allowance of Bread, of one Pound per day for each Male Adult, and half a pound for each Woman and Child, and the strongest apprehensions were generally entertained of an approaching Famine ; and altho’ the measures which were immediately adopted for encouraging an importation of Grain into the Colony and the abundance of the succeeding Harvest did away all immediate fears on that head, yet it was by no means deemed advisable that the Corn which had been collected by the Dutch Government should be dispensed and sold to Individuals, without previous arrangements being made for replacing it by a sufficient quantity to secure the Colony from future inconvenience. I am led to trouble your Lordship with this Letter, as I am most anxious to obtain the approbation of His Majesty’s Government to Records of the Cape Colony. 283 my proceedings on this occasion, previous to a distribution being made of the proceeds of the Grain, for which preparations are now in course. I have etc. (Signed) D. Baird, Lieut. Gen. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money, lsf May 1810. [Original.] Letter from George Harrison, Esqre., to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson. Treasury Chambers, 8 May 1810. Sir, — Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury a Letter from the Commissary in Chief of 4th ultimo, submitting the expediency of appointing a Deputy Commissary of Accounts at the Cape of Good Hope for the purpose of checking the Civil and Military Expenditure there in like manner as at Malta and Gibraltar, I have received their Lordships’ commands to transmit the said Letter to you, and to desire you will submit the same to the consideration of Lord Liverpool and move his Lordship to favor this Board with his opinion on the Suggestions of the Commissary in Chief with reference particularly to the Duties of the Auditor of the Cape in the Examination of the Accounts of the Civil Expenditure of that Colony. I am &c. (Signed) Geo. Harrison. 284 Records of the Cape Colony. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to Lieutenant General the Honble. G. H. Grey. Downing Street, 12th May 1810. Sir, — I am to request that you will prepare and transmit to me a Military report comprehending detailed Accounts of the Sea Coasts, Harbours, Fortresses, Principal Towns, Communications, and Eesources of the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, accompanied by the Surveys, Plans, and Charts necessary for the Elucidation of the said Eeport, together with such remarks on the State of the Inhabitants generally of the Settlement and their Political Character and Disposition as may serve to throw the most ample Light upon the state of the whole Colony. I am also to desire that you will transmit all the MiEtary information you may have it in your Power to furnish or to collect respecting the interior Frontier of the Settlement. As these Documents are required in order to form a part of a Collection which is about to be made for the information and Guidance of His Majesty’s Government whenever they may find such references necessary, I have to request that you will cause particular attention to be paid to the Accuracy and Clearness of the Eeports and Plans, and that you will transmit them home from time to time by the safest opportunities that may present themselves. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. lith May 1810. Records of the Cape Colony. 285 [Original.] Letter from Mr. Dundas to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson. Mr. Dundas presents his Compliments to Mr. Jenkinson and transmits for his information the inclosed copy of a Resolution of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, of the 9th Instant, respecting the Trade proposed to be carried on between the Cape of Good Hope and Hew South Wales. Whitehall, 15th May 1810. [Enclosure.] At a Court of Directors held on Wednesday May the 9th 1810. A Report from the Committee of Correspondence dated this day being read stating their having taken into consideration a letter from the Right Honble. Robert Dundas addressed to Charles Grant Esqre. the late Chairman, dated the 3rd Ulto., inclosing copy of a letter from Mr. J enkinson respecting the trade between the Cape of Good Hope and Hew South Wales, and requesting his observations on the subject; also a note from Mr. Dundas to the Chairman dated the 3rd Instant, inclosing a letter from Mr. Jenkinson to Mr. Dundas dated the same day, explaining the nature of the Trade in question. Resolved, That proper licences he drawn up for the Trade in- tended to be established between the Cape of Good Hope and Hew South Wales, which licences are to be executed here by the Owners of Ships sailing from this Country or at the Cape if they sail from thence. That the Ships be restricted not to go to the Horthward of the South end of Madagascar upon the Coast of Africa, or to the Horthward of one Degree of Horth Latitude on their return from Botany Bay or any Ports in Hew Holland. That the Trade be restricted to Articles the produce of the Cape and Hew South Wales, and that the Solicitor prepare the Licences abovementioned. 286 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from the Agent for the Cape of Good Hope to the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson. Downing Street, May 18 th 1810. Sir, — I have had the honor to receive your letters of the 12th instant transmitting by Lord Liverpool’s direction a copy of a letter from the commissioners for auditing public accounts, requesting information as to the Measures that have been taken for causing the advances of pay made in this country to officers belonging to the Cape Corps to be charged against the respective officers by the Paymaster of the regiment at the Cape, And I have to acquaint you for his Lordship’s information that each officer belonging to the Cape regiment on his Embarkation from this Country to join is furnished with a Certificate, of which the enclosed is the form, signed by the Chief Paymaster of the Depot at the Isle of Wight, through whom the whole of these Payments are made, of the period up to which he had been paid, in order that the same might be produced at the Cape previous to his receiving any further issues. And a statement of the whole of the advances made on account of the said Corps, with the amount of which the Cape Government is regularly debited, has been annually sent out by me for the information of the Governor of the Settlement, agreeably to the instructions furnished me by Mr. Secretary Windham. I have etc. (Signed) Charles B. Agar, Col. Agent to the Cape of Good Hope. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. Is! June 1810. Records of the Cape Colony. 287 [Office Copy.] Letter from the Honourable Cecil Jenkinson to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 5th June 1810. My Lord, — The Honble. C. B. Agar, the Colonial Agent for the Cape of Good Hope, having represented to Lord Liverpool that he experiences great inconvenience in obtaining the remittance of his Salary from the Colony, I am directed by his Lordship to request that you would give orders to the Civil Paymaster of the Colony to remit Mr. Agar’s Salary in Government Bills half yearly, or as soon thereafter as can be conveniently done. I have etc. (Signed) Cecil Jenkinson. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that in consequence of the Proclamation bearing date 10th June 1808 His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint H. Alexander Esqr. Colonial Secretary and G. Kekewich Esqr. Surrogate Judge of the Vice Admiralty Court, Assessors, and Thos. Eowles Esqr. Secretary to the Court of Appeals for hearing and determining Criminal Cases in this Settlement. Castle of Good Hope, 7th June 1810. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Hy. Alexander, Secretary. 288 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from Sir David Baird to the Earl of Liverpool. 1 Dochess Street, Portland Place, 1( )th June 1810. My Lord ! — As Trustee under the Crown for the Booty, etc. Captured by His Majesty’s Forces on the reduction of the Colony, of the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, I have the honor to address your Lordship, and to request that your Lordship will be pleased to give directions to the Government at the Cape to return into the Hands of Mr. William Robertson, the Agent for the Captors residing in that Colony, the Balance upon a Sum of One Hundred and Seven Thousand One Hundred and Twenty Three Rix Dollars Five Schellings and Three Stivers, which was lodged in the Colonial Treasury there by the Agents for the Captors, in 1807, for the purpose of awaiting the decision of the High Court of Admiralty in England, upon certain property of which this sum was in part the proceeds, by which final decision a Balance of Sixty Seven Thousand Seven Hundred and Five Rix Dollars and Five Stivers appear to be coming to the Captors out of the Sum so lodged, as will appear by the annexed Statement ex- hibiting an Account of all the Sums of Money which came into the possession of the Captors’ Agents and which have not been condemned as lawful Prize ; and also of the payments made by them on Account of Government, to which as Captors they were not liable. I have etc. (Signed) D. Baird, Lieut. General. [Enclosure A in the above.] By order of His Excellency the Earl of Caledon received from the Hands of William Robertson Esqr. at three successive Pay- ments, the last Completed this day, the Sum Eds. 107, - 0f Gne Hundred and Seven Thousand One Hundred and Twenty Three Rix Dollars Five Skillings and Three Stivers, stated as the Balance in the Hands of the Prize Agents. (Signed) Francis Dashwood, Rec. Genl. Receiver General’s Office, July 22nd, 1807. Records of the Cape Colony. 289 [Enclosure B in the above.] Statement of Sums received by the Agents for the Captors at the Cape of Good Hope in 1806, from Sundry Persons indebted to the late Batavian Government of that Colony, and also of Money disbursed by them in payment of the Debts of the aforesaid Government due to Individuals residing at that Place out of the Sums so received. Dr. Amount in Bonds pay- able to the Batavian Government, ap- plied towards pay- ment of the Colonial Debts .... 36,837 5 2 Amount of arrears due on different Govern- ment Farms or Loan Lands which ought to have been paid into the Treasury previous to the Capture of the place, appropriated as above . . . 32,838 0 4 Amount in Debts which became due after the Capture of the Colony, applied also as above . . 43,364 5 4 Balance to be received by the Agents for the Captors out of the Money lodged by them in the Colonial Treasury at the Cape of Good Hope .... 67,705 0 5 Rix Dollars 180,745 4 3 By amount of Debts due by the late Ba- tavian Government at the Cape to In- dividuals of the Colony, paid by the Agents for the Cap- tors by order of the Actg. Governor out of the Proceeds of Bonds & Debts due to & owing to the aforesaid Govern- ment, as specified on the opposite side . 73,621 7 0 By Amount paid into the Colonial Trea- sury at the Cape of Good Hope, as per annexed Receipt of the Colonial Trea- surer .... 107,123 5 3 Rix Ds. 180,745 4 3 VII. U 290 Records of the Cape Colony. [Enclosure C in the above.] A Schedule of Treasure, Stores and other Property belonging to the Batavian Republic captured at the Cape of Good Hope by His Majesty’s Sea and Land Forces under the Command of Commodore Home Popham KM. and Lieutenant General Sir David Baird K.C. on the 10 th day of January 1806. Treasure : Spanish Dollars found in the Military Chest . Paper „ „ „ „ . Silver Florins in the Colonial Treasury amounting in value to ....... Copper Coin in the Colonial Treasury amounting in value to ....... Paper dols. in the Colonial Treasury amounting in value to Amount in the hands of Clement Mathiessen, Yen due Master, being part of the produce of Property sold by order of Admiral Linois ..... Paper dols. in the possession of the Receiver of the Duties on Wine and Liquors ...... Paper dols. in the possession of the Post Office „ „ „ Stamp Office „ „ „ Custom House . „ „ „ Government Printing Office . „ „ „ Commission of Govern- ment public Sales . „ „ „ J. Hoffman for Grain sold by him on Pub- lic Account . „ „ „ Vermaak for Grain sold by him on Pub- lic Account . Amount of the sum agreed to be paid by His Britannic Majesty’s Colonial Government at the Cape of Good Hope for the Grain which was found in the Public Magazines and Warehouses of the Batavian Republic Amount of the Sum agreed and paid by His Britannic Majesty’s Colonial Government for the Cattle and Agricultural Utensils of the Agricultural Society in- stituted by the Batavian Republic .... Amount of the Produce of the Sale of the Utensils and Stock of the South African Chartered Fishing Society Rixdols. Sk. St. 115,098 6 0 54,792 4 0 6,000 0 0 25.000 0 0 8,508 0 0 9,000 0 0 50,593 6 0 53 7 0 922 2 0 1,861 2 0 2,022 4 0 67,432 1 0 3,084 0 0 5,364 0 0 90.000 0 0 25.000 0 0 30,050 3 2 (Signed) Thos. S. Sorell. Records of the Cape Colony. 291 [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Whereas the growing Commerce and the augmented Population of this His Majesty’s Colony and Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope justifies and requires a further circulation of Paper Money, to aid and assist the industry of the Inhabitants ; and whereas it appears most expedient to afford this aid through the means of the Lombard Bank, and the usual Eegulations by which the amount of the Paper Currency thrown into circulation becomes fully and adequately secured upon the landed property of such persons as require Loans. These are therefore to give notice that in pursuance of the power and authority in me vested, it is my intention to increase the Capital of the Lombard Bank One Million of Rix- dollars at such periods as I shall hereafter judge most advisable ; and I do hereby require and direct that the Secretary of the Court of Justice do, on Tuesday the 19th instant, attend at the Castle, where on application to the Colonial Secretary (in whose custody they are) he will receive the Stamps, together with the quantity of Cartoon necessary for the purpose of stamping 500,000 Eds. (part of the aforesaid million) ; and that he do, in the presence of the Piscal and Two Members of the Court of Justice, who are hereby required to attend at the time aforesaid, at the usual place, and in the usual manner, cause the number of 300 Pieces of 500 the backs of which are Yellow. 300 „ 400 300 „ 300 200 „ 250 200 „ 200 500 „ 100 each, to be stampt ; which pieces, when so stamped, are to be delivered by the Fiscal and Members of the Court of Justice aforesaid to the Colonial Secretary, to whom they are also at the same time to return the Stamps, which Stamps being replaced in the Box in which they are usually kept, the Box shall be Sealed with my Seal and with that of the Court of Justice, so to remain until further wanted ; of all which the Fiscal and Members of the Court of Justice are to make a public Act of Certification, in the 292 Records of the Gape Colony. presence of the Court, on the next Court day, to be Eegistered in the Records of the Court. And it is further directed that such stamped pieces (being regularly marked and numbered) shall be signed by Messrs. W. Bentinck, P. Diemel, and J. W. Stoll. And it is also further directed that the aforesaid Secretary of Government do place the said sum of 500,000 Rds. in the hands of the President and Directors of the Lombard Bank (taking their Receipt in Triplicate for the same, whereof one is to be lodged with the records of the present Papers), to be by them issued to the public under the usual Regulations, subject to my special approval, and for the several matters herein mentioned, this shall be to all concerned a full and sufficient Warrant; and for the public information and satisfaction it is further directed that it be published and affixed in the manner usual with all other Pro- clamations. Given under my Hand and Seal, at the Cape of Good Hope, this 14th day of June 1810. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from the Colonial Secretary to the President of the Lombard Bank. Secretary’s Office, June 14th, 1810. Sir, — His Majesty having been pleased to approve of the suggestion of his Excellency the Governor and Commander-in- Chief, for increasing the capital of the Lombard Bank Rds. 1,000,000, in order that the paper circulation might thereby be augmented, and the wants of the industrious relieved ; I am directed by his Excellency to apprize you thereof, and to acquaint you that it is his intention to direct a proportion of the said Rds. 1,000,000, not exceeding Rds. 500,000, to be forthwith stamped and prepared, in order to be paid into the hands of the directors of the Lombard Bank, to be by them issued to the public, according to the in- structions of the Lombard Bank, subject to the approval of his Excellency, upon good and sufficient landed securities, with such Records of the Cape Colony. 293 collateral security as has been usual ; provided that no person be admitted as a collateral security, whose circumstances are not known to be fully adequate to the discharge of such obligations, whether original or collateral, as he may have already undertaken ; and under the further restriction that no sum exceeding Rds. 10,000 be advanced to any one person or firm. I have &c. (Signed) C. Bird, Dy. Secy. [Copy.] Letter from John Eennie, Esqre., to John Barrow, Esqre. Stamford Street, 23rd June 1810. Sir, — The plan and sections of Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope, furnished to me by Major Bird, contain only a part of the whole, and perhaps with the view the Government of that place seems to have had of supplying the Town with Water in a partial manner by means of Wells or Fountains placed in different Public Situa- tions, little more information could have been required than what would have been gathered from those plans and sections ; but in the conversation I had with Major Bird I found it would conduce much to the health of the Inhabitants, as well as to their conveni- ence and economy, if a plan was made out for the supply of each house in the manner it is done in this Country, many slaves that are now employed for the purpose of carrying water would be saved, therefore, unless a very great additional expence was incurred to obtain this object, his opinion was that it would be for the general benefit if it were adopted. In consequence of this opinion I have made out a design for the supply of each house in the manner it is now done in London, but as I have said before that the plans and sections sent me by Major Bird are not made with this view, the scheme I have laid down will not be quite so complete as it otherwise would be. I trust, however, any difference there may be will not materially affect the plan or estimate which accompany this report. To enable me to make out the extended design, I have been obliged to collect information from various sources, the principal of which have been furnished by yourself, but as it is not an easy 294 Eecords of the Cajpe Colony. matter to put Materials so collected correctly together, I cannot flatter myself that my plan will be correct in all its parts ; be this as it may, the principle I have adopted may with very little difficulty be applied to any difference there may be between the plan and actual disposition of the Houses and Ground at Cape Town. I shall therefore proceed to describe the plan of Water- works I have laid down. I purpose first to make a Tank or covered Basin at or near the Pump in Mr. Heu ting’s Garden, into which the Water from the Spring shall be delivered ; from this Spring I propose to lay a cast Iron Pipe 12 Inches in diameter and about f of an Inch thick in the Iron to the head of Long Street, and down the said Street to Strand Street. I propose the diameter of this Pipe to be the same as the former, but to be 1 Inch thick in the Iron. Prom the termination of the above Pipe in Strand Street I propose to lay another of the same diameter and thickness along the said Street reaching to the Jetty, and to the Citadel on one side and to the northern end of the Street on the other, having a stop cock at the Junction. By this plan the whole water may be turned along Strand Street to the Jetty and Citadel, or to the opposite end, as may be required, and perhaps it may be adviseable to have a Tank at the Jetty for the supply of the Shipping, and another in the Citadel. In the Main that runs down Long Street I propose to have Nozzles opposite each of the cross Streets, namely at Castle Street, High Street, Short and Long Market Streets, Church Street, Wale Street, and the others above it ; from these Nozzles I propose that Pipes shall be laid along the respective Streets before named, having Cocks at their Junction with the great Main to turn on or off the Water at pleasure, as the services of each are required, and Cocks are also to be placed on the Main in Long Street to turn the Water into such of the service Mains as may be required; from these service Mains small leaden Pipes may be laid into such houses as shall require them, having ball-cocks to prevent un- necessary waste of Water, but there should also be some fountains to supply such Inhabitants as either cannot afford, or are not willing to lay, small Pipes into their houses. The expence of these Pipes and Cocks delivered on Ship board in the River Thames is estimated by me at £13,960, the Freight to the Cape of Good Hope, the expence of a person to go with Records of the Cape Colony. 295 them to lay down the Pipes and manage the Works, as also the Water Tanks, are not included in the estimate. In the foregoing plan I have proceeded on the supposition that an ample supply of Water can be got from the Spring in Mr. Heuting’s Garden, but should this prove insufficient for the supply of Cape Town, additional Water must be procured, and perhaps the Pond in Mr. Hofmeyr’s Garden is the most convenient. The level of this Pond is about 11 feet lower than the pump in Mr. Heuting’s Garden, and if this Water could be conveyed to Mr. Hofmeyr’s Pond in an open cut at a moderate expence, one 12 Inch Pipe from thence to Strand Street would convey what is wanted ; but if this water cannot be conveyed at a moderate expence, probably two Pipes of 8J inches diameter in the bore will have to be laid down, and by uniting at Messrs. Maude and Eobertson’s Garden, they will there join the 12 Inch Main. The length of 8J Inch Main required for this purpose will be 1700 running yards, which at 30/ per yard will amount to £2550, besides the expence of laying and an additional Water Tank, whereas if the Spring in Mr. Heuting’s Garden affords a sufficient supply, a 12 Inch Main from thence to Messrs. Maude and Eobertson’s Garden will only cost £1990, a difference of £560, besides the other Articles I have mentioned. The 12 Inch Main I have proposed is capable of conveying upwards of a Million and a half of British Ale Gallons of Water to Cape Town in 24 Hours, which I presume will be a most ample supply for any purpose that can be required ; indeed I apprehend half the quantity will be sufficient, but as the Town is greatly on the Increase it is proper that this should be anticipated in the Waterworks now proposed to be constructed. Should it be determined to supply the Town by means of Fountains only, in place of laying Service Pipes in the different Streets, a saving of at least £4000 will be made, and if the large Pipe along Strand Street is given up, a further saving of £2000 may be made, thus reducing the amount to £7960 ; but I humbly submit that it will be greatly for the advantage of the place that the whole Scheme be adopted. I am etc. (Signed) John Eennie. 296 Records of the Cape Colony. Estimate of the probable expence of the Pipes and other Articles for the proposed Water Works at Cape Town, Cape of Good Hope. To 2510 running yards of 12 inch cast iron pipe to he laid from the spring in Mr. Heuting’s garden to Strand Street, part J of an inch thick and part one inch ....... @ 46/6 To 1400 running yards of ditto to he laid along Strand Street ...... @ 46/6 To stop cocks for ditto ...... To 1300 running yards of 3 inch pipe for the streets above Wale Street § inch thick in the iron . @ 8/6 To 600 running yards of 5 inch ditto to be laid along Wale Street to the Barracks f of a inch thick @ 18/ To 440 yards of 4 inch pipe for Wale Street | of an inch thick ...... @ 11/6 To 650 running yards of 4 inch ditto for Church Street f thick in the iron . ... @ 11/6 To 920 running yards of 5 inch ditto for Longmarket Street J of an inch in the iron . . @ 18/— To 1950 running yards of 4 inch ditto for Shortmarket Street, High Street, and Castle Street | thick in the iron ....... @ 11/6 Stop cocks, &c. ........ Contingencies ........ £5773 0 0 3255 0 0 400 0 0 552 10 0 540 0 0 253 0 0 373 15 0 828 0 0 1121 5 0 200 10 0 663 0 0 £13,960 0 0 [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 30i7i June 1810. My Lord, — I have had the honor to receive your Lordship’s dispatch conveying the signification of His Majesty’s most gracious approval of my conduct in the preliminary measures I adopted for sending a Military Eorce to the assistance of Sir George Barlow and acquainting me that His Majesty’s Government had put the most favorable construction on all those measures which were found indispensably necessary to fulfil the important object I had in view. For the extreme satisfaction I have derived from this communi- cation and the attention you have paid to my representations and Records of the Cape Colony. 297 those explanations Major Bird’s accuracy and local knowledge enabled him to give of whatever might have been obscure in my letters, I beg Your Lordship to accept my cordial and heartfelt acknowledgement. Your assurances of my Sovereign’s favorable acceptance of my services and the approbation of those you have expressed must ever be to me a source of the most gratifying recollection and must always serve as an additional incitement to future exertions in the service of my Country. It is a most pleasing part of my duty to report to Your Lord- ship that with the exception of some predatory incursions from Individuals of the Caffre nation, this Colony enjoys a degree of tranquillity which can scarcely be surpassed. The Commander of the Forces has at my request detached a small part of the Troops to the North Eastern boundary to overawe these people and to inspire the Farmers with confidence in the protection of their property, and as none of the Chiefs appear to be concerned in the depredations I am inclined to expect that the display of force will answer all purposes without the necessity of making any severe example. It is but justice to Lieutenant General Grey to state that the conduct of the Military towards the Inhabitants gives universal satisfaction, their discipline and regularity render them truly a protection to the Colony. The details I do not trouble your Lordship with, but before I entered on this Government by a letter bearing date February 1st 1807 I then stated certain difficulties which appeared to me likely to occur and which actually did occur, and in consequence received for my guidance an extract of a letter from the Secretary at War to the Earl of Halifax dated War Office 7th February 1765 which I conceived I might from my experience be taught to understand as consistent with my Commission and Instructions. No real or serious difficulty has ever taken place between Lt. Genl. Grey and myself and the points upon which we did differ have been of a nature so little pressing as to admit of a reference Home without any inconvenience to the public service, but as I apprehend we do seriously differ in our opinions of our respective responsibilities and of the authorities under which we act and during the time the highest personal esteem and concurrence in our views have and do exist, I conceive it wiser to procure a construction of that letter to Lord Halifax and therefore pray 298 Records of the Cape Colony. Your Lordship’s attention and consideration of it. I understand my correspondence with Your Lordship as Secretary of State in addition to my Commission and Instructions under the Eoyal Sign Manual, to be the only communication of my Sovereign’s pleasure and delegation of that portion of his authority with which he thinks proper to invest me. I conceive myself higher in military rank and authority than General Grey and that it is my duty to maintain such superiority as His Majesty has entrusted me with. Allow me now my Lord to submit the points upon which I consider explanation essentially necessary. The correspondence of Lieut. General Grey is with the Com- mander of the Forces, now if there be a difference real or apparent between his instructions from or correspondence with the Commander of the Forces and my instructions or the sub- sequent orders from His Majesty through the Secretary of State on points that do not admit of delay or reference home, have I a right upon my own responsibility to insist upon my decision being in the first instance executed, although I differ in opinion from the General commanding the Forces. For example, although I met at least equal zeal and cordiality in Lieut. General Grey in forwarding the Force to India and can therefore best be able to quote it for example, if General Grey had differed from me in opinion and refused to co-operate did my Commission as Governor and Commander in Chief or my Instructions authorize me to forward that Force, and under such circumstances was it Lieut. General Grey’s duty to obey me ? Suppose the inroads of the Caffres which are at present only troublesome should assume the appearances of a systematic warfare as in the time of Genl. Dundas, is the Commander of the Forces or am I to be the judge of the reality of those appearances and who is to decide upon the move- ment of the Troops, their quality, or their numbers ? Is it compulsory upon me to lay my information before the Commander of the Forces should he not possess my confidence, and if it is compulsory is he, or am I, to judge of the result ? I know I have no claims to recommend to Military promotion, I have no powers to preserve the discipline of the Army and to enforce obedience to my Commands by ordinary Courts Martial &c., that I am relieved from all responsibility as to its supplies and pay, but as under circumstances of aggression the power of declaring war is left to my discretion, if my Commission of Records of the Cape Colony. 299 Commander in Chief only applies to local Militia or to the Hottentot Corps as paid by the Colonial Treasury, or to any sudden embodying of the peasantry so as to legalize their acts by granting temporary or local Commissions or to enable me in the absence of all Officers of or above the rank of Brigadier General to take and assume in person the Command of the regular force under the restrictions in the letter to Lord Halifax. I know my duty and am not exposed to the mortification of having appeared to assume an authority not intended to be entrusted to a Governor. But if I rightly comprehend the Spirit of my Commission and Instructions I am commanded to administer the Government of this Colony and to enable me to do so I am en- trusted according to the words of my Commission with supreme Civil and Military power ; that as I am held responsible for the good Government and security of the place, so am I empowered to require the assistance of His Majesty’s Subjects generally, but more particularly of His Military Force in aid of those measures which I may find it expedient to adopt. I infer from the letter of the Secretary at War to the Earl of Halifax that the Civil Governors alluded to did not bear the Commission of Commander in Chief as I do ; but of this Your Lordship is best informed. The exercise of Military power here has varied under different Governors. Lord Macartney assumed it to a great extent, nor am I aware that there was any variance in his and in the Commission of his successors. The disagreement which took place between Sir George Yonge and General Dundas and which terminated in the removal of the former arose from their not having been apprized sufficiently of their respective authorities. I own my Lord I know it must greatly depend upon the good sense of the parties in a mixed Government to maintain the unity necessary to His Majesty’s service and in every question of patronage or accommodation I have cheerfully given way to General Grey, but the rule laid down for our guidance cannot hold “ that when difference of opinion does occur the last precedent should be adopted” because the Civil and Military powers have been united in Sir James Craig, General Dundas, and lastly in Sir David Baird, and it is impossible upon a disputed point to say in what capacity either acted, whether as Governor or Commander of the Forces. In the year 1808 I had the honor of addressing myself to 300 Records of the Cape Colony. Lord Castlereagh upon this subject, but I am afraid I was not sufficiently explicit or that other important business diverted His Lordship’s attention from the most material point in discussion. I had solicited His Lordship’s decision upon the appointment of a Commandant to Simon’s Town, the nomination of which was claimed by Lieut. Genl. Grey. Lord Castlereagh decided that where the duties were partly Civil and partly Military the appointment rested with the Civil Governor if no strong military objections existed. In my letter I observed upon the office of Town Major, which from every precedent I could collect was invariably filled up by the Governor, and the reason why I noticed this appointment in a particular manner was on account of the grounds which the Commander of the Forces assigned for imagining the appointment to rest with him namely “ that the situation in question is entirely military, it is held by an Officer of the Line, who is paid by the Paymaster General.” Lord Castlereagh in reply to my letter upon this point when confirming to the Governor the power of appointing a Commandant of Simon’s Town enclosed for my information the copy of a letter addressed by His Lordship to His Eoyal Highness the Commander in Chief in which he states “the office of Town Major is subject to the same reasoning as that of Simon’s Town &c.” Now my Lord I conceived that that decision had set the matter at rest nor did I apprehend a second opinion could have been entertained upon the subject until I learnt that the Commander of the Forces had (without any communication with me) appointed an Officer of His Majesty’s 83rd Eegt. to the situation which by the resignation of Major Campbell had lately become vacant. As the Commander of the Forces gave me assurances of his having acted under the impression of his undisputed right to the appointment I was unwilling by selecting and nominating another person to interrupt those habits of good understanding which have uniformly existed between us, and I therefore signified to him my intention of acquiescing in his appointment until Your Lordship’s decision shall rectify the misconception which attaches to the opinion of one or other of us. I am not aware of there being any special duty which distinguishes the situation in question from others which bear the same title. The Town Major here as in Dublin forms the link of connection between the Civil and Military police, more Records of the Cape Colony. 301 particularly in disputes between the Military and Inhabitants or where the Military are principally concerned, and as he is an Officer whose intercourse may be frequent with the Governor, it appears advisable that he should be a person in whose prudence the Governor may place confidence and over whom from the power of appointment he has a control ; if my understanding of my Lord Castlereagh’s meaning be correct, it is the nature of the duties and not the fund from whence the party is paid which conveys the right of appointment. I cannot close this subject without expressing my gratitude to Lieut. General Grey for his uniform support and constant co- operation, but with the experience of what passed at Madras and knowing that a difference of opinion does exist, I feel it due to His Majesty and the public interest thus strongly to attract Your Lordship’s attention to our different conceptions of our respective situations, and to request a decision may be made before any occurrences take place upon which we might differ to the detriment of the public service. In doing so I trust Your Lordship will not think that it is upon light and frivolous grounds of possible differences or upon a mere question of patronage I wish to anticipate opinions, but upon grounds of difference as to points of great importance, which do exist in our minds although not brought into action by any occasion. Since I had the honor of writing to Your Lordship an appeal has been made to me in a criminal case and I have under the powers vested in me by Lord Castlereagh’s letter containing the statement of Sir Edmond Carrington and the legal opinion of Sir John Nichols, appointed Mr. Alexander the Colonial Secretary, who practised as a Barrister for many years and with whom in Civil appeal cases the Lieutenant Governor and I have occasionally consulted, and Mr. Kekewich King’s Advocate and acting Surrogate in the Court of Vice Admiralty, Assessors until His Majesty’s pleasure is known. My instructions are to appoint from “ time to time ” such assessor, which I do not construe from case to case as they occur, but from vacancy to vacancy by dismissal, absence or death ; but I have explained to Mr. Alexander and Mr. Kekewich that the consideration of salary or compensa- tion must be referred home and the duration of the appointment must depend upon the construction Lord Castlereagh’s letter receives at home. It would add materially to my satisfaction in 302 Records of the Cape Colony. the discharge of my duty in Civil Appeals, if the Lieutenant Governor and I were permitted to call on the same Assessors for their opinions upon points of Law. The proceedings are become numerous, frequently voluminous, and often depending upon questions of Law and legal construction of evidence which imposes a painful responsibility upon persons of our previous habits of life. I should in such case propose to make the salary for their duties Two thousand Eix Dollars p. Annum, or at the usual rate of exchange about three hundred pounds Sterling annually, and although I have no doubt those gentlemen think it their duty to give me every aid and advice in their power, it lays me under personal obligation and leaves upon me the whole responsibility as the Appeal may be in Civil or Criminal cases. The Court of Justice is so constructed that I could not without great in- convenience make One of that body an Assessor as intimated in Lord Castlereagh’s letter, and before I was quite aware of an Assessor’s duties I applied to Mr. Alexander and Mr. Kekewich for their aid, the Assessor I am informed is solely a responsible adviser not a Judge, and in consequence of his salary accountable for his opinion. If the term has received a more extended or limited construction in England or in any of its dependencies, I beg Your Lordship will do me the favor to transmit me any information that will correct my misapprehension of the meaning. I had occasion in two or three instances to apply to Mr. Cassels when King’s Advocate here for legal advice, but as that Gentleman wrote home to solicit remuneration for his public services here, I declined at that time acceding to his request for a Colonial allowance. As Mr. Cassels is since dead I hope Your Lordship will permit me to grant some compensation to his Executor for the benefit of his family. One case in particular in which I was confirmed in my decision by Mr. Cassels’ opinion was in the release of the Portuguese ship Rainha dos Anjos, on which occasion His Majesty was most graciously pleased to approve of my conduct. Lieutenant General Grey having laid before me an account of deficiencies in the accoutrement of the Cape Native Eegiment I have the honor to enclose a copy of the return, and if Your Lordship be pleased to sanction the recommendation of the Lieutenant General I am to request that orders may be given to Records of the Cape Colony. 303 Mr. Agar, Agent to the Settlement, for providing the amount necessary, calculating the numbers of the corps at Five Hundred rank and file. Lord Castlereagh having been pleased to accede to my proposal that a Chaplain should be sent out for the Civil service of the Colony, I am to request Your Lordship will nominate some Gentleman to that situation, as at present the only English Clergymen here are attached to the Military and consequently liable to be ordered away upon other duties, independent of which circumstances I am sorry to add I cannot recommend either of the resident Chaplains for such appointment. I hope I shall not be considered too solicitous in objects which regard my personal convenience, but as there is no Country residence for the Governor although the Commander of the Forces is provided with a suitable one, I beg permission to purchase out of the Colonial funds or by an exchange of Lands to procure a House and premises in the Country correspondent to my situation as Governor. Your Lordship’s commands for reimbursing Mr. Agar for advances made to the Eeverend Mr. Gebhart has been complied with, and I shall not fail to pay the same implicit obedience to such future Commands as Your Lordship shall honor me with. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, June 30, 1810. My Lord, — Together with the accounts of the Receiver General for the months of February, March, and April 1810, I have the honor to transmit the several Proclamations and Government Advertisements issued between the 27th April last and the 14th Instant. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. 304 Records of the Cape Colony. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, lsf July 1810. My Lord, — In addition to the several sums stated in my Letter to your Lordship of the 22nd Jany last (of which a Duplicate is herein inclosed) as having been advanced by the Colonial Agent for the Cape of Good Hope under my Authority for the services therein mentioned, I am now to acquaint your Lordship that a sum of £100 has been paid by Mr. Agar to the Eevd. Mr. Scholtz who has been appointed to fill one of the Livings of the Dutch Eeformed Eeligion at the Cape. I am to request not only that this sum should be deducted from Mr. Scholtz’s Salary, but also that your Lordship will direct the same to be remitted to Mr. Agar in order that it may be placed to the Credit of his Account with the Colony. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Original.] State and Disposition of the Force under the command of Vice Admiral Bertie, Commander in Chief at the Cape of Good Hope, the 1st day of July 1810. Ships’ Names Commanders Boadicea . . Josias Eowley \ Sirius . . Samuel Pym Blockading the Isle of Ipliigenia . . Hy. Lambert France under the Or- ders of Captain J osias Magicienne . Lucius Curtis Ncreide . . N. J. Willoughby Eowley. Otter . . Jas. Tomkinson t Sailed with a victualler Staunch . Lh B. Street on the 16th June to join the Blockading Squadron. Olympia . L‘. Hy. Taylor Daily expected to arrive from St. Helena. Records of the Cape Colony. 305 State and Disposition of the French Naval Force at the Isle of France, by the most La Minerva Frigate La Bellone . Frigate Victor .... Corvette La Manche Frigate La Venus . Frigate L’ Entreprenante , Corvette L’Astrie Frigate recent Accounts received. \ Stated to be cruizing about I Eight Days sail from the j Mauritius. Iln Port Louis fitting and ready for Sea. | In Black Eiver, refitting for | Sea. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Ranger Transport, Table Bay, 1st July 1810. Sir, — Having received their Lordships’ commands, by your Letter addressed to me bearing date the 18th December last, to send His Majesty’s ship Leopard to England, I have lost no time in recalling her from the Blockading Station for that purpose. I have the honor to forward by her Copies of the most recent communications received from Captain Lambert and subsequently from Captain Kowley, together with sundry correspondence found on board the Imperial Schooner L’Estafette taken by the Nereide out of Port Jacotel, containing Accounts of the reinforcements already arrived, and at that time daily expected from Europe. Prom the extremely reduced state of the British force on this Station, a statement of which, as well as the disposition of the same, (together with that of the Enemy) is herewith transmitted, it has been found impracticable to continue the Blockade of the Isle of Bourbon ; and of the ships employed in the Blockade of the Isle of France, the Iphigenia is in a state that requires her return into Port, being kept out from the want of relief, and the Otter will of necessity be sent to England, from the defective state of her Copper, as soon as any reinforcement shall arrive. My letter which I had the honor to address to you on the 25th May last will have VII. x 306 Records of the Cape Colony. informed their Lordships of my intentions with respect to the convoying the India Ships having on board the 24th Eegiment, which were frustrated by the intelligence received of the increased force and disposition of the Enemy, and which occasioned me to address to Mr. Pringle, the Agent of the Honorable East India Company, the letter a Copy of which I have the honor to enclose herewith ; the result of which has been that they proceeded on to India without Convoy on the 12th June ; the Euphrates having unfortunately struck on the Whittol Eock in going out, was obliged to return, and is now preparing to be hove down, by which occurrence a part of the Eegiment is still detained. Eor any other particulars I beg to refer their Lordships to Captain Johnstone of His Majesty’s Ship Leopard. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 2 nd July 1810. My Lord, — I herewith transmit to you the Copy of a Letter from Mr. Agar, the agent for the Cape of Good Hope, to my Under Secretary, inclosing an Extract of one from Paymaster Darley of the 62nd Foot, which states an over Issue of Pay to the amount of £27 4. 0. had been made by him to Lieut. Lynch, late of that Eegiment, and now serving in the Cape Eegiment ; and I am to request that your Lordship will take such measures as may appear to you most proper for obtaining repayment of this sum from Mr Lynch, and that it may be remitted to Mr. Agar who will pay it over to Mr. Darley. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. Records of the Cape Colony. 307 [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, July 4th 1810. Sir, — Empowered as I am by my Sovereign’s Commission to appoint two Aides-de-Camp, authorised by the Duke of York when Commander in Chief to select them from the Military, and having appointed Mr. Napier under circumstances of which you are perfectly apprised ; when in attendance upon me he has been put under close arrest by the order of Lieut. Colonel Cox. I shall make no comment upon this transaction, but refer the case to you. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Cox. Castle, July 4th 1810. 4 o’clock p.m. Sir, — In answer to your letter which I have just received, I can only repeat what I stated to you this morning, that I cannot approve of the steps you have taken in regard to Lieut. Napier, as whatever may have been the error of that Officer, he was acting under my permission as Aide-de-Camp to the Governor, to whose situation here it was due to have represented through me anything you might have to complain of in Mr. Napier’s conduct, before you resorted to the extreme measure of placing him in arrest, and that too at a time when he was in personal attendance on the Governor and preparing to go out with him. I have &c. (Signed) H. G. Grey. I trust that Mr. Napier has explained to you, as he promised me he would, the cause of his not having obeyed your orders this morning, and I have in support of you directed him to attend the held day to-morrow, after which I request you will consider him 308 Records of the Cape Colony. absent from his Corps by my leave, for the purpose of acting as Aide-de-Camp to His Excellency the Governor, and that you will not again call upon him to do duty without my previous approval. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. July ith 1810, My Lord, — I have the honor of acknowledging the receipt of Your Excellency’s letter dated this day, and I regret much what has happened in respect to your Aide-de-Camp Mr. Napier. I have expressed my opinion upon the subject both to Your Excellency and to Lieut. Colonel Cox, 1 therefore hope that the matter has been arranged in the way I stated to Your Lordship this morning. I have &c. (Signed) H, G. Grey. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, July 6th, 1810, Sir, — When I communicated to you on Wednesday last in an interview, and subsequently in writing, what had occur’d in respect to the close arrest of my Aide-de-Camp, Lieut. Napier, you verbally replied after expressing your regret, that Colonel Cox was conscious of the impropriety of his conduct towards me, and that it was his intention to assure me of it. In your letter of the same day, 4th July, you hope the matter has been arranged in the way you stated ; but as Colonel Cox has never made any subsequent communication to me, I am impelled by a just sense of what is due to the High Commission with which His Majesty has honored me to claim the redress through you which the insult I have received requires. Records of the Cape Colony. 309 Lest any misconception should have taken place, I repeat that my Aide-de-Camp, when in attendance upon me, in discharge of his duty as an Aide-de-Camp, was put into close arrest for the discharge of that duty, and this not only in my presence but in presence of the Sentry at the door, before my own domestics and at the very moment I was mounting my horse, my Aide-de- Camp being already on horseback in attendance upon me. I have hitherto thought the proper course was to appeal to you, I did most anxiously expect I should not have to do so a second time, but in addition to the original transaction Colonel Cox has, as I am informed and believe, addressed Mr. Napier, who in con- sequence of my wish to forward your conciliatory views, attended his parade, to the following effect in presence of the Corps of Artillery : “ Mr. Napier, Sir, your conduct has been insolent, presumptuous and overbearing, and unworthy of the character of an Artillery Officer, and nothing but a Common School Boy could have acted as you have done, you have leave of absence, but by God you shall have no accommodations from the Corps. Mr. Jordan, instantly take Mr. Napier’s groom from him, and your other servant shall share the same fate, I will represent your conduct to the Master General, and your Brother Officers ought to curse you all their lives.” I refrain from any observation, but I claim public atonement and the adoption of such public measures by you as will protect me against similar insults, until His Majesty’s pleasure is known. I cannot close a letter which distresses me so much without expressing how sensible I am of the marked and constant respect I receive from the Officers of the Army and acknowledging to you personally my obligation for your ready acquiescence in such wishes as I have occasionally communicated to you, as well as your cordial co-operation in all measures deemed necessary for the public service, and 1 more particularly thank you for the attempt at conciliation on this particular occasion, which has unfortunately proved fruitless. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. 310 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, July 1th 1810. My Lord, — It is with extreme pain that I find by your letter of yesterday that I have not been so successful in satisfying Your Excellency as to the occurrences which have taken place in regard to your Aide de Camp Lieut. Napier as it was my most earnest wish to have been, and as I have already expressed my opinions fully on the subject in the correspondence with Colonel Cox which I laid before Your Lordship yesterday morning, it is not now necessary to trouble you with them. I shall therefore confine myself to assuring Your Excellency that it always has been, as well in this transaction as in every other, my aim to support you to the utmost, and I have already, My Lord, given such orders as will prevent a possibility of a similar impropriety towards you to that you now complain of, and which I highly condemn, and I should be most happy if Colonel Cox would make such atone- ment as would be satisfactory to the feelings of Your Excellency, hut I am sure Your Lordship will see the impossibility of my giving any orders even to a common Soldier upon a subject which must depend upon the private feelings of an Individual. The only alternative therefore in such cases is to give the person accused of an offer) ce which he does not admit the choice whether he will make the reparation demanded or stand his trial by a Court Martial. This alternative I will put to Colonel Cox, if your Excellency wishes it to be done, and will be pleased to state to me the nature of the atonement you require. I must explain, My Lord, that I did not mean to say in the conference I had with Your Excellency at the commencement of this unpleasant business, that “ Colonel Cox was conscious of the impropriety of his conduct.” What he said, and what I intended to have repeated exactly, was “that he was sorry the Officer to whom he gave the order to place Mr. Napier in arrest should have executed it at the moment he did, that it was the last thing in his thoughts to shew any disrespect to Your Lordship, that he regretted very much that Your Excellency should see it in that light, and to convince you of it he would call upon you and tell Records of the Cape Colony. 311 you so.” Why he has not done this I don’t know, unless it be that he feels himself hurt by my having in support of Your Excellency so strongly expressed my disapprobation of his conduct, my having refused to allow Lieut. Napier to join his Company, and my having taken from him all authority over Mr. Napier as long as that officer continues in the family of Your Excellency. I have etc. (Signed) H. G. Grey. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, July 1th, 1810. Sir, — In answer to your letter of this day’s date I have the honor to observe that on Wednesday last I communicated to you on an insult publicly offered to me as Governor of this Settlement in the arrest of my Aide-de-Camp by order of a regimental officer when mounted and in attendance upon me. I yesterday was under the necessity of representing to you that the first outrage was aggravated by a public censure having passed upon that Aide-de-Camp for the discharge of his duty to me, and in this last communication I took occasion to say what I must now repeat, in answer to the query in your letter, that I claim public atonement and the adoption of such public measures by you as will protect me against similar insults until His Majesty’s pleasure is known. It rests with you not with me to decide upon the mode by which public atonement is to be obtained from an Officer under your command. By the expression of public atonement purposely selected, I mean that degree of public example which may be deemed necessary for the protection of a Governor under similar circumstances. By public measures I mean public general orders such as no Officer can plead ignorance of and which are the measures I hope you allude to which are to prevent the possibility of a similar impropriety. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. 312 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Report of Deputy Adjutant General Sorell. 8 July 1810. The Deputy Adjutant General having personally communicated to Lieut. Colonel Cox a correspondence between His Excellency the Governor and the Commander of the Forces, relative to Lieut. Napier, and having expressed the Lieut. General’s sentiments upon the propriety of Lt. Colonel Cox making a suitable apology or atone- ment for the insult complained of ; which from what Lt. Col. Cox had expressed both in conversation and in writing, it had appeared to the General to be his intention to do, and having signified to Lieut. Col. Cox that the call for redress made by the Governor left the General only the power of offering the alternative of giving the satisfaction required, or standing a Trial ; The Dy Adjt General received a reply from Lt.-Col. Cox to the following effect : That he had expressed to General Grey his intention of ex- plaining to the Governor the grounds of his proceeding towards Lt. Napier, in which he meant no disrespect to His Ex- cellency ; and that he was only prevented from doing so by the order which he had subsequently received exempting Lt. Napier from all Command and Control by the Commander of Artillery. That under the impression that this measure was a support of Lt. Napier, and contrary to the regulations of the Regt., he had not felt himself called upon to make an apology, and that he should stand his Trial. Lt. Colonel Cox disclaimed any intention of showing disrespect to the Governor, and expressed his regret that the arrest of Lieut. Napier had taken place in a manner quite foreign to his in- tentions ; and Lt. Col. Cox generally stated that he had been actuated by a sense of duty in the steps which he had adopted in this affair. (Signed) W. Sorell, D. A. Genl. Records of the Cape Colony. 313 [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, 8th July 1810. My Lord, — I have not been so much hurt for a length of time as by Your Excellency’s letter of last night, and I cannot help saying the expressions it contains of dissatisfaction at the support I have given you were, I had hoped, undeserved, nor can I upon retracing my conduct towards Your Excellency recollect that I have acted in any one instance otherwise than was to the best of my judgment calculated to support you, and to mark my respect for you personally, as well as for the high situation you hold here. I cannot admit, my Lord, that it rests with me to state the atonement necessary to satisfy you. I have however in conse- quence of your conceiving it in that light acted in conformity to what I stated to Your Excellency yesterday was in my opinion the only alternative where an Officer, as in the case of Colonel Cox, was accused of an offence he was not sensible of. I have there- fore, my Lord, publicly sent the Deputy Adjutant General to Colonel Cox to place him in arrest, and to order him to prepare for his trial upon the charges made by Your Excellency, unless he should satisfy you as to his motives, which however, my Lord, much as I disapprove of what he did, I do not think were what you suppose, as I firmly believe that disrespect to you was the last thing in Colonel Cox’s thoughts, and that the impropriety of Mr. Napier, in taking upon himself to oppose his Commanding Officer without a reference either to you or to me was the cause of all that has happened, and that Colonel Cox never had an idea of punishing him for doing his duty with Your Excellency, but for what he thought insubordination and disrespect towards himself. What I have now done will, with the general order which must appear with the reason for assembling the Court Martial, I hope be considered a sufficient public measure to shew my readiness to support Your Excellency, and I do assure you had the circum- stances happened to one of my own Aides-de-Camp I should not have thought it necessary to have done more than what took place 314 Records of the Cape Colony. between me and Colonel Cox in the first instance, as appears in the correspondence which I laid before you, and which I had fondly hoped would have been satisfactory to Your Excellency. I assured Your Lordship yesterday that I had taken such measures as would prevent a similar occurrence, which I now repeat, and will be responsible that it does not happen. But, my Lord, the giving a general order of censure upon an Officer of the Staff in the high situation of Commander of the Brigade of Artillery in this Colony, without allowing that Officer an opportunity of defending himself, would be a stretch of authority for which I know I should be much blamed by my Superiors in England and which I am sure Your Excellency would not wish me to subject myself to. With respect to the reprimand Mr. Napier received, I believe I was unfortunate enough in the Castle yard to say to Your Lordship I thought he deserved it, before I was aware of your opinion upon the subject, and I am sure Your Lordship would have a very mean opinion of me were I now to retract, not that I approve of the language Colonel Cox used, which I had not heard at the time, on the contrary, I think the Colonel went much too far, though I must again explain, my Lord, that the reprimand in my concep- tion was for his contempt of the orders of his Commanding Officer, and not with the smallest allusion to his situation in your family. It is a source of the deepest mortification to me that the incon- siderate conduct of Colonel Cox and the folly of Lieut. Napier, which certainly was the origin of everything that has happened, should have brought on so unpleasant a discussion between Your Lordship and me, it having been my most earnest wish, ever since I had the honor of knowing you, not only to support you, as is my duty, but to meet your wishes on every point as much as possible. I have &c. (Signed) H. G. Grey. Since writing the above letter, the Adjutant General has re- turned from Lieut. Col. Cox, and I enclose his answer to Your Excellency. H. G. G. Records of the Cape Colony. 315 [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 8th July 1810. Sir, — I must repeat my regret at every uneasy sentiment you suffer, but I certainly have expressed no dissatisfaction at your conduct. I consider the question as simply this, Is the arresting art Officer in attendance upon the Governor as an Aide de Camp an offence committed against that Governor and the Sovereign He represents, or is it the duty of such Aide de Camp to obey his immediate regimental superior in an act incompatible with his attendance upon the Governor in the duty he has accepted with the approbation of the Commander of the Forces and without notice to the Governor through the Commander of the Forces or otherwise. The more sincere Colonel Cox is in believing he has performed his duty the more necessary it is for the honor of my situation that a public declaration should take place that it is an offence. I have adopted as I repeat the word atonement, to mark I have no personal feelings towards Lt. Colonel Cox, that I am only anxious a precedent shall be established and announced in such a manner as will protect me in my situation from repetition of similar conduct. The sincerity of Col. Cox’s motives I repeat may influence many ultimate considerations, but that sincerity is an additional motive for my having resorted to measures protective of the respect due to my situation. In addition to these general observations, that I may mark my personal esteem and not appear to deviate from our hitherto accus- tomed intercourse, I answer your letter in detail. I certainly have expressed no dissatisfaction at your conduct, and when there is this expression in your letter “ I cannot admit, my Lord, that it rests with me to state the atonement necessary to satisfy you, I have however in consequence of your conceiving it in that light acted in conformity to what I stated to Your Lordship yesterday,” I must observe a misconception of my letter. I stated “ It rests 316 Records of the Cape Colony. with you not with me to decide upon the mode by which public atonement is to be obtained from an Officer under your Command,” and I afterwards explained by public atonement I sought such example (or now to be still more clear the establishing such a precedent) as might be deemed necessary for the protection of a Governor under similar circumstances. I should willingly have adopted any measures suggested that appeared adequate to that object. I did not call for a public censure upon Lieut. Col. Cox’s conduct, nor did I seek any thing Lt Col Cox might construe into an act of unnecessary humiliation, but I certainly deem some public act necessary by which the Army, the Inhabitants, and ultimately My Sovereign might feel I supported the honor and the representation entrusted to me. The reprimand to Mr. Napier I have considered as an aggrava- tion of the first insult offered to me, and I was led to consider it so from its having taken place subsequent to your having com- municated your intention to me on the subject and subsequent to your having (according to Lieut. Col Cox’s admission) exempted that Officer from the command and control of the Commandant of Artillery, and at a moment when to promote your conciliatory views (although so exempted) I had sent Mr. Napier to attend his regimental parade. I cannot conclude this letter of explanation without assuring you of my sincere respect and my sorrow that the present circum stances have occur’d. I hope you will give me credit for not having intentionally deviated into anything unnecessarily painful to you, and if we continue to differ in opinion after this letter of explanation I trust such difference will not extend beyond the immediate subject matter, and that we shall continue to act as we have hitherto done in all points arising out of our relative situa- tions in perfect confidence and with mutual esteem. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 317 [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, July 9 th 1810. My Lord, — After your very kind letter of yesterday, by which I have been much gratified, having certainly thought that a marked dissatisfaction with me pervaded that which you wrote me the day before, I should not think it necessary to trouble you further upon the unpleasant subject under discussion, did I not think it only common Justice to Colonel Cox to enclose a copy of my letter to him upon the affair first coming to my knowledge, which shews that I did not conceive Lt. Napier was exempt from Eegimental Orders until after he had attended once to evince his obedience to his Commanding Officer, after having refused to do so ; a degree of support which I thought necessary to that com- manding Officer to prevent a young Man in any Situation what- ever from thinking he could take upon himself to dispute the Orders of his Lt.-Colonel, without reference to those under whose protection he might be. Be assured, My Lord, that no difference of opinion upon public questions can ever lessen the regard and esteem I have ever felt towards you, and that I am etc. (Signed) H. G. Grey. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Cox to the Earl of Caledon. Cape Town, July 9 th 1810. My Lord, — I did myself the honor of waiting on Your Lordship this morning and also requested Major Watson to wait on Your Lordship in my name, to express to Your Excellency that I never meant the slightest disrespect to you in any one instance, and that the unfortunate mistake of Lieut. Napier’s being put in arrest at a moment of actual attendance on Your Lordship could not have been foreseen by me, and was certainly never meant, but 318 Records of the Cape Colony. was an act of imprudence on the part of the Brigade Major with- out intention, which I have and always shall express my regret for, knowing it to be my indispensable duty to show every possible respect to Your Excellency and the high situation you hold in this Colony. I have &e. (Signed) W. Cox, Lt. Col. B.A. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Cox to Lieutenant General Grey. Cape Castle, 9th July 1810. Sir, — I did myself the honor of waiting on His Excellency the Governor this morning, who declined seeing me. I then requested Major Watson to convey my sentiments to him, but which His Lordship refused receiving through a third person; allow me therefore to request you will have the goodness to have laid before His Lordship what I did wish to express in person, and which I herewith enclose. I have &c. (Signed) W. Cox, Lt. Col. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, 9th July 1810. £ past 4 p.m. My Lord, — Having received the enclosed letter from Colonel Cox, at his request I trouble Your Lordship with it, but after the great lengths the affair has gone I must decline expressing a wish or giving a further opinion on the subject it relates to. I have the honor to acknowledge Your Lordship’s letter of this day, and am &c. (Signed) H. G. Grey. Records of the Cape Colony. 319 [Copy.] Memoranda by the Earl of Caledon'. Lt. Colonel Cox having called at Government House this morning at 35 minutes past 10 o’clock, upon his arrival being announced to me by the Aide-de-Camp in waiting, I wrote the following reply, which I directed the Aide-de-Camp to communi- cate to him : “ That I do not mean to mark any personal disrespect, but I beg to decline an interview with Lt. Colonel Cox at the present moment.” Government House, 9th July 1810. (Signed) Caledon. Major Watson of the Eoyal Artillery having waited upon me at 20 minutes after 11 o’clock a.m., and having commenced a conversation by saying that he came to address me on the part of Lieut. Colonel Cox, I interrupted Major Watson, and spoke words to the following effect : “Major Watson, I hope you will excuse the interruption. Colonel Cox waited upon me this morning, but I declined seeing him.” I then read to Major Watson a memorandum of that event, and continued : “ Major Watson, I have received from Colonel Cox what I consider a public insult, I have referred the case to the Com- mander of the Forces, and I do not think it would be respectful in me towards the Commander of the Forces to hold communica- tion with Lt. Colonel Cox or with any person deputed by him, or to act farther in this business unless through the Commander of the Forces.” Government House, 9tli J uly 1810. Eead the above memorandum to Major Watson, who assented to the correctness of what passed. (Signed) Caledon. 320 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 9th July 1810. Sir, — Although I retain my original opinions expressed iu my former letters, and cannot acquiesce in reasoning which tends to authorize an interference with my Aide-de-Camp without my consent, I beg leave to state the extreme pleasure I have received by your assurances of esteem. Lt. Colonel Cox, and subsequently Major Watson, having waited on me this morning, I enclose a memorandum of what passed on each occasion; I declined entering into explanations which could not receive the publicity my situation requires, with- out your concurrence. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, July 10 th 1810. Sir, — I have had the honor of receiving your letter of yester- day’s date, giving cover to two enclosures from Lt. Colonel Cox. As I wish previous to my reply to Lt. Colonel Cox to be fur- nished with a Copy of the Order for assembling the General Court Martial, I am to request you will have the goodness to direct the Adjutant General to that effect. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, July 10 th 1810. My Lord, — I enclose a copy of the general order for assembling a Court Martial, according to your desire. I have etc. (Signed) H. G. Grey. Records of the Cajpc Colony. 321 [Copy.] General Orders. Head Quarters, 9th July 1810. A General Court Martial to assemble on Monday next tbe 16th Instant at ten o’clock in the Castle for the trial of Lieut. Col. Cox of the Eoyal Artillery, accused of disrespect to His Excellency the Governor, in having ordered Lieutenant Napier of that Corps, Aid-de-Camp to His Lordship, into close arrest, when in personal attendance upon His Excellency. (Names of fifteen Officers to compose the Court.) 2. In order to prevent any future misunderstanding relative to Eegimental Officers serving on the Staff, Commanding Officers of Corps are desired not to interfere with Officers so employed by the regular authorities, without the previous consent of the Person, whatever his Eank may be, to whom they are attached. (Signed) Wm. Sorell, Deputy Adjutant General. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 10 July 1810. Sir, — I am extremely obliged to you for your transmissal of Lieut. Colonel Cox’s letter, additional proof of your conciliatory disposition. I have no object nearer my heart than a cordial cooperation of His Majesty’s Civil and Military Servants, indepen- dent of my feelings to an Army which has treated my Government with so much respect. The general orders attached to the order for holding" the Court Martial perfectly satisfy my mind upon the present occasion, so that I deem nothing further necessary than to take His Majesty1 s pleasure upon the general principle of a subject on which persons of dispassionate judgement may doubt, and in the interim if my satisfaction is the object of the Court Martial I see no necessity VII. Y 322 Records of the Cape. Colony. for farther proceedings, as the publicity I considered essential is obtained. I beg leave to enclose for your perusal a copy of my letter to Lieut. Col. Cox, and have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant Colonel Cox. Castle, 10 July 1810. Sir, — I have had the honor of receiving your letter of the 9th of July through the Honble. the Commander of the Forces. I have since been furnished with the order for holding a Court Martial on you, but as I see in that order matter sufficient to guard against what might have been apprehended I rest satisfied with your assurance that no disrespect was intended to my situation. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] After General Orders. Head Quarters, Castle, 1 0th July 1810. Lieutenant Colonel Cox having explained to the satisfaction of the Governor that no disrespect was intended to His Excellency in the occurrence which took place in regard to Iris Aide-de-Camp, and the Court Martial having been ordered in consequence of a demand on the part of His Excellency for a public investigation, there is no longer any occasion for further proceedings. The Commander of the Forces has therefore great pleasure in counter- manding the meeting of the Court. (Signed) John Longley, A.D.C. Records of the Cape Colony. 323 [Original.] Letter from George Harrison, Esq re., to Eobert Peel, Esqre. Treasury Chambers, 10 July 1810. Sir, — Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury a Memorial from the Eeverend Doctor Halloran, dated Cape of Good Hope 30 March 1810, praying remuneration in consideration of his having performed the Duties of Colonial Chaplain to the Settlement, and for other Services ; I have received their Lordships commands to transmit the same to you, and to desire you will submit the same to the Earl of Liverpool and request his Lordship will favor My Lords with his opinion thereon. I am etc. (Signed) Geo. Harrison. [Copy.] Cape Town, 10th July 1810. “ Women, and Men like Women, are timid vindictive and irresolute, their passions counteract each other, and make the Same creature at one moment hateful at another contemptible.” — Junius. The subject of this is not to alarm you but rather to put you on your guard, and tho’ the person who writes it does not approve of anonymous letters, or any other act that can carry with it the Smallest appearance of cowardice or dishonour, yet he would have you to know that the line of conduct you have pursued is calculated for the worst purposes and worst ends. There has been a correct journal of your conduct, nearly from the very day of your arrival, certainly from the very month of your getting command of this Army, and gracious God ! what a Scene of Villainy, of Tyranny, and of oppression does it shew, how you have trampled on the Laws of your country, how you have Sported with the character, peace and Happiness of your fellow subjects, how you have to the injury of the Service served your private ends and appetites, and before I enumerate some of the leading features, as well as Memory will admit (for it is nearly a week since the Writer of this saw the journal alluded to, and that 324 Records of tlic Cape Colony. but for an hour and a half) he hesitates not to tell you the time is not very distant when you shall know him, and may you be as equally prepared for the result as he is ; the author of that Journal you may never know, suffice to say he stands not far from your own person, and the Author of this has been made acquainted with a great number of your private Correspondence and conversation ; rest assured there is not one Officer of any consequence or education in the Colony but does most heartily despise you. And tho’ I feel for my country’s General, to talk in no worse a way, yet I am well aware you have not left it in their power to think otherwise of you. One of the first things that strikes my Memory as appearing on the face of that journal is your conduct to Captains Morris and Werg, the latter of whom, it’s stated you shook your fist at, and called a damn’d Coward, the Journal tells a long Story of Mrs. Austin and her Servant being the Cause, the next that I can call to Memory was your conduct on the part of Lomax and Austin, the former you reported to the Commander in Chief as not fit to command a corporal’s guard, yet when that Regiment was ordered for the West Indies, you, to gratify a private appetite, retained its proper Commander as your Military Secretary ! V ery well done. General, a handsome wife we find is occasionally a useful thing, damn the Service, Oh curse the Service, well it is not the first time we have Seen its dearest rights and privileges Sacrificed by a weak mind to a handsome face ! Our countrymen in Old England say we have been going down hill this some time back, but if such conduct as this is not calculated to give it a helping hand, the devil is in the dice. You did, without any authority granted you by a Court Martial, send Captain Loftus into Exile at Houts Bay as a punishment, where he was on the eve of losing his Existence and falling a Sacrifice to your Tyranny and Oppression ! Mark next your conduct to Lieutenant Hamilton and its result ; but I tell you, all England shall ring with that story ; look next to your conduct to Captains Nicolls and Ryan, you Suborn’d the Evidence against them, you called them duelists, yet neither of them ever fought in the Colony before, and your Colleague Patullo only two days before fought with Mr. Muirhead. Captain Reiswick, your favorite Town Major, insulted Captain Martillo upon a point of duty, at the Muster following but one the trial of those two officers, so grossly, as to oblige Captain M. to call the fellow out, Records of the Cape Colony. 325 who previous to taking his ground Stript to his Shirt like a Butcher’s Boy going to box ; you knew this, you also knew (for Colonel Mariot told me he reported the circumstances to you) of the duel between Mr. Smit and Jordan, where the very officer-like and genteel conversation of damn’d Scoundrel, damn’d Coward took place, but I suppose the latter being a phrase of your own (Witness poor Werg) you took no Notice of it; now there is certainly a great deal of Justice in all this, and I think Nicolls and Ryan must be of the same opinion, and I am sure there must be a cursed set of fools in the World, or they will Say there is great consistency also. Mark what has come out since you have obliged the Reverend Doctor Halloran to resign, who has a large Family totally dependent on him, and in so doing 1 positively assert you have accepted of a Resignation you are not authorized to do, and all this for asserting the natural privilege of every Englishman. Was it not time for the Doctor to refuse him into his Society, when not a Mess in garrison with the exception of the 93rd will admit him ? The whole army execrates this conduct. They have felt the Benefit of his Service ! you yourself have acknowledged that Benefit, and they now, the more Sensibly, feel the privation of them by the Miserable Contrast. Observe next your conduct to that most Excellent officer Lieutenant Colonel Cox, who has seen more Service than you have or ever can see, yesterday’s orders offer a great deal of hopes to the army. So Sir, you censure him for putting in arrest an officer who positively and unequivocally, refused to obey him, well I think you are right, it was supporting discipline, but what I admire most in the order is you most judiciously put it on the footing of his being in personal attendance on the Governor, and consequently great disrespect to His Lordship, disrespect, mark that now to refer back to this said journal of your Conduct, it is mentioned, if my memory is not in error, that a certain part of your Conduct my judicious general smells very strong of this self same kind of disrespect to the Governor. I allude to a very pretty story in the journal about putting Servants into confinement, whose personal attendance on his Lordship prevented their being at field days etc, now may hap, this might have created a misunderstanding between his Excellency and Yourself which Said misunderstanding it is necessary to have done away, well Colonel Cox, you are to make up this misunderstanding ! it is all to lie at your door, but I’ll tell 326 Records of the Coupe Colony. you General, you are found out, you made out a recent request of His Excellency, it was refused, but my judicious General, by entering into feelings, I mean the feelings of his Lordship (which in a Similar Manner you once MORE than equally injured) you expect to make a second application to the Same tune, and no doubt you expect to Succeed, but I tell you your efforts will be as unavailing as they are infamous. So Sir, you see you are likely to cut a pretty figure in England, for the author of the journal has pledged himself, to amuse the public with it, and I assure you there are anecdotes in it that will make John Bull kill a dull hour or two, and make him Sigh for the times when the Bill of rights and Magna Charta were more respected. We have seen lately a few Generals haul’d over Coals, now let me ask you, have any of them gain’d respect or credit ? Yet I tell you, and with the Candour of a man who despises a falsehood, that the worst that could be laid to their charge is not one half so bad as two lines contain’d in the journal of your Conduct ! I shall now allude to your conduct to Lieutenant Phaup, and I hesitate not to say that the part you have acted or seem still inclined to act is an illegal procedure. That officer by the Sentence of a late Court Martial is dismissed from Bank and pay for six Months, during which period you have no more command over him, than you have over my Wife, You See I am a Married Man, — look to your instruction my judicious General — for I am afraid you know but little of the Articles of War, but there is nothing remarkable in that, considering you only have the Rank of Lieutenant General and cannot have been much less than twenty years in the Service ! Pray remark, you never come on a parade but to abuse, and when one reflects on the mild, manly, and Gentlemanlike Manner of your delivery, for the Soul of me I cannot help thinking of the musical and equally pleasing voice of a Billingsgate fisherwoman ! There are some useful hints contained in this Short letter, if you seem inclined to profit by them you may Sooner than otherwise come to a knowledge of the Author, for tho’ he holds not the pen of Junius, it is wonderful (when we reflect what intense application can do,) how soon he might come into that Style ! Pray, keep in recollection the journal, and be sure you send this to the orderly room, I think you will be able to And out the Writer. You shall from time to Records of the Cape Colony. 327 time be amused with useful hints, perhaps, some remarks on your conduct, and as the whole shall be laid before the public, what think you of printing this in the Cape Gazette ? I would strongly recommend it, for you then can make a reply. And in plump, and direct terms, let the Author of this and his friend the journalist know you don’t Care what officious Scoundrel peeps into your affairs ; do it I intreat of you, and the next day come to parade ; be sure of that, and attack Some respectable field Officer — damn the Captains and Subalterns, they are beneath your Notice ! and give it him famously ; do it before they commence deploying, that all may have the full benefit of it, then Steal round the reverse flank, you will see the Subalterns all knocking their heads together, asking who the devil is old Screetch giving it to now, but take no notice of them, it would be degrading in you to find out a fault that the meanest Capacity can easily discover, besides it is the duty of the drill Sergeant and adjutant to teach Steadiness, and the lower Eanks are not so apt to take pattern by their Superiors as formerly, consequently there is no fear of the unsteadiness of the Subalterns having effect on the men ; without I change my intention the next letter I shall trouble you with will contain my remarks on your conduct in the affair of Brown and Clarke, your recommendation of Brown, the rap you got over the knuckles for sending Clarke home, thereby presuming to anticipate the Will and pleasure of your Sovereign ; Your Conduct on a late court of Enquiry, your breach of Confidence in Several instances on that Occasion, all of which will tend to Shew the Consistency, ability, Virtue, and honour of General Grey. Toby Tickle. P.S. A Copy of this letter shall go to each Mess, were it only to shew that there is one with the Army who does not fear you, but would try to correct your vices. 328 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] “ Let it be ray humble Office to collect the scatter’d Sweets, till their united virtue torture the sense ! ” — Junius. So Colonel Cox is not to be tried, and you have great pleasure in countermanding the meeting of the Court, this you no doubt intend as an atonement to the Colonel’s feelings, for your very pretty Memorandum at the foot of the Order for his trial. Now if countermanding this said order gives you all the pleasure you seem to manifest, but which I know is a scandalous falsehood, and published solely for the purpose of courting popularity, why did you not (as the proper Guardian of the Interests of those com- mitted to your charge) wait on His Excellency, explain the nature of the Colonel’s Instructions from the Ordnance Board, and tell him (which I am convinced is the truth, and which I am also convinced would have been perfectly Satisfactory to His Lordship) that Colonel Cox had not the least intention of offering the smallest insult to his Lordship’s feelings, and that what he had done was entirely in obedience to the Instructions the Colonel had received from the Master General. This would have been doing right. It would have prevented the necessity of publicly hurting the feelings of an older and more respectable officer than Yourself, but then you would not have had the opportunity of publishing that Courting-popularity order, That you had great pleasure, etc., etc. How truly contemptible you do look in the eyes of every Sensible Man. Shame ! Shame ! How that Man must feel who loves his Country to see one of her Generals stooping to such despicable means to acquire popularity ! Colonel Cox must be amazingly sensible of the great condescension of General Grey ! How much he must feel he is obliged to you ? particularly when he reflects that ten minutes trouble on your part would have prevented his name appearing in public orders, and more particularly so, when he further reflects that he has arrived at his present Bank (which he could not be much less than two or three and Twenty years in obtaining) with his character unsullied, to be considered not worth ten Minutes of your notice ! ! Look to that you rising generation of Ensigns, Lieutenants, Captains, Majors, there is hope for you ! ! ! So, so, then, it is no wonder indeed so many general Courts Martial should have disgraced Records of the Cape Colony. 329 your Command, since you have been with this Army. Take a hint, look thro’ the Standing Orders of the Garrison, look over the General Orders of your Predecessor, Sir David Baird, you’ll find no such orders as those of yours, nor will you, I am fully convinced, see one half so many General Courts Martial, I am much afraid I should ask Sir David’s pardon for drawing a contrast, it would answer better were it Governor Wale or Picton, for you, like them, have afforded but too much subject for public ridicule and contempt ; and I pointedly affirm you Stand a much fairer chance for public chastisement. Times like the present are none of the best for people of your stamp, and John Bull won’t relish (paint it in what colours you will) the twentieth part of your conduct at the Cape ; you, General Grey, were the first to shake the popularity of and the respect due to the Governor, by pointing out in a truly contemptuous manner that His Excellency’s Eank (confirmed by His Majesty as Commander in Chief) were mere words, of course you would not obey, and you further affirm that with the exception of the Cape Eegiment His Lordship could not command a Man. How far this may be true I will not affirm ; but I will affirm that if His Excellency has the power to call out one Corps he has it equally in his power to call another, and your making use of this and like observations (which I shall notice in my next) tended more to the hurt and weakening of his Lordship’s consequence and constituted authority than any other act of any other Person whatsoever in this Colony. In your Courting-popularity style you say, the Court Martial was ordered in consequence of a demand from His Excellency ; we are certainly not to be astonished or surprised if Lord Caledon did demand a Court Martial (tho’ I doubt the truth of this) and feel highly indignant at having his Aid-de-Camp put in arrest, without his knowledge or concurrence, but his Lordship’s indig- nation would have ceased, had you, as was your duty, waited on His Excellency and explained the circumstances ! You are at the head of the Military Department, it was from that Department His Excellency received such supposed insult as authorized him to demand a Court Martial ; It therefore, I affirm, became your bonden duty (and it was a respect you should have paid his Lordship, and which I further affirm his Lordship had every right to expect from you) to have waited on him, and explained away the circumstances attending the Arrest of His Records of the Cape Colony. Lordship’s Aide-de-Camp, so far as you were acquainted with Colonel Cox’s Instructions, and the Motives from which he acted. Colonel Cox’s Lank and reputation entitled him to this attention from you, and when you neglected to do this, I affirm you made manifest a great want of zeal for the Service, disrespect and ill-will to the Governor, and Dissimulation and Malice to Colonel Cox ! ! ! But it has been by such Malicious, Mean, and Scandalous ways that you have all along attempted to undermine his Lordship’s consequence, and raise your own by depressing his ! ! ! Toby Tickle. P.S. — I have changed my intention of addressing you on the Subject of Brown, Clerk, etc., etc., that must give way to more important Matter. It will still be a few days before I can send the different Messes their Several Copies of my last to you, but they shall have them, and the Governor shall also have a correct copy of this. T. T. [Copy.] Letter from Captain Josias Eowley to Yice Admieal Bertie. His Majesty’s Ship Boadicea, Koad op St. Denis, Isle of Boorbon, 11th July 1810. Sir, — I feel much satisfaction in announcing to you the Sur- render of the Isle of Bourbon to His Majesty’s arms. According to the communication I had the honor to make to you on the 14th ultimo I proceeded to the Isle of Rodriguez, where, having joined the Transports from India, and in concert with Lieutenant Colonel Keating having made the necessary arrangements relative to the Troops, and embarked on board the Boadicea and Nereide as many as they could stow, we proceeded to join the Ships of the Squadron which I had left off the Isle of France under the Orders of Captain Pym, Blockading the three Frigates of the Enemy then in Port, having previously detached a light Transport to apprize them of our Sailing. AVe joined them at the appointed Rendezvous between the Isles of France and Bourbon on the 6th, and having embarked on board the Frigates the remainder of the European Records of the Cape Colony. 331 and part of the Native Troops, made all Sail in the evening towards the points of Attack, it being intended to push on Shore the greatest part of the force with all possible celerity, for which purpose each Ship was provided with additional Boats taken from the Transports. While the Main Force drew the attention of the Enemy off St. Marie about two Leagues to the Eastward of the Town of St. Denis, Captain Pym with his usual Skill and activity effected a landing about 2 p.m. from the Sirius of all the Troops embarked on board of her at a part of the Beach called Grande Chaloupe, Six Miles to the Westward of the Town, where the Enemy were totally unprepared for an attack. The Biviere des Pluies about 3 Miles to the East of St. Denis was intended for the other point of descent. The remaining four Frigates (when it was supposed the first landing was secured) immediately pushed for the anchorage, and were followed by the Transports as they arrived. The weather, which till now had been favorable, began to change ; the Beach on this side of the Island being steep and composed of large Shingles is generally of difficult access, but it was supposed on reconnoitring it that the landing was practicable, and Captain Willoughby, who undertook to superintend it, pushed off in a Small Prize Schooner captured by the Nereide with a Party of Seamen and a detachment of Light Troops, and with some of the Boats which followed effected a Partial landing, but the surf still increasing, several were stove on the Beach. It being however considered by Lieut. Colonel Keating of much importance to effect the landing on this point, a light Transport was placed with great judgment by Lieutenant Lloyd of the Boadicea, in order to act as a Breakwater, but the Stern Cable parting, she only formed a momentary cover for a few Boats, and notwithstanding every exertion of the skill and experience of Captain Willoughby, the Officers, and Seamen, it was found necessary on the close of day to relinquish any further attempts at this point for the present I am concerned to State that 2 Seamen and 2 Soldiers were drowned on this occasion ; the party however maintained their ground, and took possession of the Battery and Post of St. Marie during the night. The Magicienne with two Transports were now detached to support the Brigade landed at Grande Chaloupe, but Captain 332 Records of the Cape Colony. Curtis alone gained the Anchorage and landed the Troops em- barked in her. In the Morning of the 8th the Beach still appearing unfavorable, I weighed at the desire of Lieut. Colonel Keating and proceeded to the Anchorage off Grande Chaloupe, where we landed the remainder of the Troops, Guns, etc. The Transports had been left in charge of the Ipliiyenia, and Captain Lambert with much activity and exertion landed the Troops embarked in her. I directed Captain Pym to proceed with the Sirius and Magicienne to be ready to act with the Troops off St. Denis, when at 10 p.m. I received a Message from Lieut. Colonel Keating that he had entered into a capitulation with the Enemy, and at his desire landed next morning in Company with Mr. Farquhar, appointed to the Government of the Island (who had done me the honor to embark in the Boadicea ), when we signed the annexed Terms of capitulation. I had previously directed Captain Pym by signal to take possession of the Shipping at St. Paul’s, in effecting which Lieu- tenant Norman in the Barge of the Sirius captured a French Brig (that had sailed with Dispatches for the Isle of France) in a style which does that Officer much credit. I beg leave to transmit Captain Pym’s report of the affair. For a detail of the operations of the Troops on Shore, which led to the Surrender of the Island, I beg leave to refer to Lieut. Col. Keating’s dispatches ; his plan of Attack was so ably concerted and executed with so much decision as to occasion the speedy termination of a contest which, if protracted, must from the nature of the Country have occasioned much loss. It now, Sir, becomes a pleasing part of my duty to notice the cordial unanimity and zeal that prevailed between all ranks of the Army and Navy on the Service we have been engaged in. To Captains Pym, Lambert, Curtis, and Willoughby, I feel particularly indebted for the prompt assistance and support I received from them on every occasion, and the active exertions of the Officers and Men on this short but fatiguing service could not be surpassed. Lieut. Col. Keating has mentioned in high terms of approbation the conduct of Captain Willoughby, the Officers, and Seamen employed on Shore with the Troops, and Lieutenant Cottell with the Brigade of Marines under his Orders. Records of the Cape Colony. 333 As the superior force of the Enemy stationed at the Isle of France will not allow me to detach any part of the Squadron, I have directed Lieut. Robb 1st of the Boadicea, to proceed with the Dispatches in the Anna, the fastest sailing Transport of those destined to proceed to the Cape. The Merits of this Officer are well known, Sir, to you, and I cannot mention in too strong terms of commendation the unremitting zeal and assiduity to which I feel so highly indebted. I have etc. (Signed) Josias Rowley. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 12 July 1810. My Lord, — The King having been pleased to appoint Sir Gore Ouseley Bart., to be His Majesty’s Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the Court of Persia, to which destina- tion he will proceed on Board the Lion, I am commanded to signify to your Lordship His Royal Pleasure that upon the arrival of Sir G. Ouseley in the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope you do pay him the usual Honors due to his Excellency’s Station and Mission ; and that during his Residence in Persia you do correspond with him upon such Subjects as your Lordship may judge interesting to the King’s Service. It is also His Majesty’s Pleasure that all due attention and Honor be paid to Mirza Abdul Hassan, His Persian Majesty’s Envoy Extraordinary at this Court, who returns to Persia with the British Ambassador. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Government House, July 12, 1810. My Lord,— The Sarah Christiana Indiaman arrived here last night with dispatches from the Governor General of India to me. 334 Records of the Cape Colony. acquainting me that His Lordship had detached an expedition from Madras against the Island of Bourbon, with the intention of ultimately proceeding against the Isle of France. To effect the latter object His Lordship has proposed to me that upon the requisition of Lieut. Colonel Keating after the Capture of the Isle of Bourbon I should reinforce the Army collected there with two thousand Men from hence. Upon this point I have fully confer’d with the Commander of the Forces, and it is his opinion that the proportion required by Lieut. Col. Keating, assuming the number to be 2,000, can be supplied from hence. I shall therefore not hesitate on my part to accede to Lieut. Col. Keating’s proposal, and I have already requested Vice Admiral Bertie, with whom I have likewise confer’d, to take into his early consideration the means of procuring the necessary tonnage for this Force. But as the Garrison will be considerably weakened by detaching so large a proportion of it, in addition to the 24th Piegiment already on its passage to India, I hope Your Lordship will adopt early measures for replacing the Troops which will have been subtracted. As I mentioned to Your Lordship in a former letter that I was unwilling to detain the Sarah Christiana, I am now only to request Your Lordship when considering upon regulations for the future trade of the Isles of France to weigh whether under certain modifi- cations a trade might not be admissible between the Cape and those Settlements. Under the French and Batavian Governments it took place to some extent, and in a manner which I conceive would be beneficial to the Cape and Mauritius, and not injurious to the interests of the Honorable East India Company. The supply of live stock, Cape Wines, and English Manufactures might be exported from hence, and a return Cargo might be sent from those Islands, liable to the restriction of such Articles as would interfere with the supply of goods provided by the Honorable East India Company. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 335 [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, \2th July 1810. My Lord, — Since I had last the honor of addressing Your Lord- ship upon the greater outline of the relative situations of Governor and Commander in Chief and Lieutenant Governor and Com- mander of the Eorces, a circumstance of a personal nature equally unforeseen and equally distressing to Lieutenant General Grey and myself has occurred. I cannot detain this Vessel bound to England with such impor- tant dispatches, to lay before Your Lordship a circumstantial narrative, but the public arrest of my Aide de Camp when in attendance on me and its consequences will appear in the annexed Correspondence. I trust for, and expect, such a decision of His Majesty com- municated through Your Lordship as will render my situation independent not only of the conduct of Eegimental Officers as far as relates to persons whose services are essentially necessary to me, and in whose persons I am liable to insults, but also of the general orders of a Commander of the Forces rescindable at his pleasure. I could scarcely for the sake of Argument have supposed a more extreme case, nor what more strongly justifies my expectation of a positive decision. From Your Lordship’s great weight and authority and from your high reputation for constitutional Knowledge I rely upon such a decision as will guard against discontent or schism arising between the Civil and Military Authority, and trust Your Lordship will see through the whole of the correspondence I have marked the utmost anxiety to preserve the good understanding which has existed between me and Lieutenant General Grey, and abstained from all discussions not absolutely necessary to support what was due to my situation. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. 336 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Ranger Transport, Table Bay, 12 th July 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to transmit for the information of their Lordships a Copy of a dispatch addressed to me by His Excellency the Governor General of India, under date the 26th March, received Yesterday morning by the Arrival of His Majesty’s Sloop Otter, as also a Copy of a dispatch under the same date, addressed to the Senior Officer of the Blockading Squadron. I further transmit, for the information of their Lordships, Copies of two dispatches under the dates of the 28th and 30th April, addressed to me, as also a Copy of one of the 30th April to the Senior Officer of the Blockading Squadron, by His Excellency the Governor General of India, received last night by the arrival of the Sarah Christiana, Extra Indiaman. From these it will be seen that His Excellency the Governor General of India has deemed it expedient, in consequence of the combined information he has received, to fit out an expedition for the reduction of the Isle of Bourbon, which expedition sailed from Madras on the 11th May last; His Excellency having further in Yiew the ulterior Object of taking possession of the Isle of France- Having communicated upon the several points referred to with His Excellency the Earl of Caledon, and having had access to the dispatches addressed to him by the Governor General of India, I am to acquaint you that it is his Lordship’s determination, in con- junction with the Commander of the Forces, to send from the Cape Two Regiments to cooperate in the reduction of the Isle of France, upon a requisition being made for that purpose ; which, from my intimate acquaintance with the Opinions both of Lieutenant Colonel Keating and Captain Rowley, may (independently of the operation of the Conquest of Bourbon) be confidently expected, will be immediately made. As the receipt of the before mentioned dispatches is the first communication I have received of the measures adopted in India, and as the Force must have arrived at Rodriguez before this time, it would be impracticable to reach that place in time to conduct personally the first offensive Naval Operations against Bourbon ; but I am to apprize their Lordships it is my intention to proceed Records of the Cape Colony. 337 in the Otter, or by the earliest conveyance, under the impression that the ultimate object may be effected by exertion before the expiration of the present Season. At the same time that it affords me much satisfaction to find that the system which has been suggested and acted upon by the Naval Force on this Station has been considered as highly beneficial and advantageous to the prosperity of our possessions in India, and has led to the important consequences which may be presumed will result from the acquisition of the Mauritius, I cannot but lament extremely the very reduced state of the Squadron, and the absolute dependence which must necessarily be placed on every resource from India, to aid and cooperate in the proposed under- taking. I transmit for the information of their Lordships the only com- munication addressed to me by Captain Eowley; the Frigates under his Orders will be necessarily withdrawn for the moment from the Blockade of the Isle of France. The Otter will proceed to the Rendezvous with the least possible delay, taking under her Convoy the Ranger Transport, now loading with Stores and a supply of provisions for the Squadron. The Sarah Christiana, charged with Lord Minto’s dispatches for England, has been detained by His Excellency the Governor for a few hours, by which I have been enabled to forward the present Communication for their Lordships’ information. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Office Copy.] Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Steeet, 18 July 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to Mr. John Michal, P. Lechner, John Fritche, and John G. Schutz, Assistants in the mission established by the Society called Unitas Fratrum, to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) Robert Peel. z VII. 338 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from Captain Josias Rowley to Vice Admiral Bertie. His Majesty’s Ship Boadicea, St. Paul’s Road, 22nd July 1810. Sir, — Since my dispatch of the 11th instant, I have to acquaint you that on the 10th a Detachment of Troops embarked on board the Magicicnne, landed and took possession of the Town and Batteries of St. Paul’s, as did the Sirius also of the shipping, a return of which I herewith transmit. On the 15th the Staunch Gun Brig arrived off St. Denis, in company with the Oxford Victualler (which I ordered to join the ships of the squadron at St. Paul’s) having been spoke with by the Mouche Prize Schooner, which had been left to Windward of the Isle of France for that purpose. Much credit is due to Mr. Sanders, Midshipman of the Iphigenia, for his attention to that important Service. On the 17th instant the Sirius and Iphigenia, having Watered and taken in Provisions, sailed to resume their station off the Isle of France ; the Magicicnne sailed on the 19th to Water at St. Gilles, and from thence to proceed to join them, the Staunch yesterday, and the Nereide is to follow to-morrow. I purpose following them as soon as I can make the necessary arrangements relative to the dispatch of the Transports ; those for the Cape I consider of much importance to forward as soon as possible, but the Weather has been extremely unfavorable for landing the Stores, Provisions, and Baggage at St. Denis, and even at this place the Boats have occasionally been obliged to break off, on the 20th a Mate and two Lascars belonging to one of the Trans- ports being drowned in the surf. I herewith Transmit a list of the Transports destined to proceed to the Cape, and shall forward them singly as fast as they can be got ready. I have recommended the Island of Rodriguez as the Rendezvous for the force from the Cape and India, the force at this place either to meet them there, or to Windward of the Isle of France, according to circumstances. I have sent La Mouche Prize Schooner to bring intelligence respecting the Enemy’s Frigates, which I have some reason to suppose are still in Port; our information here states that the Records of the Cape Colony. 339 crews of the Manclie and Venus have been landed to reinforce the Troops on Shore. The Oxford transport I expect will be ready to proceed on for the Cape on the 24th. I am only waiting for the Government Dis- patches to send off the Anna Transport, which ship was reported to be in readiness for sailing yesterday. I enclose the Copy of a plan which, at the request of Captain Pym, I laid before Governor Farquhar ; it has been deemed advisable to adopt no more of it than relates to taking possession of Isle de Passe, which Colonel Keating and myself had before in contempla- tion, having closely reconnoitred it when we were last off the Island. There are at present embarking on board the Nereide one hundred soldiers and twenty artillerymen intended to be left there as a Garrison. I have entrusted Captain Pym (who has taken much pains in making himself acquainted with the soundings etc. about that place) with the conduct of this enter- prize, by which I expect we shall be able to distress the enemy very much in intercepting the Coasting communication and enabling us more strictly to Blockade the other Ports. We are about to fit out, as soon as they are cleared, four Transports for the Purpose of bringing Cattle from Madagascar, the supplies on this island not being adequate for the consumption of the Troops. I have etc. (Signed) Josias Rowley. [Copy.] Letter from, the Rev. Dr. Halloran to Lieutenant General Grey. Strand Street End, Cape Town, 22nd, July 1810. I have just been informed, Sir, that you have received an anonymous Letter, and it has been intimated “ that suspicion in some degree attaches to me, as the Writer of it ! ” It is not from the slightest apprehension, be assured, Sir, of the consequences of the groundless suspicion or accusation ; but it is, in justice to my own Character, that I must unequivocally and Solemnly declare to you, General, “ That I have not at any time composed, or copied, or dictated or transmitted to you, directly or indirectly, any Letter,- z 2 340 Records of the Cape Colony. or other paper, without my legitimate Signature.” I despise the meanness of an anonymous attack. I disdain either to Speak, or to Write anything, which I should be ashamed or afraid to avow. If you and I are, unfortunately to be in hostility General ! you shall never find yourself opposed to an “ Assassin !” You have told me in your letter of the 18th Ulto, “Your threat of publicity is a Bugbear I am not afraid of: on the Contrary, I wish every act of mine, as Commander of this Army, to be made as public as possible.” I admire the Manliness of the Sentiment, and I have taken you at your Word! I have (I candidly tell you) written, for publication several poetical “Bugbears” as well as prose Strictures on various parts of your conduct, both public and private, which, if you possess sufficient magnanimity, You are welcome to peruse ! I enclose one of the number for that purpose ; You cannot be surprised, at least, you ought not to be Surprised, Sir, at the consequences of your Injustice to one, who has, at present, no other Mode of Retaliation, at least Your Equal, by Birth, by Education, and profession. You have availed yourself of your relative situation in this Colony, to insult me, and to injure my family ; and this on the Ground of a most false and Malicious accusation ! I wished to avoid this Contest ; and with that view, I authorised Commissioner Shield (on whose Honor and Integrity I place implicit Reliance) to Submit on my behalf to any Conditions you should require, which might not debase my character in the public, or in my own Estimation ! His good offices were unavailing. We are now at Issue, and I wait the Result without apprehension, because without consciousness of Wrong! But I cannot close without candidly and decidedly telling you, General, that no Man has ever yet injured me, with Impunity, and that while I retain my present faculties of Mind, and Body, No human Being (whatever may be his real or assumed power and Importance, Shall insult, or Wrong me, or Mine, without Ultimate and ample Expiation of such Injury ! To this, in the face of God and Man, I most Sacredly pledge my Honor, and my Existence ! I have &c. (Signed) L. H. Halloran, D.D. Records of the Cape Colony. 341 FOR PUBLICATION. “ Vincam ; vel Superatus, non sine Sanguine vincar ! ” Bugbear * No. 1 or Hamilton’s Ghost ! ! ! “ Monstrum horrendum ! et huci Formidabile ‘ Graio.’ ” On his downy Couch reclining, To rest by Opiates composed ; “ The midnight Moon ” obscurely shining, The Grey Friar and his nun reposed! Howl’d the Tempest round his dwelling, Gleam’d the Sky with Meteors red, When arose with hideous Yelling, Spectres of the injured dead ! From their gloomy cearments breaking, On the Noon of Night they glide ; With immortal anguish waking, While all nature Slept beside. These, the Grey Friar’s Couch Surrounding, On his feverish vision broke ; — When in conscious voice astounding, Thus a Grisly Spectre Spoke : — “Tyrant, wake! thy victims call thee! Wake! Life soon must reach its term; Then Shall memory appal thee, Goaded by th’ undying Worm. “ Need I tell my fatal story ? I am Hamilton’s Sad Ghost, Nipp’d in the career of glory By oppression’s blighting frost ! “ Far from Friends and Country Serving, Under thy abhorred Controul ; Once from Honor’s dictates Swerving, Phrenzy seiz’d my anguish’d soul ! * “ Your threat of Publicity is a Bugbear 1 am not afraid of." Indeed ! Why as to publicity for any wise, or generous, or gallant, or nobleminded Action, there is truly very little chance of the Grey Friar’s acquiring such publicity; and to the publicity he has already obtained for peevishness, for capriciousness, For abusive language, for oppression, for Tyranny, etc., etc., alas ! little, very little, indeed can be superadded ! ! ! Bugbear (No. 2) is a Ballad, entitled the “Grey Friar” of Northumberland, and the Frail Nun of St. Austin, being a parody on Monk Lewis’s celebrated Ballad of Alonzo the brave and the false Imogcne ! ! ! 342 Records of the Cape Colony. “ In the prime of Youth I perish’d, Wretch! by thee to Madness driv’n, When, my Soul had mercy cherish’d. Still that Soul had bloom’d for Heav’n ! “Could Pity in an Heart inherit, Swoln with Lust, Revenge and Pride ? The hour is Nigh, thy tortur’d Spirit Shall want that Mercy it denied ! “Dearest Friends from Inde returning, Anchor’d at this hated place ; While my Heart, with Rapture yearning. Panted for their fond Embrace. “ Stern Controul forbade to Share it. Tyrant power no pity gave ; Nature, impotent to bear it, Sought Sad Refuge in the Grave ! “ Tyrant ! think on me and tremble ; Yes ! my Shade still haunts thy rest ; Tho’ thy ghastly smiles dissemble Guilt’s dire pangs that goad thy breast. “ Ever shall that Spectre haunt thee. Flashing on thy conscious Mind, In the dance, or banquet daunt thee, In the dark recesses find. “ In conscience still small voice shall fright thee. When deep darkness wraps the pole, And to fate in Thunders cite thee, When the Storms of Battle roll! “ When the dreadful Groans of Nature Earth’s convulsive fabric shook, On the clouds, with Giant Stature, Her throne ‘ Immortal Justice ’ took! “Then, thy Cheek was blanched with terrors. When this awful voice was heard; Who for Nature’s Venial Errors, As himself had never err’d. “By relentless fury guided, My eternal dictates Spurns ; And, the sword to him confided, On the unhappy Victims turns. Records of the Cape Colony. 343 “Him, by this dire presage daunted, I Summon to my equal throne, Where the Mercy He has granted Shall be the Measure of His Own! “ But on Thee thou foe to merit ! Her balm shall Pity never Shed ; Remorse shall rack thy living Spirit, And direr pangs await thee, dead ! “ On yon frowning Rock * suspended Vultures shall thy Bosom Tear ; When thy Closing term is ended, Justice Arm shall claim thee there! “ Thence this Subject vale Surveying, Every Scene thy crimes shall tell, And all thy Tyrant-deeds pourtraying, Conscience prove ‘ th’ Eternal Hell.' ” The circumstances on which these Stanzas are founded were briefly these A young Officer, of good Family, and Education, had committed several juvenile Errors, which call’d however, for reprehension from his Superiors, and accordingly the General commanding the Army at the Cape sent him into Exile at Hout Bay. While he was there, some very near Relatives of his returning from India, touch’d at the Cape, whom he made repeated but ineffectual Applications for permission to visit ! On the departure of the Fleet, without such permission for a “Mutual Interview,” The Unhappy Youth destroy’d Himself ! ! ! “ Hamilton’s Ghost ” was sent by the Leopard for publication, to the Author’s friend Counsellor Keatinge, who is Editor of two daily papers. The other “Bugbears” and “Cap-abilities” shall follow by the next conveyance. The Author will be ready to answer to the “ Laws of his Country ” if their publication can be considered an abuse of the “ Freedom of her press ” ; Or, if the development of “ Facts ” (which he will undertake to prove) can be deemed libellous! From the jurisdiction, or proceedings of “ any other Tribunal ” he solemnly appeals ! (Signed) L. H. Halloran, D.D. * Table Mountain. 344 Bccords of the Cape Colony. EXTRACT FROM “ CAP- ABILITIES ” A Satiric Poem, with Notes, Intended for early Publication. “ Free from the Par, the Pulpit, and the Throne, Great Culprits wince from ‘Satire's lash alone’!” What mortal power shall “ Satire’s Tablets ” shut ? Not Gulliver himself, — in Lilliput! Not Ate, — clothed in R. n. v. Id's grim shape, The mighty Quinbus Flestrin of the Cape ! No! Still the Muse shall hold her stedfast course, And, from Resistance gain augmented force, Still, — on Injustice pour th’ indignant Strains, And gibbet Tyranny, — in measured chains! In spite of threats, — in persecution’s Spite, The Bard dares think, and judge, and Speak, and Write ! Nay more ! His strains beyond this “ Nook ” shall live, These, Freedom’s press to Freedom’s Sons shall give! TJnsway’d by Interest, and unawed by Fear, No power on Earth shall stop his bold career, To aid the “ Grey ” tho’ Hell’s black Demons rise, His dauntless Soul the powers of Hell defies ! What! could a “ Persius Satires” lash the times When “Nero” reigned, that paragon of Crimes? Could he, — -from Gall-dipp’d Quill, Secure at Home, Spread his Keen Libels, thro’ the Streets of Rome ! Tii’ Imperial Monster’s freaks, and Crimes record, Yet ’scape Impeachment and th’ Assassin’s Sword? And could in modern times a “ Pindar ” sing, And lash the faults, and foibles of his King? (Mere atoms on the Sun’s refulgent disc ! ) In London vend his Censures, free from risque? Pursue his theme without restraint, or Awe, Nor feel for Satire’s Rod the Rod of Law ? They could ! and, at “South Afric's utmost Cape,” Shall not, Alas ! my milder strains escape ? Shall pains, and penalties the Bard restrain, ’Neath “the Mild Delegate of George’s reign”? Shall power, “ the dared publicity ” prevent, And glean false charges from the Jackal “ Kent ” ? Or, back’d by Flatterers, and lean spies uncouth, Hope by vain threats, “to yag the mouth of Truth ”? Records of the Cape Colony. 345 Then Sure, Britannia’s Gall Bladder is burst, And, all her Spleen, at her “ toenails ” is nurs’d ! Since strains, which fame, and gain in London catch In Southern Afric meet a “ legal Scratch ” ! And Vices there which hear the probing touch, Grow sensitive, transplanted ’mong the Dutch ? But, shall a “ Grey ” uncheck’d, such antics keep, As crush the weak, “ and make ev'n Angels weep"? With lawless power, a Briton’s rights invade; Then Summon Law his mean revenge to aid? First, with feign’d Courage, dare the Bugbear “ Lnk ” ! Then, from the Ghost, Himself has challeng’d, shrink ? And Menace, if his faults be told, or sung, To tear from “ Satire's Bard," his Quill or tongue ? The Court’s whole venom on his Head disgorge, More stern than Nero, or more pure than George 1 Well ! be it so ! The Bard defies the worst ! But, — “ he has libelVd." — He was libell’d first." By false aspersions to Resistance mov’d, Aspersions vainly challeng'd to be prov'dl Is not the fair Fame of “ Beligious Priest ” As Sacred, as a General's at least? In Afric No ! there power gains ev’ry Cause, “ Laws grind the poor, and Great Men rule the Laws ! ” While “ Clausis foribus," a Junto plod, And o’er their Conquerors wield oppression’s Rod ! Proscribe ev’n Truth ; if Truth the Great offends, And “Public Justice” warp to “private Ends”! Yet shall this Court, of Servile Laws, so plastic, Be curb’d by Britain’s “ Court Ecclesiastic ” ! The Church her “ Sacred Rights ” shall guard with care, And Priest and General meet as Equals there, While pride shall learn “ that in that powerful Court, “ Her humblest Curates shall receive support ” ! Hear then, Ye Britons! ’gainst Your Rulers rail, Your Chiefs, Your Statesmen, or Your Prince assail ! ’Gainst “ Whitelocke," or much injured “ Calder ” roar, Nay “ Chatham ” blame, or censure gallant “ Moore ” ! But, ’ware a “ Grey," not even his foibles skim, “ Nor let a dog dare wag his tongue at Him ” ! Grant Him alone, (so sensitive his Skin,) The imperscriptive right, unlash'd to Sin ! Passion, Caprice, Revenge, let Him obey, But spare, Reproof ! the sacred name of “ Grey." Let him indulge each rash, each wanton freak, Insult the Independent, wrong the weak; Curse, Rave, abuse, with wild, tyrannic Sway; Yet, Satire ! Spare the “ Sacred name of Grey ” ! 346 Records of the Cape Colony. Let Knaves and Sycophants oppression hear; The Bard has felt it, and disdains to spare! Tho’ from some Vices, which his Satires paint, (Not quite a Demon, and not quite a Saint) Himself entire exemption cannot plead, But feels, alas ! “ his faults indulgence need.” Yet, just to Truth’s, and Freedom’s sacred plan, He dares assert, “ the dignity of Man ! ” Disdains to hend beneath the Oppressor’s Heel! Dares the base wrongs of “ lawless power ” reveal ; Where Sacred Justice holds her equal Scales, And, “ Truth’s Palladium,” a free-press prevails ! Where Britain’s Sons true Freedom’s influence own, Thence guard her Bights, — ev’n in “ this distant Zone”-, There, shall the Bard’s indignant Strains he read, There “ Sacred Truth ” th’ oppressor’s wrongs shall spread ; Shall Court his King’s and Country’s fair award, And deeds unjust, in glowing Strains record, Beyond “ this petty Angle of the Globe ” ! “ That wound most dreads, that most requires the probe ! ” “ Most private,” at present, in this Colony ; hut intended for the earliest possible publication, in England. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor and Commander in Chief has been pleased to appoint a Commission, consisting of the following Gentlemen, with power to put up to Auction and farm out to the highest Bidder the Wine, Brandy, and Foreign Liquor Licenses for the ensuing twelve Months, commencing from the first of September. The particulars of the Contracts may be seen both at the Colonial Secretary’s, and at the Fiscal’s Offices. Names of the Committee : J. A. Truter, Esqb, His Majesty’s Fiscal, F. Dashwood, Esqr., Beceiver General, C. Brand, Esqr., Collector of Tythes, and J. P. Baumgardt, Esqr., Keceiver General of Land Bevenue. Records of the Cape Colony. 347 The Auction will be at the Burgher Senate House, on Monday the 13th of August next, at 9 o’clock in the Forenoon. Castle of Good Hope, 27th July 1810. By Command of His Excellency the Governor. (Signed) Henry Alexander, Secretaiy. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, July 30 th 1810. My Lord, — It was my intention to have treated the enclosed infamous Libel with the contempt it deserves, and not to have troubled Your Excellency with it ; but as I find Doctor Halloran has been making it known himself, and as I have lately received most scurrilous anonymous Letters, with threats that they shall be disseminated through the Army, which I also enclose to Your Lordship, altho’ I think I may without vanity say that the good state of Discipline of the Troops, the comfort and health of the Soldiers, and the indulgence all those who conduct themselves with propriety meet with, sufficiently contradict every calumny from the pen of Doctor Halloran, or my Anonymous Correspondent, and altho’ I hope my private character is too well established to be hurt by such base and malevolent attacks, still I feel it due to my public Situation, and to those who may succeed me, not to pass unnoticed such conduct. I therefore cannot help expressing my hopes that Your Excellency will support me, as Lieut. Governor and Commander of the Forces in this Colony, by directing a public prosecution of Dr. Halloran on the part of the Crown, or by such other means as Your Lordship may deem expedient. The circumstances relative to Lieut. Hamilton’s Death, which Doctor Halloran has thought proper to make the subject of his Libel, as well as the Character of that officer, and the nature of the Duty he was sent upon, are sufficiently known to your Lordship ; and it is worthy of remark that Dr. Halloran in his defence of an officer who was brought to 348 Records of the Cape Colony. a Court Martial upon charges made by Lieut. Hamilton, endeavoured to place his character in the most infamous light, altho’ for the purpose of attacking me he now wishes to make him appear to have been an oppressed and injured Man. I must also observe that notwithstanding Dr. Halloran has written the LibellousiPoem in a feigned hand, he has been so much off his guard as to insert two Greek words in his natural writing, and that this Poem was enclosed to me in his Letter dated the 22nd July with his usual signature. I have &c. (Signed) H. Grey. P.S. The papers enclosed are originals, I therefore beg to trust that Your Lordship will have the goodness to direct that they should be returned to me whenever they can be spared. [Copy.] Letter from E. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. St. Denis, Isle of Bourbon, 30th July 1810. My Lord, — Since my last of the 24th Inst. I have received the intelligence contained in Enclosures Nos. 1 & 2 respecting the Isle of France. His Majesty’s Ship Nereide left this on the 28th Instant, with a detachment destined for the occupation of the Isle de Passe. By that opportunity I transmitted to Captain Pym, of His Majesty’s Ship Sirius, a number of Copies of the Proclamation marked 3, to be distributed at the Isle of France, together with all the Pro- clamations that had been issued in this Island since the period of its surrender. The loss of the Sister Island, with which they are connected by every tie of affection and habit, has already begun to sink deep into the hearts of the Inhabitants of the Isle of France, and I feel sanguine in the hope that the Proclamation which I have addressed directly to their feelings, while it holds out to them every possible indulgence and advantage of commerce, consistently with the British Interest, as the price of their peaceable conduct on the one hand, and confiscation of property and all the calamities of War as the penalty of their taking up Arms against the English on the Records of the Cape Colony. 349 other, will produce the most salutary and extensive effects in diminishing opposition at the Isle of France. They will at the same time have before their eyes the example of Bourbon, where the promise of all these comforts and immunities which they are invited to partake of has been fulfilled. I expect to have, in the course of a very few days, interesting and authentic details respecting General De Caen’s Force, as well as the disposition of the Inhabitants of that Island. I have etc. (Signed) R. T. Farquhar. [Office Copy.] Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 31 July 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that Permission has been given to Mr. John Andrew Scholtz the Bearer to proceed to the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, where he has been engaged in a Mercantile House. I have etc. (Signed) Robert Peel. [Copy.] Letter from the Colonial Secretary to the Fiscal. Secretary’s Office, July 31 st 1810. Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to enclose for your consideration a Letter with its Enclosures of Lieut. General the Honble. H. Grey, Commander of His Majesty’s Forces and Lieut. Governor of this Colony, and to desire that you will upon receipt of this letter immediately institute legal pro- ceedings against the Revd. Doctor Laurence Halloran for such offence or offences as his conduct may amount to under the Laws of this Colony. I have &c. (Signed) Henry Alexander, Secretary. 350 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Proclamation ly the Earl of Caledon. Concerning exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. 2nd August 1810. [Original.] Letter from Sir David Baird to R. Peel, Esqre. Yardly Bory, \2tli August 1810- Sir, — In reply to the Letter you have done me the Honor of addressing to me by desire of Lord Liverpool, I beg leave to remark, for the information of his Lordship, that the claim I submitted to His Lordship’s consideration is founded upon the decision of the High Court of Admiralty, which has confirmed to His Majesty’s Forces employed at the late Reduction of the Cape of Good Hope the whole of the Funds supposed by the Governor of that Colony to have been erroneously claimed and received by the Prize Agents (excepting such Items as are specified in the Statement I had the Honor of transmitting with my former Letters), as will appear by a reference to the accompanying Extract from the Registry of the Court of Admiralty, relating to the Condemnation of the Property Captured at the Cape. I have etc. (Signed) D. Baird, Lieut. General. [Enclosure in the above.] Extract from the Registry of His Majesty's High Court of Admiralty of England. Friday the 24th day of March in the Year of our Lord 1809 before the Right Honorable Sir William Scott Knight and Doctor of Laws, Lieutenant of the High Court of Admiralty of England, and in the same Court Official Principal and Commissary General and Special and President and Judge thereof, and also to hear and determine all and all manner of Causes & Complaints as to Ships Records of the Cape Colony. 351 and Goods seized and taken as Prize specially constituted & appointed in the Dining Room adjoining to the Common Hall of Doctors Commons London (the Court being adjourned from the said Hall) present James Rivington Wheeler Notary Publick, one of the Deputy Registrars. Cape of Good Hope & its Dependencies. Our Sovereign Lord the King against all and singular the Treasure Stores and other Property specified in the Schedule annexed to an Affidavit of Thomas Stephen Sorell Esqre. marked C being Publick Property belonging to the Batavian Republick seized and taken at the Cape of Good Hope at the time of the surrender of the same to His Majesty’s Sea and Land Forces under the Command of Sir Home Popham, and Major General Sir David Baird. Bishop. In pain of Parties cited thrice called and not appearing Bishop gave the usual Allegation admitted, and in like pain the Judge assigned the Cause for Sentence on the first and second Assigna- tions immediately, and having heard the Proofs read, on Motion of Counsel, pronounced all and singular the Treasure Stores and other Property specified in the Schedule annexed to the Affidavit of Thomas Stephen Sorell Esquire marked C, being Publick Property belonging to the Batavian Republic at the Capture of the Cape of Good Hope to have belonged at the time of the Capture and Seizure thereof to Enemies of the Crown of Great Britain, and as such or otherwise subject and liable to confiscation, and by Interlocutory Decree condemned the same as good and lawful Prize to Our Sovereign Lord the King, taken by the conjoynt Operation of His Majesty’s Sea and Land Forces under the Com- mand of Sir Home Popham, and Major General Sir David Baird. (Signed) Arden, Registrar. 352 Records of the Cape Colony. [Office Copy.] Letter from Bobert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 19 Aug. 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been granted to the Bearers ML H. Mader and Mr. N. Coomans to proceed to the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. I have etc. (Signed) Bobert Peel. • [Copy-] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 25 August 3810. Sir, — In addition to the letters I had the honor of transmitting you yesterday, I now send some enclosures which I had not at that time read. After an attentive consideration of the whole, and from the general complexion rather that any Specifick requisition, it appears to me advantageous to His Majesty’s Service to strengthen the Expedition against the Isle of France as much as possible. I therefore submit to your consideration how far it may be in our power to augment the numbers originally determined upon. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. P.S. You will have perceived the anxiety which is expressed for a Company of Artillery and some dismounted Dragoons. Records of the Cape Colony. 353 [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Castle, August 25th 1810. My Loud, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s Letter of this date, with several enclosures from Mr. Farquhar and. Colonel Keating, and stating that it appears to you advantageous to strengthen the Expedition against the Isle of France as much as possible ; and I beg to assure Your Lordship that I am at all times ready to forward the public service by every means in my power, and with that view I before con- sented to detach two Regiments from this Army to cooperate on the Service in question with the Troops from India. These corps (the 72nd and 87th) are accordingly ready to embark whenever sufficient tonnage may arrive for their conveyance, and considering that there will be only two Regiments of the Line left here, I think it will be evident that I could not, with common prudence, part with a larger force, and it appears to me to be particularly unnecessary to do so in the present instance, as Lord Minto will be aware, long before the Second Armament can leave India, of the nature of the reinforcement to be expected from hence, and will of course provide for that part of Colonel Keating’s demand relating to Artillery and dismounted Cavalry. I must also state that the two Regiments named for this Service have been in- structed in the Gun Exercise, and that there are only three Companies of Artillery here, which is a small proportion for the extensive Batteries and Stores at this place ; that it may not, how- ever, seem inconsistent in me to object now to detach Artillery and Cavalry, after having consented to do so on a former occasion, I must observe that since that time the 24th Regiment, 1100 strong, and also drill’d to the Artillery Exercise, has been removed from this Colony to India, where they must have arrived in sufficient time to join the Expedition, should it have been thought expedient. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey. YJI, 9 A 354 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Choker, Esqre. Nisus, Simon’s Bay, 26M August 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the Receipt of your secret Letter, addressed to me, bearing date the 18th June last, signifying their Lordships’ directions that I should employ the Nisus, with as many of the rest under my Orders, as can possibly be spared for that Service, in the Constant and vigilant blockade of the Isle of France ; and acquainting me that for the more effectually ac- complishing this Object I am at liberty to detain any Frigates that may be returning from India to England, and that are fit for temporary cruizing, under the further restrictions therein conveyed. Further signifying their Lordships’ directions to select two of the Transports now at the Cape which may be best adapted for the conveyance of Bullocks, employing them in collecting Cattle on the coast of Madagascar, for the use of the detachment at Rodriguez and the refreshment of the Crews of the blockading squadron. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to John Wilson Croker, Esqre. Nisus, Simon’s Bay, 26<7i August 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to transmit, for the information of their Lordships, a Copy of a Letter with its enclosures addressed to me by Captain Rowley, detailing the proceedings of the Squadron under his Orders subsequent to the Capitulation of the Isle of Bourbon, of the Shipping taken possession of iu the Bay of St. Paul’s, of the Transports destined to proceed to the Cape, and of the plan suggested by Captain Pym for facilitating the ulterior Views against the Enemy’s possessions in this quarter. I have further the honor to transmit a Copy of a Letter from Mr. Farquhar, whom His Excellency the Governor General of India has nominated 355 Records of the Cape Colony. to the Government of the Isle of Bourbon and of the Isle of France in the Event of its surrender, by which it will be seen that measures have been concerted for carrying into effect an Attack on the Isle of France during the present Season, and that with this view the proposed force from hence, intended to cooperate with that reinforcement expected from India, is now demanded. Every preparation is therefore making that on the arrival of the Transports which may be daily expected, they may be provisioned, and the Troops, (consisting of His Majesty’s 72nd and 87th Regiments) embarked with the least possible delay ; and having instructed Captain Rowley to send from the squadron a force adequate to their protection to the point of Rendezvous, I have hoisted my Flag on board the Nisus, in which ship it is my intention to proceed in the course of the present week, to conduct the Naval Operations against the Isle of France, which I trust will meet their Lordships’ approbation. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle op Good Hope, August 27th 1810. My Lord, — The conduct of the Revd. Dr. Halloran who arrived as Chaplain to His Majesty’s Forces has created me great uneasi- ness and embarrassment. I had early differences with him on account of an intermeddling temper which I referred to Lieutenant General Grey as Commander of the Forces not wishing to act in a summary way or to submit a person attached to His Majesty’s Military service, except in case of necessity, to the Civil Tribunals. General Grey interfered in such a manner as induced Dr. Halloran to see the impropriety of his conduct, and the business ended to my satisfaction. Dr. Halloran’s mode of performing divine service and his exertions as a private schoolmaster induced me to acquiesce in the recommendation of the School Committee and to appoint the Doctor Rector of the Latin School with the approbation of Lieutenant General Grey who expressly reserved a right on 2 a 2 356 Records of the Cape Colony. behalf of His Majesty to his services whenever or wherever necessary. Differences occurred between Lieutenant General Grey and Dr. Halloran, who resigned his Commission as Chaplain to the Forces and which resignation was accepted by the Commander of the Forces, but I beg to refer 'Your Lordship to General Grey’s report to the Commander in Chief upon this subject, of which I have no official knowledge. Subsequent to such acceptance I have received from General Grey a letter and several enclosures therein contained, of which I forward copies to Your Lordship. I directed the letter (2) to be written to His Majesty’s Fiscal, who has commenced a prosecution in the Court of Justice against Dr. Halloran for a defamatory libel. The Dr. has appealed from the jurisdiction of the Court as a British subject generally and more particularly as a Chaplain in His Majesty’s service. As he has not assigned his reasons, I cannot anticipate a question before me as a Judge in Appeal. The discipline of the Army as existing under Lieutenant General Grey and the good disposition of the Troops is a security for the peace and tranquillity of the Colony and under the circumstances of the case I have not felt a necessity for exercising a summary power of sending Dr. Halloran out of the Colony. I cannot however shut my eyes to the mischievous tendency of such a publication, the character of the author and what is due to Lieutenant General Grey, and should the prosecution ultimately fail for want of jurisdiction in the Court or legal evidence, I must express my opinion that Dr. Halloran is not a fit resident in this Colony. Lest any applications should be made to Your Lordship to appoint him Civil Chaplain I must state the notoriety of his conduct renders him unfit to be continued in public situation, and the nature of his talents and the obvious tendency of his disposition might make him extremely dangerous supposing occasional circum- stances rendered the Garrison discontented. As I shall certainly be under the necessity of writing to Yffiur Lordship more fully on the subject, I only now mention in justice to Lieut. General Grey that Lieut. Hamilton was an impetuous ill conducted young man frequently involved in scrapes, that Hout Bay to which he was ordered is a regular and healthy Military Station on the Sea Coast about 14 miles from Cape Town, where a Captain’s party is posted and where he consequently might have Records of the Cape Colony. 357 enjoyed society, and from such information as at the time I received and believe, the suicide committed took place in a lit of intoxication and so far from any harshness being exercised by Lieut. General Grey towards Lieut. Hamilton I believe he treated him with particular leniency in not bringing him to a Court Martial for repeated acts of misconduct. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle op Good Hope, 27 th August 1810. My Lord, — Dispatches were received by me from Lieutenant Colonel Keating and Mr. Farquhar on the 26th instant acquainting me with the Surrender of the Island of Bourbon to His Majesty’s Arms on the 8th of July. As all details will naturally be sub- mitted to Your Lordship by those gentlemen, I feel it unnecessary to occupy your Lordship’s time by entering farther into particulars on this head. In my last Dispatch (No. 7) of the 12th of July, I apprized Your Lordship of my intention in concurrence with the Commander of the Forces to detach 2,000 men in aid of the attack against the Isle of France. The Corps selected by the Commander of the Forces for this Service were the 72nd and 87th Regiments. 72nd Regiment. Officers 25, Non Commissioned Officers and Drummers, 63, Rank and File 778. Total 866. 87th Regiment. Officers 31, Non Commissioned Officers and Drummers 67, Rank and File 861. Total 959. Grand Total 1825. The general impression upon my mind from the communications I received induced me to address myself to Lieutenant General Grey as will appear by the enclosure which contains my letter with the reply to it. Your Lordship will perceive I represented the expediency I conceived of augmenting the Force to the utmost, but for the reasons stated by the Lieutenant General he concludes an augmentation unnecessary, and that he could not with prudence part with a larger Force. After so strong an opinion from the 358 Becords of the Cape Colony. Commander of the Forces and without any specific requisition from the Isle of Bourbon I declined pressing my sentiments, but if an application is made to me from the proper authorities I shall deem it my duty to make a positive requisition for the augmentation of the Force necessary, and as Lieutenant General Grey’s mind has fluctuated upon the extent of the Force and the circumstances under which it might be forwarded I hope no difficulty will occur, but the state to which we shall be reduced should a difference of opinion take place is such and likely to be attended with conse- quences so serious that I cannot too strongly call Your Lordship’s attention to the necessity of a most explicit decision on our respective powers. The question of greater or lesser Force necessary for the defence of this Colony, the political circumstances which may lead to the removal of a part or the whole of that Force for more important objects and particularly what relates to the rendering the Forces of this Colony subservient to the protection and promotion of our great interests connected with India from the whole tenor of my Commission, Instructions, and Correspondence with His Majesty’s Ministers and the Governor General of India I conceive myself called upon to decide. Should a failure take place in this Expedi- tion from the want of a Force I have the means of supplying I should hold myself highly culpable in omitting to make every exertion in my power or in sacrificing my opinion and sense of duty to any consideration whatever. I am truly anxious to avoid the agitation of such a question until I am instructed by Your Lordship’s reply to my letter of the 30th June. Becent occur- rences increase my anxiety upon this head and lead me still farther to consider that the letter of the Secretary at War to the Earl of Halifax written in the year 1765 is only applicable to the power of Governors under circumstances totally different from those by which His Majesty has vested me with supreme Military authority. I cannot conceal from Your Lordship my opinion that instructions framed for the Civil Governors of thirteen different provinces in America of various constitutions and liable to other influences than those of the Crown should not continue the rule for construing my Commission and Instructions, besides that the letter to Lord Halifax does not bear upon such questions as have arisen or seem likely to arise between the Commander of the Forces and myself. Notwithstanding the high respect I entertain for the abilities and Records of the Cape Colony. 359 knowledge of Lord Melville who first applied that letter to the regulation of Sir George Yonge’s conduct in his differences with General Dundas, I cannot help relying upon the practice and experience of Lord Macartney who always claimed a supreme military authority although the detail was in the Commander of the Forces. Your Lordship’s historical knowledge of the circum- stances that preceded and attended the repeal of the Stamp Act and of the then existing Military system in America, and your access to all official intelligence will certainly enable you to judge correctly upon the subject after I have thus distinctly brought my difficulties to your consideration. Under the present circumstances I have permitted some Colonial vessels to clear out for Eodriguez and the Isle of Bourbon laden with European and Cape produce, granting them at the same time permission to bring back such Articles as they may be permitted to export by the existing Government and which are not indented for by the East India Company’s Agent. In this measure the Company’s Agent has concurred. A Ship called the Union has lately arrived here from the River Derwent laden with Timber the produce of New Holland, but as she came without any special Licence and as I conceive her voyage to the Cape an infringement upon the Charter of the East India Company I refused admitting her to entry. By the next oppor- tunity I shall explain to Your Lordship why I did not direct a seizure to be made of her as also what farther proceedings I intend to adopt. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. P.S. — The Vessel which arrived at the Cape with the Dispatches is the Anna of 950 tons, calculated for the conveyance of 480 men ; the other Transports expected are the Mysore of 831 tons, calculated for the conveyance of 420 troops, and the Minerva of 1064, calcu- lated for 550 Troops. The two latter are daily expected, and on their arrival no time shall be lost in expediting their return. Colonel St. Susanne and the Prisoners of War taken at Bourbon are on board of the Minerva. Vice Admiral Bertie has hoisted his flag on board the Nisus (Frigate) and sails in a few days for the purpose of conducting any further naval operations in person. 360 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Letter from E. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to Bear Admiral Drury. St. Paul’s, 21tli August 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to enclose to your Excellency a Copy of a letter from Captn. Pym lately comg. H. M. Ship Sirius, dated 24th August 1810, addressed to Commodore Rowley at Bourbon, and in that Officer’s absence to be opened by me. That document will afford your Excellency the Details of the unfortunate news we have this morning received. On the 14th Inst, the Isle de la Passe, commanding the passage into Port S.E., was taken by assault by the boats of H. M. Ships Sirius and Iphigehia and Garrisoned by 130 Soldiers from hence. On the 20th the Enemy’s Ships Bellona, Minerva, and Victor, returning from a Cruize with the Ceylon Captured Indiaman, ran thro’ the passage into Port S.E., having received while passing the narrows several shots from the Batteries of the Isle de la Passe and broadsides from the Nereide Frigate which was anchored close to that Battery. Captn. Pym immediately prepared to attack the above force in Port S.E. with the blockading Squadron, consisting of the Sirius, Ipliigenia, Magicienne, and Nereide. At this time the Enemy had La Venus, La Manclie, L'Astrea, and L' Entreprenante ready for sea at Port Louis, which circum- stance Captn. Pym disregarded, being convinced that the British Squadron under his command would destroy the whole combin’d force of the Enemy if no extraordinary and unsurmountable mis- fortune should occur. He accordingly transmitted a Dispatch to Commodore Rowley at Bourbon, informing him of the position of the Enemy and his intention to attack the Frigates in Port S.E. The Staunch Gun Brig brought the news at the same time (the 23rd Inst.) to Commodore Rowley that the Enemy’s Frigates were preparing to come out of Port Louis. The Commodore immediately Sailed with a Transport and 300 Troops to support the other Frigates and the British Force at the Isle de la Passe. On the 24th the melancholy affair detailed in Captn. Pym’s letter took place, which deprived His Majesty of 3 fine Frigates, 2 having been burnt by their Commanders while on the Rocks, and the other, the Nereide, taken possession of by the Enemy, after She Records of the Cape Colony. 301 had drifted a total Wreck on Shore, every person, Captain, Officers, and Men who had come into the engagement having been either killed or wounded, a circumstance perhaps unexampled in the Annals of History. The Zeal, Exertion, and Gallantry which appear to have been displayed by Captn. Pym throughout this affair did justice to his well established Character, and could only be equalled by the insurmountable reverses of fortune which checked and overcast the Brilliant career of Victory which he saw before him, and which he calculated upon with all that ardent presentiment which the distinguished atchievements of His Majesty’s Navy so fully justify. The Conduct of Captns Lambert and Curtis and of every Officer and Man seems to have been marked by the same zeal, and their exertions overcome only by misfortunes which could not be controlled. It is with the deepest regret I have to state that Captn. Willoughby Commanding the Nereide lost his left eye (in addition to the numberless wounds he has received in former engagements) while defending His Majesty’s Ship till the shot of the Enemy could do execution amongst the wounded only in the Cockpit, every other Soul having been cleared from the Decks by 60 pieces of Cannon from the Batteries on the Shore, the Enemy’s Frigates, and the Ceylon Indiaman. In this Situation he refused to quit his Ship when a boat was sent for him by Captn. Pym ; no praise can do justice to such undaunted courage and perseverance, which if he survives his wounds must entitle him to the gratitude and admiration of his Country. The Master of the Nereide most gallantly fought the Ship, after Captain Willoughby was so severely wounded, until he fell amongst the heaps of Slain upon the Deck ; but to the last moment, notwithstanding the anguish of his wounds, Captn. Willoughby kept encouraging the Crew, deter- mined never to strike His Majesty’s Colours while a man could be found alive to fire a Shot. But the above narrative does not embrace the whole extent of the Evil to be apprehended from the present state of things. It is true that the Enemy’s Vessels in Port S.E., namely the Bellona, Minerva, and Victor, are on Shore and considered by Captn. Pym incapable of being equipped for Sea, but the Venus, La Manche, Astrea, and L’ Entreprenante are now set at liberty, for altho’ La 362 Records of the Cape Colony. Manche is reported to be in a very bad state, the Commander of the Staunch positively declares that he saw her coming out of Port Louis with the other Vessels. The only remaining Naval Force on this Station is divided, the Commodore being on his passage to the Isle of France and the Iphigenia at Isle de Passe, both exposed to be separately overpowered by the Enemy, in which possible tho’ not probable event, he will be left Master of these Seas. The possibility of his intercepting the reinforcement expected from the Cape without Convoy and from India, as well as the Ships dispatched to Madagascar for Bullocks, while there is not a single Man of War left at the Cape, presents itself as a link in the chain of events which the late blow may lead to, if Naval succours do not speedily arrive from India. I by no means augur such results. I am unwilling to dwell upon the gloomy side of the picture ; I am certain that everything that can be atchieved by gallantry and judgement will be accom- plished by Commodore Rowley in His Majesty’s Ship Boadicca, who will be ably seconded by Captn. Lambert of the Iphigenia, and if these two Vessels can form a Junction, I am persuaded that the Enemy, notwithstanding his superiority, even then will shrink from the Combat and retire into Port Louis. It may be still more satisfactory after having stated, as I have considered it my duty to do, the possibility of future reverses, to observe that it is more than probable that the Junction of the Commodore and the Iphigenia has been effected and that in addition to this Force, which was in itself sufficient to turn the Scale in our favour at Sea, before 48 hours are expired we shall have the Otter Sloop of War (which will be ready for Sea to-morrow) and one or two other Vessels converted into Men of War, manned by the Crews of the Sirius and Magicienne. But it is among the first dictates of pru- dence to advertize those who have the means of averting or retrieving such disasters as are above alluded to, that they are not only possible, but that if we were placed in the Enemy’s situation, they would be almost beyond doubt. I therefore feel it to be one of my first duties to submit the foregoing circumstance to your Excellency’s most serious consideration, well convinced from your Excellency’s devoted attachment to the cause of our Country that at whatever point her Forces may be required to oppose the Enemy, you will eagerly embrace the opportunity of flying to the Theatre of War and affording your powerful support to His Records of the Cape Colony. 363 Majesty’s Arms in this Quarter. I shall send a letter detailing the present circumstances on board the Egremont Schooner, which I propose dispatching to your Excellency, to be perused by any of His Majesty’s Naval Commanders who may be met with on the passage, accompanied by an earnest solicitation that they will proceed to these Islands with all possible dispatch. Every measure of precaution and energy will be adopted on the spot to prevent the great blow against the Isle of France being parried by the consequences of the late events in Port S.E. The general importance of the object, the losses that that Island never ceases to entail upon the English, the tranquillity and prosperity of Bourbon, and above all the national honour imperiously require at this moment, more than ever, that the Isle of France should be subjugated to the British Authority. We look with the greatest anxiety, and at the same time with the utmost confidence, to the receipt of Intelligence from Commodore Pmwley, but at this advanced season of the year every hour’s delay is of importance, and I therefore shall trust to circumstances enabling me to trans- mit to your Excellency subsequent dispatches the moment I hear from the Commodore. In the meantime the most prompt and energetic means are requisite to prevent the Enemy’s reaping the harvest of his late successes and continuing to triumph in the possession of an Island which has done and continues to do more mischief to England than the whole of Old France. I have etc. (Signed) Pt. T. Farquhar. [Copy.] Letter from B. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Isle of Bourbon, 30 th August 1810. My Lord, — I have the honor to enclose to Your Excellency dispatches conveying the Melancholy intelligence of the loss of three of His Majesty’s Frigates, and the apprehension we entertain that the whole Squadron may have been destroyed. The Enemy have now Six Sail of Frigates, not well manned certainly, but from the unfortunate capture of the Ranger Transport 364 Records of the Cape Colony. laden with Stores etc. they may be expected in an early state of equipment. I have not time to add more, leaving it to your Excellency to take such steps as the nature of the case may seem to require, and to transmit the intelligence as soon as possible to England. I have dispatched two Vessels to India in order to represent to His Excellency Admiral Drury the importance of bringing His Squadron to these Latitudes. We have intercepted dispatches from France as late as the 1st of June, by which it appears that there was no intention of sending reinforcements to the Isle of France this Year. A Ship will be sent to cruize between this and the Cape, to give intelligence, and another to India im- mediately. I have etc. (Signed) K. T. Farquhar. [Copy.] Letter from E. T. Farquhar, Esqre., to the Earl of Liverpool. Isle of Bourbon, 30 August 1810. My Lord, — I have the honor to transmit to Your Lordship a copy of a letter which I have addressed to His Excellency Admiral Drury, Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Naval Forces in India, enclosing one from Capt. Eym, lately commanding His Majesty’s Ship Sirius off the Isle of France. I have also the honor to enclose to Your Lordship a copy of two letters dated 25th and 27th Inst, from Capt. Lambert, together with a copy of my letter to His Excellency Lord Caledon of this day’s date, all which documents are necessary to put Your Lord- ship in possession of full information respecting the disasters which have befallen His Majesty’s Squadron in these latitudes, and the consequently decided superiority of the Enemy's Navy, at this important Station. We have had no account of the Boadicea since her departure on the 23rd Inst. From my knowledge of the judgement and well established character of Commodore Eowley, I feel sanguine in my hopes of his being able to defeat the Enemy’s plans, but I Records of the Cape Colony. 365 deem it nevertheless my indispensable duty to transmit to Your Lordship the intelligence of our actual situation without an instant’s delay. Every exertion has been adopted by means of several small Vessels dispatched to India to communicate the present informa- tion to Admiral Drury, and I hope His Excellency will forthwith conduct the Indian Squadron to these Islands, and retrieve the heavy losses sustained by His Majesty’s Navy. It is at the same time with much satisfaction that I can inform Your Lordship that whatever our reverses may have been at sea, we to a Man feel perfectly confident in our own strength on shore, and unless misfortunes which it is impossible to foresee, and which it would not be manly to anticipate, should occur, we are more than a match for any Force which the Enemy can throw on shore from the Windward Island. To this assurance I am happy in being able to add that the Inhabitants are decidedly friendly to the British Government. We have had no communication from India since our arrival at Bourbon, but we expect the armaments from the Cape and India for the reduction of the Isle of France during the first week of October. The short period that wre have been already in the occupation of this Island teaches us (without adverting to the Millions previously lost by the Hon’ble Company and Private Merchants) the extreme importance of the conquest of the Isle of France, which is the true key of India, being as admirably situated for affording effectual protection to our Commerce as it is for annoying the Enemy. But even, in the possible event of a failure in the operations meditated against the Isle of France, it is perfectly ascertained that with the possession of the Island of Bourbon, and with the Naval Superiority once more in these seas, not an Enemy’s Ship can enter Port Louis nor lie in safety in Port South East. I take the liberty of soliciting Your Lordship to desire that the intelligence contained in this dispatch may be transmitted to the President of the Board of Controul and to the Secret Committee of the Hon’ble Court of Directors. I hope my next dispatches may convey to Your Lordship more satisfactory intelligence. I have etc. (Signed) B. T. Fakquhar. 366 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Government Advertisement. Notice is hereby given that His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to direct that attendance shall be given at all the Offices of the Civil Department of this Government from Nine o’clock in the forenoon until Two in the afternoon, excepting on the following days, which are Holidays : — 1 January, New Year’s Day, 18 Do. Her Majesty’s Birthday, Good Friday, Easter Monday, and Ascension Day, 4tli June, King’s Birthday, Whit Monday, 12 August, Prince of Wales’ Birthday, 22 September, The King’s Coronation, 25 and 26 December, Christmas. Castle of Good Hope, September 1st, 1810. By His Excellency’s Command. (Signed) H. Alexander, Secretary. [Original.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Torrens to Bobert Peel, Esqre. Horse Guards, bth September 1810. Sir, — In transmitting to you to be laid before Lord Liverpool the enclosed Extract from a Dispatch received from Lieut. General Grey, commanding at the Cape of Good Hope, I am desired to acquaint you, for His Lordship’s information, that it appears to the Commander in Chief, in reference to the decision of Lord Castlereagh, and under the explanation given by General Grey, of the Duties attached to the situation of Town Major at the Cape, Records of the Cape Colony. 367 that the nomination to that Appointment rests exclusively with the Commander of the Forces for the time being. I have &c. (Signed) H. Torrens. [Enclosure in the above.] Extract of a Letter from Lieut. Genl. Grey, Commanding at the Cape of Good Hope, dated 2btli June 1810. Conveys the Commander in Chief’s disapprobation of Major Campbell’s holding the situation of Town Major, being an effective Field Officer of a Kegiment. I have in consequence removed Major Campbell from the situa- tion, and named Capt. Kenwick of the 83rd Eegt. to succeed him, and I must take this opportunity of stating that the Governor, the Earl of Caledon, has claimed a right to name an officer to this appointment, which I have resisted upon the authority of the Secretary of State’s letter to Colonel Gordon, written in conse- quence of a former difference of opinion between the Governor and myself relative to our respective powers, wherein Lord Castlereagh says : “ Wherever the duties of a Town Major are purely military, the appointment will be in the Commander of the Forces ; where they are mixed as at Madras, they are appointed by the Governor.” I therefore hope for the Commander in Chief’s support of my right to nominate to the situation in question, as the officer holding it never has since I have been here been considered in any shape as a civilian, his duties having been entirely confined to military matters, and what I consider quite conclusive upon the subject is that he is and always has been paid by the Commissary General under the authority of the General Officer Commanding the troops, and never has received by way of daily pay or allow- ances of any kind whatever a farthing from the Colonial Treasury. 368 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Torrens to Robert Peel, Esqre. Horse Guards, 6th September 1810. Sir, — By the Commander in Chiefs direction I herewith forward to you for Lord Liverpool’s information the Extract of a Dispatch from Lt. General Grey commanding at the Cape of Good Hope relative to the reduction which has been made in the Establish- ment of the Cape Regiment. I have &c. (Signed) H. Torrens. [Enclosure in the above.] “ Conveys His Majesty’s Commands for the reduction of the Cape Regiment to the Establishment of 500 men, which has been obeyed, although I cannot help regretting the measure, as this Corps was in a very good state of discipline, and their being of sufficient strength to be employed on most of the Detachments which it is necessary to station on the borders of the Colony to keep in check the irregularities and plunderings of Wanderers from the different savage tribes, by whom the Colony is surrounded, enabled me to keep the European Force together, and consequently efficient for any service that might be required from it.” [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 7th September 1810. My Lord, —In a late dispatch (No. 8) of the 27th of August, I acquainted Your Lordship with the Capture of the Isle of Bourbon and with the measures in contemplation for conducting farther operations against the Mauritius during the present Season. I have now the honor of transmitting the Copy of a Dispatch which I received from Mr. Farquhar on the 4th Instant, and which may convey to Your Lordship intelligence from Bourbon of a more recent date than what it has been in Mr. Farquhar’s power to communicate by a direct opportunity. Records of the Cape Colony. 369 Your Lordship will perceive with pleasure the prospect which is held out of a conquest upon easier terms than those at first expected. As the Vessels intended for the conveyance of the Troops are arrived, I am led to suppose the auxiliary Force from hence will be dispatched within three Weeks. The Minerva brought the principal part of the Prisoners taken at Bourbon, amounting to One Hundred and Seventy four, 18 Officers inclusive, amongst whom is Colonel St. Susanne, the late Commandant. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. Minerva Troubridge Anna Oxford [Original. J Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 7th September 1810. My Lord, — Together with the Accounts of the Beceiver General for the Months of May, June, and July last, I have the honor to transmit the several Proclamations and Government Advertise- ments issued between the 27th April and 1st Instant. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Government House, September 12, 1810. My Lord, — In my dispatch No. 8 of the 27th August, I enclosed for Your Lordship’s information a correspondence under date the 25th of August in which it appears that I suggested to the Commander of the Forces the expediency of increasing the Force intended to act against the Isle of France and his reason for considering augmentation unnecessary. I likewise acquainted Your Lordship that “after so strong an opinion from the Com- mander of the Forces and without any specific requisition from VII. 2 B 370 Records of the Cape Colony. the Isle of Bourbon I declined pressing my sentiments but if an application be made to me from the proper authorities I shall deem it my duty to make a positive requisition for the augmentation of the Force necessary.” The Commander of the Forces waited upon me on my public day as usual on the 7th of September and after some previous conversation mentioned in a cursory manner that if a frigate arrived he should be inclined to do the thing in a handsome manner and send a Company of Artillery to aid the expedition. As no communication had taken place between us upon the subject of detaching an augmentation since his letter to me under date the 25th of August I naturally felt much surprise but I refrained from any observation whatever, as no frigate had arrived and it was my determination as before expressed to Your Lordship to avoid the agitation of such questions. Upon serious reflection I felt the necessity of ascertaining in distinct terms on what authority that force was to be detached more particularly as I found the measure which was represented to me as eventual and contingent was publicly announced and acted upon in a few hours after our conversation. I therefore requested an interview with the Commander of the Forces, when a conversation took place of which I enclose Your Lordship the annexed statement. I have thus detailed every thing that has passed between Lieut. Genl. Grey and myself that can throw light upon our conversation and our respective situations. I trust Your Lordship will do me the justice to believe I have every inclination to avoid all un- necessary discussion or to impede His Majesty’s Service whose goodness in placing me in my present situation I can never be sufficiently sensible of. But feeling His Majesty has honored me so far as to render me the public and ostensible personage to whom the Governor General of India, Your Lordship and your predecessors in office, directed their correspondence concerning the external relations of this Colony and being the only person competent from my Commission and powers to give effect to the exertions of the Army by auxiliary preparations, I did exercise that authority so as to merit His Majesty’s approbation. I did prepare all that was requisite to have forwarded a Force to Madras, if the necessity which rendered that force necessary had continued to exist. I did by possessing myself of the Indian disj atches acquire an information at my own risk which induced Records of the Cape Colony. 371 me to stop that Expedition upon the receipt of Lord Minto’s letter, I (being previously informed by Lord Castlereagh of the Secret Dispatch to the Governor General of India on the subject) felt the necessity of co-operation with Lord Minto’s proposal from my conviction that the success of the expedition actually undertaken by him in a great measure depended on the aid to be given from this Colony. I did write to the persons entrusted to furnish the vessels and as far as in my power took all the precautionary means of procuring the transport of the Troops. I felt I had exceeded ordinary powers and must have trusted to the circumstances under which I acted for my justification, but I cannot however conceive I am sent here by the King as an Instrument to receive and as a mere vehicle to communicate intelligence to the Commander of the Forces or that I am a Commissary to provide what is necessary for Expeditions to be undertaken or carried into effect without my knowledge or contrary to my consent or approbation. I should hold myself unworthy of the trust His Majesty has reposed in me if I did not support the authority of that trust and I know I expose myself to consequences affecting my honour and my situation in life if any injury accrues to the public by my not exercising the legal power vested in me. Be the consequences what they may I will attempt to discharge my duty. I feel my Lord less for anything personal that may occur to myself than for the danger of unhinging the respect and obedience due to a Com- mander of His Majesty’s Forces or being reduced to call upon Officers to decide at their own peril against their immediate Superior or for claiming that obedience from all His Majesty’s Subjects Military as well as Civil I feel myself entitled to receive, which must be the case if Lieut. General Grey orders Troops out of this Colony under circumstances disapproved by me. I hope no such extreme case will occur but I cannot too strongly state my situation for Your Lordship’s representation and for His Majesty’s decision. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. 2 b 2 372 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Government House, September \Wi 1810. My Lord, — For reasons detailed in the letter which accompanies this to guard against the consequences of uncertainty in a matter of the utmost importance to ourselves individually as well as to His Majesty’s service generally, I deem it my duty to apprize Your Lordship for the information of His Majesty that the Com- mander of the Forces has claimed and exercised a power of detaching troops from this Colony without consulting me and avows a right of at any time so doing by his sole authority ; the trust reposed in me by His Majesty compels me to resist a pre- cedent for establishing such claims. His Majesty has assigned to this Colony for its protection a Force not removeable, as I conceive but by an express communi- cation of His Royal Highness’s pleasure except under circumstances pointed out by my Commission or upon some grave and serious emergency undertaken with my consent and approbation. I must beg of Your Lordship to lay this subject before His Majesty and communicate to me His decision upon it. I have sent Mr. Alexander, the first Civil Servant in the Colony, with this despatch, who is apprized of all the facts, and if there be any obscurity in my statement will be able to give what further information Your Lordship may require. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning the exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. Cape of Good Hope, \lth September 1810. Records of the Cape Colony. 373 [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to Lieutenant General Grey. Downing Street, 20 th Sept. 1810. Sir, — I am to acquaint you in the strictest confidence that His Majesty’s Government has thought it advisable to direct the preparation of a considerable Force both Naval and Military for the purpose of wresting from the Enemy the important Island of Mauritius. As the far greater part of the Troops which are to be employed upon this Enterprize must be furnished by the Armies in the Presidency of Madras and in Ceylon, full Instructions have been already sent to Lord Minto, and also to Lieut. General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, to whom His Majesty has been pleased to entrust the Command of the Land Forces which are to be employed upon this Service. In the present state of affairs however it is considered that the Garrison of the Cape can afford a Detachment to assist in the Attack upon Mauritius, without inconvenience or risque to its own Safety, and I am to desire that when the proper Season shall arrive for sending off the Troops to the Island of Eodriguez, which has been chosen as the place of Rendezvous for the whole Force to be employed upon the Expedition, you will be pleased to detach the strongest and most efficient of the Battalions under your Command, as well as one complete Troop of the 21st Light Dragoons, and 200 Artillerymen. You will place these Troops under the command of a Brigadier General or Colonel upon the Staff, who is to conduct them to the Island of Eodriguez and there receive the Orders of Sir Samuel Auchmuty. It is understood that the fittest season for undertaking this Expedition will be as soon as possible after the Yernal Equinox, and the Sailing of the Armament from the Cape should be there- fore arranged so that it may arrive at Eodriguez not earlier than the last week in April nor later, if possible, than the first week in May. Rear Admiral Stopford will be charged with the Command of the Naval Part of the Expedition ; and as he will previously 374 Records of the Cape Colony. assume the Command of His Majesty’s Ships at the Cape, you will have the opportunity of previous communication with him as to the means of Transport for the Troops and Stores, the time of sailing from the Cape, the arrangement of Convoy, &c., &c. As the Armaments may possibly be delayed at Rodriguez by weather or by accident, it is necessary that a Reserve Stock of Provisions should accompany the Detachment which is to proceed from the Cape. It had at first been intended to send this supply direct from England ; but upon the representations of the YictuaUing Board that vast quantities of Salt Meat were already in store at the Cape of Good Hope and that Biscuit could be baked, and (as well as Wine) provided upon the spot to any amount of quantity, it has been determined to direct that the supply which is judged necessary should be furnished by the Cape ; and I am accordingly to desire that you will make every requisite arrangement that the Detachment proceeding to Rodriguez may be accompanied by Victuallers carrying Salt Meat, Biscuit, and Wine (or Spirits) sufficient for the consumption of nine thousand Men for five weeks. I am likewise to desire that as large a proportion of Medical Stores and as many Medical Staff Officers as the Garrison of the Cape can possibly spare may be sent at the same time, as well as Light Artillery, spare Ammunition of every necessary description, and Camp Equipage. With a view to these Drains upon the Military Means of the Cape of Good Hope an Ordnance Transport will be immediately prepared to proceed thither carrying a fresh supply of Guns and Stores and a complete Company of Artillery Men ; and Camp Equipage and Medical Stores to replace what you may have furnished for the Expedition against the Isle of France will go out at the same time. In the Event of Success in the Enterprize, it is probable that the whole of the Troops detached from the Cape may be retained in Garrison at Mauritius ; and you will in such case be pleased to state your opinion to Lord Caledon for my information if a Reinforcement of Infantry from Europe will be required at the Cape, bearing always in mind the increased Security which that Settlement derives from the total Exclusion of the French from the Islands of the Atlantic as well as from the Ports of South America, so that an Armament proceeding from France with a Records of the Cape Colony. 375 view to an attack upon the Cape of Good Hope would have no certain Place of Rendezvous or Refreshment in the whole Course of that long Navigation. I have &c. (Signed) Liverpool. [Office Copy.J Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledox. Downing Stbeet, 20 th Sept. 1810. My Lord, — Herewith I have the honor to enclose for your Lordship’s perusal a Dispatch to Lt. General Grey containing Instructions upon various Military Points, in which it is the Pleasure of His Majesty that he should contribute from the means at his disposal towards the Expedition which is to be directed against the Isle of Prance. I am to desire that your Lordship, after making yourself master of the Contents of the enclosed Dispatch, would be pleased to deliver it to Lt. General Grey ; and that you would communicate with him and with Rear Admiral Stopford upon the subject of it, and give every Assistance in your Power to promote the very important objects in view. I have &c. (Signed) Liverpool. [Copy.] Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to Laxddrost Cuyler. Secretary's Office, September 'list, 1810. Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency the Governor to transmit to you the enclosed Extract of a letter from Mr. Read, dated Bethelsdorp August 30th 1808 and published in the 20th number of the Transactions of the Missionary Society at London in 1809. The Statement in this letter casting so severe a reflexion on the. 376 Records of the Gape Colony. conduct of those in the Interior Districts, it will be obvious to you that it is essential to come at the Truth thereof by every possible means. His Excellency therefore desires that you will be pleased to summon Mr. Eead before you, and take from him the fullest information on oath touching the matters alluded to in his letter, and transmit his Deposition by the earliest opportunity to His Excellency, together with such other information as it may be in your power to collect on this subject. I have etc. (Signed) C. Bird, Deputy Secy. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 25 tli September 1810. My Lord, — Under circumstances already reported to Your Lordship in my several communications of the 12th July, 27th August, and 7th inst., I ordered the East India Company’s Agent to dispatch the Transports having on board the Auxiliary Eorce destined to act against the Isle of France, subsequent events have led me to countermand that order. Shortly after the surrender to His Majesty’s Arms of the Isle of Bourbon, a force consisting of three frigates with a complement of One Hundred and thirty Infantry were detached for S‘Ts’ . the purpose of taking possession of Isle de Passe, on Nereide. which is situated a Military post calculated in some measure to command the entrance to the Eiver Sud Est. This service was performed on the 14th of August by the boats of His Majesty’s Ships Sirius and Iphigenia, the Island was afterwards garrisoned by the Land force, and the Nereide from which it was disembarked took her anchorage in the Grand Port between Isle de Passe and the Main. From this situation Capt. Willoughby aided by Marines and regular Infantry performed essential service in destroying the works of Point du Diable and in otherwise harassing the Enemy. On the morning of the 20th an Enemy’s Squadron (with two captured Indiamen, the Windham and Ceylon ) unapprized of the occupation of the Isle de Passe by a British Garrison 377 Records of the Cape Colony. Bellona, Minerva, frigates. Victor, corvette. Windham, Ceylon, captured Indiamen. stood for Grand Port in the Eiviere Snd Est, followed by His Majesty’s Frigates Magicicnne, Sirius and Iphigenia. In passing the Channel the Enemy received the fire of the Batteries and the Nereide, but with the exception of the Windham which was cut off, succeeded in effecting the passage. A partial attempt to destroy the Enemy’s Squadron on the 22nd was unsuccessful. On the 23rd His Majesty’s Ships were with this view advancing upon it, when the Sirius and shortly afterwards the Magicienne and Nereide took the ground, the Iphigenia alone occupying the station assigned to her. After a most unequal contest arising from the favorable position which the Enemy’s vessels were enabled to take, connected with the extensive Land Batteries, it was found impracticable to continue the defence of the three frigates, two of which, the Sirius and Magicienne, being abandoned by the crew (who retired to Isle de Passe), were burnt, whilst the Nereide after a struggle almost unexampled was surrendered by Captain Willoughby, who in his own person showed extraordinary resolution, a sentiment equally entertained by his Companions. During these operations the Enemy’s Squadron in Port Louis got under weigh, and appeared off the Isle de Passe, La Manche, a measure which would have precluded the retreat of the Iphigenia, but I believe it was Captain Lambert’s intention to remain at the anchorage for the purpose of strengthening the works and succouring its increased garrison. Astrea, La Venus. Commodore Eowley ignorant of what had occurred sailed from St. Paul’s Bay on the 23rd, but on arriving off the Isle de Passe and finding the Enemy in force returned, followed for two days by La Venus and Astrea, French Frigates. The Bombay Merchant- man, a large Transport, and a Schooner sailed also from St. Paul’s with the same destination. The former had on board Two Hundred and Fifty Men of the Flank Battalion, and an ample supply of water and provisions, but the fate of these Ships is not yet ascertained. The Commodore on his return did not come to an anchor, but taking under convoy the Emma, armed Transport, he again stood to Sea for the purpose of attempting the relief of the Iphigenia and Garrison of Isle de Passe. The loss of the Windham and Ceylon in the Mozambique 378 Records of the Cape Colony. Channel was a circumstance wholly unlooked for, as those vessels sailed from hence with orders to take another course ; the Com- manders will best explain to their Honorable Employers the cause of this deviation, but in point of substantial value the Enemy has received greater aid in the capture of the Ranger Transport, a vessel freighted with every necessary for the repair and relief of a blockading Squadron. I have thus my Lord detailed the principal facts within my reach. I should not do my duty by Your Lordship if I withheld my opinion which I presume to offer as founded upon a variety of information which has come to my knowledge. It appears that the Force at Isle de Passe consisting, exclusive of the Military, of two Ships’ Companies and the Iphigenia had on the 25th of August only one week’s water, that on the 27th the Garrison and Frigate were summoned to surrender at discretion, and that the Roadicea on whose exertions the principal dependance was placed was at St. Paul’s as late as the 31st of August. The result has probably been unfortunate, and the consequence to be apprehended is the impossibility of hostile operations being under- taken or conducted on our part during the present Season with likelihood of success. Assuming the Ipliigenia to have fallen, the Enemy will possess a strong force, which His Majesty’s Squadron cannot in prudence oppose. With an Officer of enterprise to direct its movements, which Captain Hamelen seems to be, there is too much cause to look for further reverses. The destruction of our Victuallers at Madagascar will not only deprive the Island of Bourbon of its supply, but will deprive the Army of the tonnage necessary for its transport to Rodriguez the place of rendezvous, or if the interruption of our East India reinforcement be the object, it is to be feared that its convoy will prove inadequate to effectual resistance. Vice Admiral Drury may also have gone in force to prosecute the Blockade of Batavia and the Enemy will thus retain a Naval superiority. Under such circumstances I have countermanded the sailing of the force from hence until a sufficient convoy arrives. I have requested the Governor of St. Helena to send here any Ship of War which may be on that station, and I have addressed myself to Lord Strangford requesting His Lordship to move the Senior Officer on the Brazil station to succour Vice Admiral Bertie by every means within his power, as well as to apprize vessels Records of the Cape Colony. 379 touching at Rio de Janeiro of the state of the Enemy in these Seas. The gracious manner in which His Majesty through Your Lordship’s favorable representation, was pleased upon a former occasion to sanction my use of a discretionary power, induces me to hope for a similar approval of my conduct on the present occasion. Agreeable to Mr. Farquhar’s desire I enclose his dispatch to Your Lordship, and I have added under cover to the First Lord of the Admiralty Copies of Letters which came to the address of Vice Admiral Bertie. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. P.S. — His Majesty’s Ship Plicebe is just arrived from England, but as I do not conceive in the present state of affairs it would be prudent to risk the transports with the single frigate or that operations can be undertaken against the Isle of France until a Naval Superiority is ascertained, I shall write to Captain Hillyar requesting her detention until another vessel arrive here or until I learn from Mr. Farquhar or Vice Admiral Bertie that the armament from hence can proceed with safety. [Original.] Letter from the Reverend Dr. Halloran to the Earl of Liverpool. Cape Town, Cape op Good Hope, 25 th September, 1810. My Lord, — In forwarding to You, officially, as His Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, the accompanying Extracts from an intended Publication, I consider myself in the Performance of an Act of duty, and of Justice, to myself, and to my fellow Subjects, employ’d in this Remote Colony, in the Service of our King, and Country. On the incontrovertible Authenticity of every Circumstance I have stated, I confidently pledge my Character, my Property, & my Life, and I call upon Your Lordship, in the most solemn Manner, to interpose Your Influence, and Authority, for redressing the past Grievances, 380 Records of the Cape Colony. I have alleg’d, (as far as they are capable of redress) And for the Prevention of similar Abuses, & Injustice, in future. Mr. Alexander, the Colonial Secretary of this Settlement, sail’d for England, a fortnight ago : And I have, therefore, avail’d myself of the present Occasion, to forward these Papers to Your Lordship, from a Motive of Candor and Equity ; that, by Your Receipt of them, while that Gentleman is on the Spot, an Opportunity may be afforded to him of explaining, or palliating any Part of the Transactions I have detail’d; and, to which, in the Name of my Sovereign, and my Country, I solemnly adjure Your Lordship’s most Serious Attention ! I have etc. (Signed) L. H. Halloran, D.D. [Enclosure in the above.] Licet omnibus, licet etiam mihi. Jura Civium tueri : potestas modo veniendi in publicum sit, Dicendi periculum non recuso ! The importance of this Settlement for the preservation, and security of our Trade with India, & of our Possessions in that Country, appears to be now pretty generally understood, and admitted. It is therefore wonderful, that, with such a Conviction on their minds, the British Ministry should not turn a more anxious attention, to the improvement, & Happiness, and pros- perity of this valuable Colony ! Its present state is truly deplor- able ; and, while the System now acted upon is followed, neither amelioration, nor Content can be generally expected among its different Inhabitants, whose Habits, and pursuits, & principles are widely distinct. The Dutch, or rather Africo-Batavian Inhabitants ; (for there are but few native Hollanders in the Colony) are very generally, and strongly attached to the Prench, & equally averse from the English* : And this Sentiment has been little shaken notwith- * As a proof of this Assertion, when, at a French Comedy, the Commanders of the British Forces entered the Theatre, and the band, belonging to an English Regiment struck up the Tune of “ God save the King,” the Music was inter- rupted and stopp’d by a Dutchman, who inform’d the Leader of the Band, “ that the tune was displeasing to the Audience ! ” A short time, prior to this Incident, — a Bull’s Head & Horns were painted on the front of the Theatre, with G. R. between the Horns, on a day, when an English Play was announced for performance ! These circumstances, tho’ apparently trifling, — “ Speak Volumes ! ” Records of the Cafe Colony. 381 standing the vacillating System of Conciliation, and Concession which has been adopted by the present Governor, even to a degree of preference, & favouritism, highly disgusting to the feelings of the English ! Most of the public functionaries are Dutch, from the Fiscal to the lowest clerk in the Secretary’s Office : and even the appointment of Receiver General of His Majesty’s Revenue, having been vacated by an English Gentleman, (Mr. Dashwcod) was immediately confer’d on a Dutchman of notorious French principles, & otherwise of no very respectable Character. But, thereby hangs a Tale ! Yet the affections of these people are not conciliated ! Gratitude is not a plant, which thrives in this soil ! The English Inhabitants are still more disgusted, and dis- satisfied ; and certainly, with much greater Reason, as they are, in every instance, exposed to Individual Imposition and Insult ; and subjected to the operation of Arbitrary Laws, administer’d in the most summary way, while all judicial proceedings are determined by a Junto of Seven Dutchmen, called a Court of Justice, & foribus clausis ! When the Settlement was surren- der’d to Sir David Baird, and Sir Home Popham, the Capitulation guaranteed to the Conquer’d by Art. 8,* the Security of their Rights, privileges and public worship. But, is it within the Conception of any Man of sense, and reason, that those Officers, equally intelligent, and brave, could possibly have intended by this Article, to compromize the rights of their Countrymen, by an implied Engagement, that British Subjects, becoming settlers for Commercial purposes ; and more particularly, others, employ’d in the various Departments of His Majesty’s Naval, and Military Service, within the Colony, while retaifi’d by Great Britain, should be deprived of their native Rights, and privileges, and be subjected to the most glaring Exactions, Injustice & Oppres- sion ? Yet, such is literally the fact ; and deep and increasing are the dissatisfaction and discontent, consequent upon it ! In the exer- cise of their Religion, the British Inhabitants are under Restric- * Art 8 of Capitulation. “ The Burghers, and Inhabitants shall preserve all their Rights and privileges, which they have enjoy’d hitherto. Public Worship, as at present in use, shall also be maintained without Alteration.” 382 Records of the Cape Colony. tions, from which even the Malays are exempted, and some of which are truly ludicrous ! They have no Church : but by tolerance, have the use of the Calvinist Meeting House ! Their clergyman is not allowed to baptize even the legitimate Child of an English Inhabitant, nor the Infant of a Soldier, if the Mother should have unfortunately lost her Marriage Certificate, but “ by express License from the Governor.”* And, before this can be obtain’d, Children not unfrequently die ! Nor, can the Mother be church’d without a similar License ! Yet, does the British Government, in other Instances, send Missionaries abroad, to make Converts to Christianity, while here Christian Parents cannot obtain Christian Baptism for their Child, without a Special License ! ! ! None of these Restrictions extend to the Dutch Clergy nor even to those illiterate Itinerants, who are sent out as Missionaries, but solely to the English Clergy of the Establish- ment ! ! If parties, both English, desire to enter into the Marriage State ; which by the Colonial Laws, they are not free to do, till twenty five years of age, they must first obtain the Governor’s License ! (This, in two Instances, was lately refused to British Officers not having quite attain’d that age !) t The parties must then go before a Dutch Conclave call’d a Matrimonial Court, to “ answer questions, and to pay fees ! ” Their Banns must next be published three times, in Dutch, by the Dutch Clergyman to the Dutch Congregation, for which more fees must be disburs’d ! After this the English Chaplain is allow’d to perform the Ceremony ! I must here advert to a recent Case of peculiar Hardship : & not unlikely frequently to recur. A Sailor, belonging to a Ship of War on the station, had con- tracted to marry the daughter of a Soldier ; and applying for that purpose to the English Clergyman, was by Him (conformably to the Governor’s express orders) refer’d to the acting Colonial Secretary for License ! This Gentleman, in the Governor’s name, * A very curious and interesting Correspondence on this subject will shortly be laid before the public. f The Governor not long ago, obliged two British subjects, passengers from India, to submit to the whole of this process, and expence, before He would grant them a License ; tho’ they were totally unconnected with this Colony. Records of the Cape Colony. 383 peremptorily forbade the Clergyman to marry the parties, till they should have gone thro’ the usual process before the Matri- monial Court etc. The poor people were unable to pay the fees of that Court, and of the Dutch publication of Banns, & remain’d together without legal Marriage ! An admirable Regulation this, for the Encourage- ment & promotion of Morality, & Chastity in South A frica ! If a British Inhabitant dies, he must either be interr’d in the Common Slaves’ Burial Ground, open to the Bigs, Wolves etc. etc. (and which is literally a “Golgotha” as a grave cannot be sunk, without digging thro’ numerous Skulls, and unconsumed Carcases ;) or, if his surviving friends, for decency’s sake, wish his interment, in the Dutch enclosed Burying Gi’ound, immense fees must be paid for this Indulgence to the Sexton ; (who is also Undertaker, & whose Emoluments more than double those of both the English Clergymen !) To give some Idea of the Charges, I will merely mention “ That for Bearers alone, to carry a Corpse a quarter of a mile, early in the Morning, & in the most private manner, One Hundred Spanish Dollars,” were actually demanded from & were paid by an English Merchant. And for the bare permission to inter in this Enclosure, seven or eight of the brave Seamen of the San Fiorenzo, who died here in Consequence of their wounds, receiv’d in action with the Piedmontaise, Eleven Spanish Dollars for each Grave, were paid by their Comrades ! On this Subject, an ineffectual Representation has been twice made to the Governor ! These are a few of the Religious Grievances, to which the English are here subjected : nor are the Civil Hardships, and Impositions, under which they labour,* less obvious, or Oppres- sive ! Of these I will give you a more full detail in my next Communication ! at present I shall only add, that there occurr’d some months ago, a serious & pretty general Insurrection among * One instance of most illegal and arbitrary Conduct, towards a British subject, must not be omitted in this place. A young woman, of unexceptionable Character, came to this Colony, as a Servant in the Commissary-General’s family. After a few months, she was address’d by a respectable English Tradesman, whom she married; having previously proposed, to procure for the Commissary another Servant in her stead ! For this, she was thrown into the Common prison ; and turn’d out of the lolony ! ! ! 384 Records of the Cape Colony. the heterogeneous Mass of Slaves, who are thrice the number of the Whites, and which, had it not been discover’d before their plans were mature for Execution, might have produced most mischievous Consequences ! Tho’ in the face of a Garrison of 5000 Men, it could not possibly have been attended with ultimate Success ! The Situation of these degraded, & brutalized Beings is truly deplorable ; And, as Hope can have no Growth in their breast, it is not to be wonder’d, that they are capable of the most desperate designs, to exonerate themselves from the Tyranny, under which they groan ; for, “He knows not, how to fear, who dares to die!” It would well accord with the Humanity and Wisdom, and enlighten’d policy of the British Government, to interpose with Energy, and effect, for improving the Situation of these unhappy Africans ! It is indeed, beyond Conception, wretched ! Two British Subjects were taken among the Insurgents, and with them, were tried by the Dutch Court of Justice, “foribus Clausis,” & without Hearing or Defence, were condemn’d to be hanged in Company with a Multitude of those unfortunate Slaves ; & one of them was actually executed, & gibbetted with them, protesting his Innocence with his last Breath ! * The Existence of a British Government, without British Laws for British Subjects is truly an anomalous, and unnatural phoenomenon ! I will add one word more only, on the subject of the freedom of the press, in this neglected Colony ! An English Gentleman, not unknown, as a literary Character, sent an Advertisement to * This unfortunate Man was a seaman of His Majesty’s Ship Lion, and ought, therefore, surely to have been given up, and tried, (as amenable to a Court Martial) by the Laws of his Country. It is indeed, difficult to comprehend, — on “ what principle, either of Law, or Justice, a British subject was thus sacrificed ! ” By the Batavian Laws no criminal is to be put to death till he has subscribed a Confession of his Guilt. This man, far from making any such acknowledge- ment, on receiving the Sacrament a quarter of an Hour, before his Execution, made reiterated, and most solemn asseverations of his Innocence, to the Clergyman ! Governor “ Picton ” was severely reprobated for permitting a punishment on a Spanish Subject, tolerated by the Spanish Laws ! And, should not this Capital punishment of a British Seaman, tried by Laws to which he was not amenable and executed in violation even of those Laws, be subject of serious enquiry ? Records of the Cape Colony. 385 the Cape Town Gazette, for Insertion, announcing his intention to publish in England, a production, accompanied by original Corre- spondence, and authentic Documents, tending to demonstrate, the progress of Liberty & learning, & morals & Religion, in this Settlement, under the auspices of the British Government, with a dedicatory Address to the King ! * His Excellency the Governor interdicted the publication of the Advertisement, and refused to return it to the writer, notwithstanding two applications ; treating him with a degree of Hauteur and Insult, and Injustice, highly unbecoming in a British Governor, to a British subject respectable by his age, and profession ; and by Education, by Family, & by Character (tho’ second to him, in Rank & fortune) at least upon a par with his Excellency. “ The Sore, that thus shrinks from the touch, is most in need of the probe ! ” As an additional, & more recent proof of the unaccountable Hostility of the Governor to the Established Church of England, the following extraordinary, but incontrovertible fact, is introduced to public Notice ! The Chaplain to His Majesty’s Forces in this Colony, has lately resign’d his Military Commission, till His Majesty’s pleasure shall be known, on a point of Misunderstanding with the Commander of the forces ; the particulars of which are before the Commander in Chief, and the Secretary at War! The Civil Inhabitants, (who had twice before presented to this Clergyman the most handsome addresses of Acknowledgement of his gratuitous professional Services,) now applied to him for their Continuance, for which they proposed a liberal Salary. A church was procured for the purpose of performing in it, Divine Worship for the British Congregation; when the Governor refused his Sanction to the arrangement. (The Correspondence on this Subject I will transmit for publication by the next Conveyance.) The British Inhabitants are thus deprived of the public Exercise of their Religion ; and a respectable Clergyman, not even charged with any disqualification, or Offence, is interdicted by an illegal, & * The liberty of the press is essential to the nature of a free State ; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications; and not in the freedom from Censure, for criminal Matters, when published ! Every free man has an undoubted Right, to lay what sentiments he pleases before the Public : hut if he publishes, what is mischievous, or illegal, he must take the Consequences of his own temerity ! — Black stone’s Comm. VII. 2 C 386 Records of the Cape Colony. usurped Authority, from the discharge of his sacred functions : while private soldiers, & even a Woman, are tolerated, if not licens'd, to bray forth their fanatical Eavings, in a public Con- venticle ! The Clergyman, (who is also Eector of the public Grammar School in Cape Town) sent to the Cape Town Gazette an Advertisement, merely stating, “ That having resigned his Military appointment, in Consequence of a Difference with the General, until his Majesty’s pleasure on the Subject of that difference should be ascertain’d ; he should now devote a larger portion of his time to his Scholastic Engagements.” This Adver- tisement, (a farther proof of the Freedom of the press) was thrice rejected by the Governor as inadmissible ! ! ! Can such possibly be the System of Government in a British Colony ? Or, can such a Governor be consider’d a proper, or legitimate representative of the Gracious Sovereign of Great Britain ? (Signed) L. H. Halloran, D.D. [Enclosure 2 in the above.] ODE For Bis Majesty's Birth Bay, 4th June, 1810. By Laurence Halloran, D.D., Chaplain to His Majesty’s Military and Naval Forces, And Eector of the Public Grammar School, at the Cape of Good Hope. Shall silence wrap the Poet’s Lyre ; Shall cold Oblivion freeze its strings; When Loyalty and Truth inspire The praises of the best of Kings? No! — tho’ beneath these Southern Skies No joy-inspiring scenes arise ; Tho’ Genius, blighted or decay’d, Pines in Neglect's inclement shade : — Tho’ here, each finer nerve unknown, The grosser passions sway alone ; Yet, not unhail’d, thro’ each revolving Year, Shall rise This Sacred Morn to every Briton dear ! And shall the Bard, with touch profane, Debase the Poet’s Art divine? Or pour the Adulator’s strain At Wealth, or Power, or Grandeur’s Shrine ? Curs’d he the thought, and curs’d the deed ! His lays are only Virtue's meed : 387 Records of the Cape Colony. And, if the Peasant, than the Prince, More traits of genuine worth evince ; To Merit, poor, oppress’d, unknown, From the World’s Despot on his Throne, The Bard, indignant, turns with piercing Eyes, And hinds round Virtue’s brow, the bright, perennial Prize! But, if his Heav’n inspired breath Can swell the Trump of High Renown; And, with fair Fame’s unfading Wreath The Chiefs and Patriot’s temples crown : His Verse, with never-ending shame Can blast the proud Oppressor's Name ; From Vice’s crested brow, can tear The plumes, he ill deserves to wear; Can spread to distant realms and times, The Titled Villain’s covert Crimes ; And, while his lays True Honor’s deeds adorn Gibbet Imperial Guilt thro’ ages yet unborn ! If such the pow’rs the Bard can claim, His claim — if time’s long Annals prove, Whose Virtue yields a nobler theme, Or more command a Nation’s Love Than His, who rules the happier Isles, Where Freedom spreads eternal smiles, Beneath whose Sceptre Blessings spring, Britt ania’s Venerable King? — Thro’ ten bright Lustres prov’d to blend The Prince, the Father, and the Friend ; — Each public Virtue grateful Lands revere, With fond connubial Love, & piety sincere ! But, turning from the Blissful Realms, What sombre prospects round us spread! What Nations — Tyranny o’er whelms, And Slaughter wastes, with blasting Tread! Involv’d in Ruin’s sanguine Robe, A Gloomy Tyrant rules the Globe ! Thro’ peaceful Lands, at his behest, Grim Carnage rears his iron Crest; From cold Siberia’s utmost Snows, To where the Po or Tagus flows ; — Huge Devastation’s giant Arm extends, And Thrones, and ancient States — from their foundation rends ! With Reason’s Eye the contrast scan; Their claims in Reason’s balance weigh ; Here, — the lov’d Friend of God and Man, And there, — an odious Tyrant’s sway ; — 2 C 2 388 Records of the Cape Colony. Let Truth, and sacred Justice state, Who best can claim the Title — Great, A Monarch, uniformly good. Or base Usurper, stain’d with blood ; That, thron’d within his People’s breasts, Or this — whose Throne on Murder rests ; That, for whose lengthen’d Reign his Nations pray; — Or this, whom suffering Realms indignantly obey ! 0 Britain ! highly favor’d Land, Tho’ sever’d from thy Parent Shore, Along this rude ungenial Strand, His pensive path the Bard explore : To Thee — too faithful Memory turns, For Thee his filial bosom yearns. And tho’ by destiny severe, Long exil’d to this Region drear, No scenes invite the Poet’s Lyre, Unstrung its chords, extinct his fire; These themes shall vibrate on its latest Strings; His happy native Isle, and her’s the best of Kings! Yes! and to Virtue’s dictates just, Still his last Lays — expiring — weak, Shall plead for Merit in the dust, And blanch the stern Oppressor’s Cheek ! Tho’ Storms and Tempests round him roll, No fears shall shake his steadfast soul! Tho’ Earth to her foundation rock, And Nature shudder at the shock; — Let Guilt the dread Alarm partake, Let Conscience bid the Coward shake; — True Worth — the pow’rs of Earth, and Hell defies; And, from the Wreck of Worlds, shall like the Phcenix rise! Cape Town, 1s< June, 1810. [Original.] Letter from Eear Admiral Eobert Stopford to John Wilson Croker, Esqre. Plymouth Dock, 4 October 1810. Sir, — I have to acknowledge the receipt of your Letter of the 1st Instant, containing Copies of an Order and Letter of same date to Vice Admiral Bertie, directing him to resign the Command Records of the Cape Colony. 389 at the Cape of Good Hope to me, and not to make any change in the Disposition of the Squadron, nor to make any removals of the officers. I am etc. (Signed) Bobert Stopford, Eear Admiral. [Copy.] Proclamation of the Earl of Caledon. Concerning the exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. Cape op Good Hope, 5th October 1810. [Original.] Letter from Henry Brougham, Esqre., to the Earl of Liverpool. Brougham Hall, Penrith, Oct. 12, 1810. My Lord, — I have been prevented by the Circuit and other business of an urgent nature from transmitting the notes which I promised to lay before your Lordship in explanation of my friend Baron C. van Hogendorp’s case. I regret that at this distance from town I am unable to find some of his letters which might have explained the subject more directly. I must premise that when Mr. Van Hogendorp in Eeb. 1807 transmitted to me a statement of the transactions at the Cape, I lost no time in delivering to Mr. Secretary Windham an account of the affair. He gave it his immediate attention, and transmitted to Lord Caledon instructions upon the subject. With the nature of these I am not particularly acquainted, but they must have been of a very general nature and preparatory to others which were to follow as soon as I could deliver a more full statement of the case. Lord Castlereagh having succeeded to the Department soon after, I delivered to him (I believe thro’ Mr. Wilberforce, who took an equal interest in Mr. Van H’s affairs) the statement required. It consisted merely of a translation of a long letter from Mr. Van H. detailing the transactions at the Cape, and a 390 Records of the Cape Colony. few particulars relative to that gentleman’s circumstances. I have no copy of the paper, but should imagine it is still in the office, and I beg leave to refer your Lordship to it. The heads of the narrative are shortly these : Mr. Yan H. several years ago embarked about one half of his fortune (which was ample) in a Colonial speculation at the Cape. His plan being to introduce good farming, to carry out European colonists, and to employ only free labourers, for the purpose of checking the abuses so frequent on the old plantations, of setting an example of milder and better management ; he received every encouragement from the Dutch Government under all the changes which occurred in it. As usually happens in such speculations, he was very unlucky at first, and suffered severely by shipwrecks and other misfortunes. But his colony was beginning to thrive and promised as fairly as could be expected when the Expedition under Sir D. Baird & Sir H. Popham captured the settlement. At that period Mr. Yan H. had actual possession of a con- siderable grant of land near Mossel and Plettenberg bays, which he cultivated by his colonists, whom he had, after repeated failures, succeeded in carrying over from Holland and Germany, and who were then bound to him for a certain term by indentures in the usual manner. He had received promises from the Government of another and more valuable tract of land near Hout Bay, and the Governor and Council at the Cape had even passed and registered two formal resolutions to this effect, in Nov. & Dec. 1804. He had further promises of encouragement, such as permission to send a ship to Batavia. But I wish only in the first instance to speak of the first of these matters, viz. the land actually granted to him, possessed by him, and peopled by his indentured colonists at the time of the capitulation. By the capitulation all rights of private property are preserved. It is needless to quote the articles to prove this, because I am confident that altho’ no such guarantee had been given by treaty, no man would have ventured to justify any interference with private property after the surrender. Under this general guarantee however, Mr. Yan H. unquestionably came, in so far as related to the land actually possessed by him. But Govr. Janssens inserted an article in the capitulation of Jan. 18, 1806, relative to the further grants intended to be given to him, which I mentioned above. It is as follows: “Art. XI. The Baron of Hogendorp 391 Records of the Cape Colony. having expended a great deal of money for the execution of agricultural plans, he shall be supported by the British Govern- ment in carrying his plans into execution, and the British Government shall grant unto him all such rights and privileges as from the public records it shall appear the Batavian Government meant to have given him.” The answer to this on the part of our Officers was (as might indeed have been expected) that this article must be left to the discretion of the future Government. Now, altho’ it is perfectly obvious that this article and the answer only related to the intended grant at Houtbay and perhaps to the privilege of sending ships to Batavia, and tho’ it is equally clear that it had no relation whatever to the land already vested in Mr. Van H. and possessed by his Colonists, Mr. Van H. learnt, almost as soon as he heard of the capitulation, that his colonists had been turned out of possession and his land seized, under the pretext that by the above article the fate of his colony was to depend on the discretion of the British Government and that this seizure and ouster was a temporary measure adopted ad interim until the Government should decide on the whole matter. His claims then are, in the first place redress for the serious injury, secondly the permission of Government to sell the land, which by the conditions of his grant he cannot do until 25 years have elapsed, thirdly a confirmation of the resolutions of Nov. & Dec. 1804 in his favour, viz. by a further grant at Hout Bay. The first is a claim of strict right ; the second is rendered almost a matter of right by the change of circumstances which has prevented the continuance of his speculations, viz. the war, the capture, and above all the dispersion of his colonists ; the third he submits that he is entitled to prefer in consequence of the serious injuries his fortune has sustained in this speculation. I may add that those who know Mr. Van H. will readily attest the excellence of his character, above all his liberality and munificence. In spending about £100,000 sterling upon this scheme, profit was the very last thing he had in view. Many persons accused him of enthusiasm, but no one of interested motives, any more than the Sierra Leone Company or the African Institution were ever accused of such views. The Cape Settle- ment will benefit and has already benefited by his operations, even altho’ they have failed, and in whose hands soever both his machinery and colonists may now be, the Settlement at large is 392 Records of the Cape Colony. the better for them. The utmost that he can now gain from his whole claims being granted, would amount to nothing like a compensation for his expences, it would only in some small degree lessen his great necessary losses, an object which he may be allowed to consider, under the total failure of the plan, and in the situation to which, with most of the leading members of the Orange party in Holland, he has been reduced. Lord Caledon appears upon receiving a memorial from Mr- Van H.’s agent at Cape Town, to have referred it to some one to answer, and either that person is strangely ignorant of the whole facts of the case, or (as indeed Mr. Van H. suspects) he has been concerned in the undue measures pursued towards his property. I enclose a letter containing the answer with Mr. Van H.’s remarks on it. I cannot conclude without expressing my confident belief that none of the superior officers in His Majesty’s service have been engaged in the transaction of which Mr. Van H. complains, but I trust that from whatever quarter his injuries may have proceeded, your Lordship will be of opinion that the circumstance of his having received injury recommends his claim to a more favourable consideration. I have &c. (Signed) Henry Brougham. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Africaine, St. Paul’s, Isle of Bourbon, 13<7i October 1810. Sir, — Following the intentions communicated by my Letter addressed to you of the 26th August, I have the honor now to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, that having made the necessary dispositions and arrangements previous to my departure from the Cape, I hoisted my Flag on board the Nisus, and sailed on the 4th ult. in that Ship for the Isle of France ; having made the land on the 2nd instant, I proceeded to reconnoitre Port S.E., and from thence to Port Louis, where having cruized 48 hours, and not falling in with any ship of the Blockading Records of the Cape Colony. 393 Squadron, I proceeded to this Anchorage for information of them, where I found lying, His Majesty’s Ships Boadicea, Otter, and Staunch Gun Brig, together with His Majesty’s Ships Africaine and Ceylon, which had been taken, and recaptured from the Enemy, and the Imperial French Frigate La Venus, also captured from the Enemy. The details, Copies of which I have the honor to transmit herewith, will fully explain to them Lordships the circumstances of the Occupation of the Isle de la Passe, as well as the sub- sequent unfortunate result of a very gallant Attack made on the Enemy’s Ships in Port S.E. with the Sirius, the Magicienne, Captain Curtis, the Ipliigenia, Captain Lambert, and the Nereide, Captain Willoughby, which ended in the unavoidable destruction of the two former of His Majesty’s Ships and the Surrender to the Enemy of the Iphigenia and Nereide, the latter after a glorious Eesistance almost unparalleled even in the brilliant Annals of the British Navy. A momentary superiority thus obtained by the Enemy has been promptly and decisively crushed by the United Zeal, judgment, perseverance, skill, and intrepidity of Captain Eowley in His Majesty’s Ship Boadicea, the value and importance of whose services, long conspicuous and distinguished as they have been, have fully justified the selection and retention of him as the Senior Officer conducting the Blockade of this Station, and who in the present instance, almost alone and unsupported but by the never failing energies and resources of his active and intelligent mind, under circumstances as it may be easily imagined of extreme anxiety, mortification, and disappointment, in a few hours not only retook His Majesty’s Ships Africaine and Ceylon , but captured also the largest Frigate possessed by the Enemy in these Seas, and has thus restored the British Naval pre-eminence in this quarter, which his Talents have long and so successfully contributed to maintain. Nor can I here omit to offer the tribute so justly due to the memory of the Gallant Corbett, of His Majesty’s Ship Africaine, whose meritorious eagerness to check the triumph of an exulting Enemy impelled him to an unequal Contest, in which he nobly fell, defending the Cause of that Country to whose service his valuable Life had been most usefully and most honorably devoted. 394 Records of the Cape Colony. Under the pressure of these Events, the Arrival of the Nisus was to be considered as most opportune, as every exertion had been already employed with a View to the re-equipment of the Africaine and Ceylon, which ships, though severely cut up in the masts and rigging, (the lower masts being unfit for further service), had fortunately at the time of their recapture part of their Crew on board. Eully concurring in the expediency and the absolute necessity of this measure, the adoption of which and the carrying it into effect with the least delay is of the most serious importance to the ultimate success of the operations now ripe for execution against the Isle of France ; and having found it further practicable to equip the Venus in furtherance of this object, I have not hesitated to commission her for the time being, under the name of the Nereide, in commemoration of the Gallant defence of His Majesty’s Ship bearing that name. Notwithstanding the very many local difficulties and disadvantages with which we have necessarily had to contend in the execution of these plans, the Squadron now on the Eve of sailing from these Eoads consisting „ ,. of the Ships named in the Margin, exhibits a Boadicea . . 0 7 Africaine striking and no less gratifying instance of what Ceylon may be effected by British exertion and British Nisus_ Perseverance ! I should at the same time be very deficient were I not to avail of the opportunity now afforded me of expressing the obligations of the service to the Lieutenant Governor and Commander of the Forces on this Island, Lieutenant Colonel Keating, to whom it is indebted not only for his cooperation, as well as that of the whole military force, not only for the application of every civil means at his Command, but for that Spirit of Zealous emulation wherever the Navy is con- cerned, which has most anxiously anticipated the appropriateness of every resource to its Service, and the influence of which has been extended throughout this division of the Army. Among other Vessels captured by the Enemy I regret to mention the Ceylon and Wyndham Honorable East India Company’s Ships, and the Ranger Transport, from the Cape, having on board provisions and stores for the Squadron. I am happy to add that the Wyndham has since been retaken, and is arrived here, and the Venus was found to have on board the greater part of the stores and provisions taken in the Ranger, both which Circumstances have been particularly advantageous, the Lower Masts of the Wyndham 395 Records of the Cape Colony . having been applied to the Africaine, and the Victualling of the Squadron being, by means of the provisions found in the Venus, completed to four months. It is further of still greater moment that I should apprize you, for the information of their Lordships, that Major General Abercromby, who with his whole Staff was embarked in the Ceylon, and who is intrusted with the Command of the Expedition against the Isle of France, was recaptured in that Frigate. He embarks with me for the purpose of reconnoitring the Coast of the Isle of France, from whence it is my intention to proceed with him to Bodriguez, where we shall meet the troops from India and are to be joined by the detachment from hence, for the Convoying of which a Frigate with the Staunch Gun Brig will be detached. I enclose a Memorandum of the Arrangement of the sailing of the Beinforcement from India. Having been obliged from the want of proper Officers to put Lieutenants into the temporary Command of the Africaine, Nereide, and Ceylon, I have judged it adviseable to hoist my Flag in the Africaine instead of the Boadicea, and the state of the Otter being such as to render her ineffective on the station, and requiring her Crew to assist in manning the Nereide, I have put on board her such Naval and military invalids as could be collected for her navigation to the Cape, from whence, with such further strength as can be secured there, I have instructed Lieut. Langhame to proceed in the Otter to England, being anxious that their Lord- ships should be put in possession as soon as possible of the Actual occurrences on this station subsequent to my last Communication by the Olympia. I inclose, for the Information of their Lordships, a Copy of a Letter from General Decaen, addressed to Captain Bowley, on the subject of an exchange of Prisoners, as well as a Copy of his reply thereto. I am yet to learn the result of the General’s application to the same effect addressed to the Cape. As the Squadron will proceed to sea in a few hours after the closing these dispatches, I trust I shall stand excused to their Lordships in deferring to a future opportunity the several returns and details of the Squadron, as weff as a Statement preparing of work performed in each department, which in the short space of three weeks, through the unremitting and unwearied exertions that have been displayed, has been such as to complete the 396 Records of the Cape Colony. equipment of the Squadron and to render the whole thoroughly effective. I should add that the Light Brigade of the Troops from hence embarked to the number of six hundred Men on board the five Frigates are doing duty as Marines until their Services shall be required on Shore. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning the exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. Cafe of Good Hope, 15 th October 1810. [Office Copy.] Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 20 th Oct. 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Jansie Hartleef, a Dutch woman, to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope. I have, &c. (Signed) Robert Peel. [Copy.] Letter from Landdrost Cuyler to the Earl of Caledon. Uitenhage, 25 th October 1810. My Lord, — In obedience to Your Excellency’s Commands con- tained in the Colonial Secretary’s Letter of the 21st ulto., I sum- moned Mr. Read, who has appeared before me, And have the honor herewith to forward to You his Deposition, as also the Deposition of Others, who from Mr. Read’s Affidavit appeared likely to be Records of the Cape Colony. 397 able to afford any sort of information on tbe Subject stated in his Letter of tbe 30th August 1808 and published in the No. 20 of the Transactions of the Missionary Society at London in 1809. I doubt not but it will appear to Your Excellency, the reluc- tance shown by Mr. Eead in bringing forward his Books to give the source of the information required. The Hottentot mentioned in Mr. Bead’s letter whose daughter should have been pickled etc. has appeared, and his deposition is one of the enclosed. The Inhabitant Gerrit Lindeque he accuses of treating him in this way lives at present under the District of Graaff Reinet. The Second part of Mr. Bead’s Letter Stating the Account of three Horrid Murders, Appears to be founded on a circumstance which took place full Six Years before his Letter was written, and at a time and by a party proceeding against the Kaffers and Hottentots under the Sanction of Government, a circumstance registered by the Missionaries themselves at the very time it took place, altho’ Mr. Bead’s Letter very artfully wishes to put it upon the World as a recent transaction and as if it occurred just immediately preceding the date of the Letter. I had myself acted as Landdrost exactly two and One half Years wanting one day when the letter in question was written, and these circumstances were never mentioned to me ; he further says, Speaking of the Hottentot Ourson, his Wife and Child : And was repairing peace- ably from Graaff Beinet to our Institution, they were met by a number of African Peasants, after they had conversed Some time in a friendly Manner &c. No proof from either of the Witnesses Substantiate this, nor can Mr. Bead say who told him so, except the two Evidences Yaltyn and Michels, who both declare to know nothing respecting the manner in which the Hottentot and his Family were taken. It may here be proper to remark the difference of the two Affidavits of Yaltyn. The first One he was sworn to on the 9th, and the other on the 17th of the Month of October. If the circumstance as here stated by Mr. Bead could be proved to have taken place, it would to a certainty challenge that the deed was committed in cool blood and consequently cognizable by the civil Law of the Land. Admitting for a moment it to have taken place as Mr. Bead wishes to represent it, and at the time he wrote his letter, even then to my humble conception it would 398 Records of the Cape Colony. have been Mr. Eead’s unbounded duty as a Christian to have informed the Landdrost of the District of the circumstance, and if he then found no notice taken of it, it was still his further duty to have reported the circumstance, together with my neglect, to His Excellency the Governor of the Colony previous to the step he took in having it published at home. Mr. Eead’s letter casts a Severe reflection on me, and at the same time makes light of Your Excellency in thus stepping over Your Lordship in handing to the public accounts of the want of Justice in the Interior of Your Excellency’s Government. The paper Ho. 1 signed by Mr. Eead Accompanying this, con- taining Nine Articles of information, is declared by Mr. Eead to be a Copy of a paper handed in by Mr. Yan der Kemp to General Janssens (and was delivered to me by Mr. Eead in the same filthy state as I trust Your Excellency will receive it) and is now again brought in by Mr. Eead to Substantiate the horrid Crimes mentioned in his letter. Such Cruelties, if true, as stated in this paper, Are extremely to be lamented and discouraged at the present day, hut they are of so old a date, two different Govern- ments having since Euled the Country, and Committed at a time when the Country was at War with the Kaffers, who were joined by the Hottentots, and at the very same time almost a Civil War, if the Opposition of Some of the Inhabitants in this Quarter made to the Government may be so called, Acts done in such times are now renewed and called, or rather wished to be understood by Mr. Eead, as Fresh Murders. The Deeds of Ferreira, who has been punished by banishment for such no doubt as could be proved against him, by General Janssens from his dwelling place and family connexions are here again revived. In the other paper handed in by Mr. Eead, he States informa- tion lodged by a Hottentot Girl named Nella, as this was never reported to me, or even stated by the Missionaries as being reported to me, I have not enquired further into. The same paper states under date March 1808, that Mr. Van der Kemp directed Eosina to the Landdrost Cuyler, acquainting the Landdrost of the Murder ; not recollecting ever being made acquainted with this Murder, I sent for Martinus Oosthuyzen, whose deposition I transmit herewith. The information Stated to be given by Coenraad Buis against Records of the Cape Colony. 399 P. Ferreira or his Wife not being reported to me or ever having come to my Knowledge, and the parties residing under Zwellendam, I have not interfered with. That article respecting the Slave Woman of Botha, I perfectly remember. She had run away from her Master, who I sent for on the Occasion and found the Matter on enquiry different to what is stated by the Missionaries. I cautioned Botha against 111 treating of his Slaves, and delivered the Slave to her Master. I have no hesitation in believing that Some Years ago, particu- larly under the first Dutch Government’s time and perhaps of a later date, barbarous cruelties were committed in the distant districts from the Capital, and perhaps they were as much the fault of the Government as of the people who committed them, for in those days I fancy little or any Notice was taken of Acts of this kind by the subordinate Officers of the Government in the interior, And consequently scarcely an example made of Murder or any Sort of Check put to the 111 treatment of the Hottentots. The Inhabitants probably Seeing things go on in this way, con- cluded themselves at liberty to do almost as they pleased, many of them not knowing the laws or perhaps the meaning of Justice, not unnatural to a people grown up and kept in ignorance, and who had no Control set over their passions ; but that such should happen at the present time under the present Government and passed by with impunity appears almost impossible. Therefore I hope that Your Excellency will be graciously pleased to order further enquiry to be made into the Several Charges of Murder, as Stated by these Missionaries, Such as Your Excellency may deem Cognizable by the Law of the Land. If I can be accused of passing over a Murder when the Circumstance was reported to me, or in any way connived at Such a deed, I am certainly unworthy of the Situation I have the honor to hold under Your Excellency, as also of the Commission I have the honor of holding under His Majesty, but if I am found to have acted with Justice and impartiality, and that no Charge of such Gross misconduct may lay against me as a Subordinate Magis- trate under Your Excellency, whatever the result may be, I shall hope that Your Excellency will be graciously pleased to give it to the World in as public a Manner as Mr. Bead’s letter has appeared. Notwithstanding the length of my Letter I cannot dismiss the 400 Records of the Cafe Colony. Subject without observing that, that part of Mr. Eead’s Letter Stating that Mr. Yan der Kemp was ordered to the Cape on pleading the necessity of punishing such Crimes, &c., is equally artful with the rest of the Letter, and as it may be a tedious task to Your Lordship in overlooking old records to find the just Cause of Mr. Yan der Kemp’s recall from Bethelsdorp, I should trust on Your Excellency’s reference to His Majesty’s Fiscal who was at the time Colonial Secretary, sufficient information can be obtained. With as little reference as possible to the reports I have already made to Government of the Missionaries, I cannot at present Omit transmitting a report from the Military Medical Officer stationed here; it is necessary to inform Your Lordship that the Yenereal Complaint was discovered among the Troops, and on tracing it, it was found to have been brought to the Garrison by some of the Hottentot Women belonging to the Missionary Institution. Two of these Women who were nearly rotten with the disease I permitted Mr. Milton to take into the Military Hospital, and at the same time advised him to consult with the principal Missionary to have a Hut built at the Institution to remove the Women to, where, if he, Mr. Milton, wished, he might attend them. I hope His Excellency will excuse the unreasonable length of this letter, but the very strong and unwarrantable representations of Mr. Eead against my Conduct renders it requisite in Justice to myself to intrude so much upon Your Lordship’s time. I have etc. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler, Major Cape Eegiment and Provl. Landdrost of Uitenhage. [Enclosure 1 in the above.] Personally appeared before me Jacob Glen Cuyler, Major in his Majesty’s Cape Eegiment and Provisional Landdrost of the District of Uitenhage, James Eead, one of the Missionary Society of Bethelsdorp in said District. The Extract of a letter, as here annexed, from said Eead, dated August the 30th 1808 and published in the 20th No. of the Transactions of the Missionary Society at London in 1809 being produced ; The Said James Eead, being duly Sworn, deposeth, that the Records of the Cape Colony. 401 Extract of the Letter as above mentioned is a just and true Extract of a letter written by him ; and gave the following Answers to the Questions put to him concerning the business mentioned in said Extract : 1st. The name of the Hottentot whose Daughter was pickled ? Ans. Uithaalder. 2nd. The name of the Daughter ? I do not know. 3rd. The name of their Master ? I believe it is one Eensburg in the Lange Kloof. 4th. The time when the fact was committed ? A short time before my letter was written. 5th. The Names of the Farmers who Shot Ourson and the time when and Place where the fact was committed ? I do not know the names of the Farmers but the fact was com- mitted as I was informed on a Commando by Farmers, and the woman and Child murdered by one Wildschut, a Hottentot, under direction of the Farmers, in the District of Graaff Reynet. I suppose it to have happened between the years 1802 and 1803. 6th. Did you ever give notice to the Landdrost or any other magistrate of these Murders, and did they ever refuse to notice them ? None myself, but I believe Mr. Yan der Kemp did, to others if not to Major Cuyler. 7th. Where is the Hottentot Wildschut ? I do not know where he is at present, but I believe he is a Member of the Institution. 8th. Where is the Hottentot Uithaalder ? He is a Member of the Institution, but not at present there. 9th. Where is the Daughter of Uithaalder ? If she is alive I believe she is still at Rensburg’s. 10th. Can you give an Account of other Crimes of a more horrid nature as stated in Your letter ? I cannot give any now, but if I was at home I could find them in my Books. 11th. How did you get information of the above facts and names of the Persons concerned in them ? By Some of Our Hottentots. 12. What are their Names ? Jantje Michels and Willem Valtyn. VII. 2 D 402 Records of the Cape Colony. 13. Where are they ? Willem Valtyn is at the Institution, and the others at Barend Marais’s. 14. Was either of those two present at the time ? Jantje Michels. 15th. Do you know the name of the Savage Boer who threatened to cut out the Eyes of the Hottentot woman ? Ignatius Muller, as I was informed. TJitenhage this 9th Day of Octr. 1810. (Signed) J. Bead. Sworn to and signed in my presence the day above written. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler, Prov. Landdrost. [Enclosure 2 in the above.] 1. Sanna Platje complained that her husband Hendrik, coming home with honey for Mrs. Le Moyne, was stopped by Thos. Ferreira, who accused him that he must have had a gun by him, and have hid it, having with him an empty powder horn and ball bag ; he denying this, Ferreira had bound him and taken him to his upper house, and murdered him. Kaatje Schieman witnesses to have seen him dragged away. Stout (daughter of Ourson) declared to have seen that he was cut to pieces alive with knives by Ferreira, assisted by his sons and Lucas son of Van Booyen. She calls to witness further the people of Ferreira. 2. Lysbet Jager complained that her husband coming to the Institution was met at the place of M. Muller by Hercules Ferreira, that he having shot at a Muishond ordered him to fetch it, and while he stooped with two shots had killed him. 3. Jan Bootsman and Andries, with Witbooy, coming back from the Kaffers declared that they had met with Thos. Ferreira, with a waggon near this place, that Ferreira with Jan Bens had forced Witbooy to give over his assagai, and had taken him further by force from the waggon back again, and had thrown him down. The next day he was found killed upon the same spot, with two cuts of the assagai, and his throat cut, which Jan Bootsman declared to have seen committed by Thos. Ferreira and Jan Bens, Records of the Cape Colony. 403 4. Some of our people gave us to understand that a strange Hottentot had been found murdered by Fort Frederick, and it was said that the people of Ferreira declared that the Hottentot was arrived with letters for Mr. Van der Kemp, and murdered by Ferreira ; that the Field Cornet Niekerk had kept Hans Kensburg (who heard the shot) busy in discourse while the murder was accomplished. 5. Windvogel complained that he was coming from the fields, and sitting in the grass, some Boers came behind him, and as soon as he arose one of them of the name of Gerrit Scheepers ordered him to stand, and standing still Scheepers had shot at him, and that one of their people had given him a second shot through the back and arm, and further that he had met with much misusage from Thos. and Salomon Ferreira. 6. People of the Commando of Botha reported that a Hottentot on horseback, with letters for Mr. Yan der Kemp sent from the Cape, had passed the Lange Kloof, and had exchanged his horse for a pack ox. This Hottentot is likewise missed, of this circum- stance Bensburg can give information. We are in doubt if this circumstance is not the same as that mentioned under No. 4. 7. Willem Booy and Willem Meyer declared that a certain Hottentot named Ourson, with wife and child coming to the Bay, had by consent of Piet van Booyen been shot, but the Hottentots missing him, he had further knocked him down and cut his throat off, and further cut the woman’s throat, and cut the child to pieces. 8. Willem Jantje complained that being on his way to Graaff- Keinet, provided with a pass from Mr. Lynden, was fallen upon by the commando of Karel Gerots, who shot dead an old woman and took away two children. 9. Klein hooy Michels, who with bis father Michel and Adam had hired himself to Jan Niekerk to help to cut corn, complained that he had been taken away by force by Isaak Meyer, that his father had been much misused, and Adam shot dead. (Signed) J. Kead. •3 r\ ‘I n D a. 404 Records of the Cape Colony. [Enclosure 3 in the above.] A Hottentot girl of the name of Nella, of about 17 years of age, who had lived with her mother and father at Christiaan Petersz, said that her mother had been sent to cut rushes, and in her absence Christiaan Petersz had shot her father dead, and had shot at the mother coming back, but missed her, ordered Nella to stand before the oxen that were spanned in before the waggon, loaded his gun the second time, and told the mother to loose the Karos from her husband who was dead, and while she was doing this, he shot her dead with a second shot. March 1808. Eosina came, fled from the place of Marthinus Oosthuysen, complaining that her mother after much misusage had been beaten by her mistress till she died. Eosina was fled likewise for cruel usage. Mr. Van der Kemp directed her to the Landdrost Cuyler, informing him of the murder by a letter sent with the girl. June 1808. Coenraad Buis told us that a Caffre or Caffre woman had been at his house from the place of Piet Ferreira, and had told that Griet, a Hottentot girl from our Institution, had been so dreadfully beaten by her mistress that the blood ran from her ears, nose, and mouth, and that from a report being made of her death, the Field Cornet had been there to examine the case, and found the girl burnt with the room she was in. This is the third girl missing at that place from our Institution, besides a boy still there, who we hear is a cripple from bad usage. We have heard several reports of the murder of 2 or 3 slave girls by the same woman, but for the present cannot take it upon me to assert the names of the persons from whom I heard it, but believe Govern- ment to be acquainted with some of these circumstances. August 1808. A poor slave woman named Dina, belonging to Theunis Botha, came to our Institution upon her hands and knees as she said almost naked, bearing the marks of ill usage upon her whole body. She said she could not bear the treatment any longer, and was resolved to go to Caffreland. She said that her daughter had died from the same kind of treatment. With the greatest difficulty we prevailed upon her to go and lodge her com- plaints to the Landdrost Cuyler. (Signed) J. Bead. Records of the Cape Colony. 405 [Enclosure 4 in tlie above.] Appeared the Hottentot Willem Valtyn, belonging to the Institution at Bethelsdorp, who, on the oath being administered to him, deposes : That he knows nothing about the Hottentot Ourson who was a waggon driver with Col. Lemoine at Fort Frederick, except that he heard that he was murdered, that he heard this from the Hottentot Hermanus who is now upwards of two years dead, but that he did not know him personally, and that at the time when this must have happened he lived at Piet Dupre’s in the Couga, where he continued till after the arrival of Major Cuyler at Algoa Bay. That he knows no Hottentot of the name of Uithaalder but one who formerly lived with Barend Lindeque, nor does he know that any of his daughters were ever misused by his Master. That he never mentioned anything to Mr. Bead about the circumstance concerning Ourson. On recollection he says that he left some tobacco for sale with another Hottentot, and that he was told that said Ourson took some of it, for which he was paid, but that he never saw him himself, and that this was previous to the English occupying the Bay. He does not know of any Hottentots having been illused or murdered by any of the Inhabitants, nor recollect having men- tioned anything of that kind to any of the members of the Institution, and that he is the only one of his name belonging to the Institution. Signed X by the Hottentot Willem Yaltyn in my presence, after this having been fully explained to him in the Dutch language, as also the meaning of the oath which he seems to be fully aware of. This 9th day of October 1810. (Signed) J. Knobel, Secretary. [Enclosure 5 in the above.] Appeared the Hottentot Wildschut Mierhoop, one of the Hotten- tots of the Institution, who on the oath being administered to him deposed : That he was in the service of Jan Isaac- Bonte, and that- he was 406 Records of the Cape Colony. ordered to join the Commando under the late Commandant Van der Walt, that the Commando under said Van der Walt lying at the little Winterhoeksherg at the place now occupied by the Com- mandant Stolz from whence he and seven other Hottentots were sent to Zwartkops river to see where the Commandant Piet van Eooyen and his Commando was, and arriving at Zwartkops river at the place now occupied by Jacob Kok they found the Com- mandant Yan Rooyen and his Commando. On the evening of the day on which they arrived at Kok’s place a horse was brought out by a Hottentot in the service of the Commandant Yan Eooyen of the name of Matroos, and he was informed by the said Matroos that the horse had belonged to a rover of the name of Ourson, whom they had shot at Zandfontein in the act of killing an ox belonging to one of the Inhabitants. Matroos informed him that a patrol of the Inhabitants had gone out, among which he was when they found said Ourson, who on seeing the Inhabitants ran off, on which he was shot. That Matroos also said that Ourson’s wife ran away with the child on her back, and was fired at, and both killed at the same shot. He further says that he does not know what Inhabitants were on the patrol, being a Hottentot from Swellendam district. He further declares that he never gave any information of that kind to any of the Missionaries at Bethelsdorp. Signed X by Wildschut Mierhoop in my presence. (Signed) J. Knobel, Secy. Sworn before me at Uitenhage, 10th day of October 1810. (Signed) J. G. Cuylek. [Enclosure 6 in the above.] Appeared Jantje Michels, and Mr. Eead having declared that this was the same person he alluded to, who on the oath being administered to him states on the following questions, viz. : Whether he knew one Ourson who was a waggon driver at Algoa Bay with Col. Lemoine ? Yes, I knew one of that name in Major Lemoine’s time. What is become of that Hottentot ? I was on the Commando of Piet van Eooyen, and the camp lay Records of the Cape Colony. 407 at the Zwartkops River, and the Hottentot alluded to was brought to the camp by spies of Hottentots sent out, with his wife and a child, and I heard that he had been taken at Zandfontein. I was sitting at the fire cooking for my master Barend Marais, who was sick, when the Hottentot Claas Meyer came to the place where I sat and was cleaning his knife, when I asked him what he had done with his knife, he answered he had cut the throat of Ourson’s child, and told me that his brother Paul had cut the Hottentot woman’s throat. The same Claas Meyer informed me that Ourson was shot. Where are the two Hottentots here stated ? Claas Meyer is at Langtouw near Gourits river at Daantje Pienaar’s, Paul also lives somewhere on this side of the Gourits river. Have you seen Ignatius Muller at the time the woman and child were stated to you to be murdered ? Yes, he was in the camp. Did you hear that said Muller was present when the child was murdered ? Ho. Did you ever tell Mr. Read that Ignatius Muller was present and threatened to cut out the woman’s eyes ? Ho. Did you ever speak to any of the Missionaries of what you have stated here ? One night I was speaking about this to Willem Yaltyn, and telling him what I had heard about it, and Mr. Read was by. Did you tell Yaltyn any more but what you have stated here ? Ho. Did you tell any of the Missionaries of it at any other time ? I don’t recollect ever having said any more to any of the Missionaries, or at other times but what I said to Valtyn in the presence of Mr. Read. Signed X by Jantje Michels. (Signed) J. Knobel, Secy. Sworn before me at Uitenhage this 15tli October 1810. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler. 408 Records of the Cape Colony. [Enclosure 7 in the above.] Appeared Ignatius Johannes Muller, now Heemraad of the District of Uitenhage, who being duly sworn deposed : That with the Commandant Van Eooyen’s Commando he was provisional Field Cornet and had 68 men under him, that when lying at the Zwartkops Kiver a Patrol was coming in of an evening when he heard a shot fired, and was informed that it was a Hottentot woman who had run away from the Patrol with her child on her back, and were killed in the one shot, that he never saw or knew the Hottentot Ourson or the woman who was shot, that he only got the above information after enquiring what shot it was that he had heard ; that the time he speaks of is now about nine years ago. I. J. Muller. Signed in my presence &c. (Signed) Sworn &c. J. Knobel, Secy. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler. [Enclosure 8 in the above.] Appeared the Hottentot Uithaalder Hendrik, who on the oath being administered to him, states on the following questions being put to him : Who was your last master before you came to the school ? Gerrit Lindeque at Winterhoek. DM you leave a daughter behind when you left Lindeque and what is her name ? Yes, her name was Catharyn, and she is still there. Did you go from that master to the school ? Yes. Was your daughter pickled when you left her, or what was done to her ? She was beat with a thong that she could not stand up, and I heard from the Hottentots that the master had been rubbing her back with salt. What Hottentot told you so ? One of the name of Hendrik and my own wife. Where is she ? At the school. 409 Eccorcls of the Cape Colony. Where is Hendrik ? I do not know. Did you ever get any wages from your master ? No, I never got any. Did you ever complain about this to the former or the present Landdrost ? No. . Signed X by Hendrik. Sworn &c, this 15th day of October 1810. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler. [Enclosure 9 in the above.] Appeared James Eead on the 15th day of October 1810, who was admitted on the oath administered to him the last day he appeared here, and was asked : Whether the two papers he produced are taken from his books ? Ans. Partly from my own and partly from ours in general. Do you not keep a register of these things ? No, only of a part of them. No. 7 in one of these papers states Willem Booy’s and Willem Meyer’s declaration. Is this the source of the information con- tained in your letter of the 30th of August 1808 ? No, I heard this before. From whence then did you get the information contained in that letter ? From Jantje Michels and Willem Valtyn. Where is the register containing the information alluded to in your letter of the 30th August ? I have no register myself, but I believe Mr. Van der Kemp has it. The two papers produced, from whose register are they taken ? From Mr. Van der Kemp’s. Have you a register containing the substance in those two papers ? I have, containing on the date in June and August 1808. In question 10 put to you on the 9th of this month you state that if you were at home you could find them in your books. 410 Records of the Cape Colony. You have just now said that your books contain no information but the articles in June and August 1808. Mr. Bead not wishing to answer this question, he was directed to bring all his papers relating to the information contained in these papers, having said that he has it in some other papers at home. Mr. Lange, the District Messenger, being called, states on oath that he delivered the message to Mr. Eead to bring the books con- taining the information about which Mr. Eead had been at the Drostdy last, as he received it in writing from the Landdrost. Mr. Eead appeared again on the 17th of October, and being admitted on his former oath was asked : Have you brought those books and papers to give me informa- tion on your letter ? Ans. Yes. Let me see those books. Mr. Eead shows a paragraph in the book under date 30th June 1802, stating a circumstance of the murder of a Hottentot, his wife, and child, by the Commandant Van Eooyen, information lodged by William a Bastard from Potgieter’s. Can you give me this book for perusal ? Ans. No, I cannot give it out of my hands. Was this book kept for yourself? Yes. You do not wish then to let me have the information contained in that book ? Yes, but I cannot give it out of my hands. From what period does that book contain information ? From March 1802 to July 1803. Have you any other memorandums in this book containing information about the circumstances mentioned in your letter ? Yes. Please let me see them. Mr. Eead shows a paragraph under date October 11th 1802, stating Salomon Ferreira threatened to shoot among our Hottentots in the Blockhouse, but afterwards denied this. Hercules Ferreira shot Hans Jager, who was coming from Capt. Wildeman, and took two horses which he had with him. This Hottentot reported that four more were coming after him to us, Joris and (a blank for another name). In the evening heard that Ferreira intended to Records of the Cape Colony. 411 send out a Commando to catch them, after church in the evening went to Ferreira, entreated that those two at least might not be shot. He promised not to kill any of them, but to try to catch the slaves. Was this in time of disturbance in the Country, or was it peaceable ? It was in time of disturbance. Do you know for what reason Ferreira shot Jager? Was he with suspected people or in the act of doing any violence ? I do not know. In reference to your former information, please to let me know where William Bastard can be found ? I do not at present recollect whether he is a member of the Institution, and I believe he is somewhere at Oliphant’s River under Swellendam. As this book appears to he of an old date, have any of the circumstances mentioned in it been reported to any of the Governments ? Part of these to General Janssens through Major Yan Gilten. Which part or what circumstances ? In that paper handed in on Monday last from No. 1 to 9 inclusive. In your answer to my question 15 on the 9th of October you state that you were informed that Ignatius Muller was the savage boer who had threatened to cut out the Hottentot woman’s eyes ; who was your informer ? Jantje Michels, the same who was here the other day. From whom did you get the information that Wildschut under direction of the boers killed the Hottentot woman and child ? From Jantje Michels or Willem Valtyn. To the best of your knowledge, was any of this information sent to the present Governor by any of the Missionaries ? I believe the sufferings of the Hottentots in general by Mr. Yan der Kemp to the present Governor. (Signed) J. Read. 412 Records of the Cape Colony. [Enclosure 10 in the above.] On the request of Mr. Eead appeared Andries Pretorius, a Hottentot of the Institution, who, on the oath being administered to him, states on the following questions being put to him, viz. : Did you hear that Willem Yaltyn, who is at the door here now, should have given information to Mr. Read of the murder of the Hottentot Ourson, his wife and child ? Yes. Say what you heard. Willem Yaltyn and Jantje Michels were speaking one evening since the present English Government, at which I was present, and Mr. Read came in, and Yaltyn and Jantje Michels said that spies from the Commando of Piet van Rooyen brought a Hottentot with his wife and child to the Camp of said Yan Rooyen, and that they were all murdered at the camp, it was Yaltyn who spoke, but I do not recollect in what manner they stated that the Hottentot and his wife and child had been murdered. Signed X by Andries Pretorius. Called in by Mr. Read, again appeared Willem Yaltyn, who on Andries Pretorius’ s information being read, deposes further : That he was at the Commando of Piet van Rooyen at Zwartkops River, and he saw a Hottentot together with his wife and child brought in by spies of Hottentots, among which was one Mager- man, a Hottentot of Piet van Rooyen’s ; that they were taken on one side and shot, and that the next day passing by he saw the three bodies lying at a little distance, but cannot say that he saw any mangling or cutting upon them. That he mentioned this to Mr. Read, and that he further said that he heard Ignatius Muller say when the woman was crying she must not cry or that he would put his fingers in her eyes, but did not hear him say anything about cutting out her eyes. Are you a relation of Mrs. Read ? Yes, our fathers were brothers. Signed X by Willem Yaltyn. (Signed) J. Knobel, Secy. Sworn before me at Uitenhage, this 17th of October 1810. (Signed) J. G. Cuyler. Records of the Cape Colony. 413 [Enclosure 11 in the above.] Appeared Marthinus Oosthuysen, Senr., who on the oath being administered to him deposed : That he never had a Hottentot woman or girl called Eosina living with him or on his place, and never had but one Hottentot woman living with him, whose name is Styn, who ran away with a slave of his about five years ago, and that never a Hottentot woman died at his place. That he is the only one of his name in the District of Uitenhage except his brother’s son, who is now about nineteen years old. (Signed) M. Oosthuysen. [Enclosure 12 in the above.] Algoa Bat, July 26th, 1810. Sir, — I beg leave to inform you that agreeable to your permis- sion I waited on Dr. Yan der Kemp yesterday and offered to take charge of any Hottentots at the school who were diseased, and recommended him to have a hut appropriated to the purpose, he however received the offer in a very different way from what I had hoped he would have done, for with a degree of warmth and displeasure he replied that he would agree to no proposal of Major Cuyler respecting the Institution. I then informed him that he was mistaken, as the proposal was originally my own but sanc- tioned by you, he replied that he could not think of such a thing, for they all deserved to suffer for their vileness. I went still further and observed that if the disease gained ground, Govern- ment, I did suppose, would be obliged to take serious notice of it as they would find the school a great nuisance to the two Garrisons so immediately in its neighbourhood. He replied that the Insti- tution must consider those Garrisons a much more serious nuisance to them ; this conversation took place in the hearing of Capt. Eawconer 93rd Kegt., who no doubt will recollect the particulars as well as myself should you wish to hear any more on the subject. I have &c. (Signed) W. Melton, Asst. Surgeon, 21st Lt. Dragoons. 414 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Keturn of Troops serving at the Cape of Good Hope on the 25th of October 1810. Officers of all ranks at the Eegimental Head Quarters or on Detached Duty at the Station .... 135 Officers on Staff Employ . . . . . . 17 Sergeants, Trumpeters, Drummers, and Rank and Eile : Royal Artillery . . . . . . . .205 Gunner Drivers . . . . . . . .97 Royal Engineers . . . . . . . 16 21st Light Dragoons . . . . . ., .736 83rd Foot ......... 1012 93rd Foot ......... 1007 Cape Regiment ........ 550 General Total 3775 (Signed) H. G. Grey. [Office Copy.] Letter from Robert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 27 th Oct. 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Mr. Frederick Kirsten, an inhabitant of the Settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, to return thither accompanied by his Wife and by Miss Cornelia Leeuwner his relation. I have etc. (Signed) Robert Peel. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 30th October 1810. My Lord, — After waiting several days subsequent to my dis- patch of the 25th September in expectation of intelligence from 415 Records of the Cape Colony. Bourbon which should decide me in dispatching the Transports, or in their farther detention, it was suggested that arming them would greatly contribute to their Security without rendering them in any degree less convenient for the reception of Troops, and Captain Hillyar of His Majesty’s Ship Phoebe having examined them and found them to be of the finest Class of East India Country Ships, one of which had been already an Armed Ship in the Batavian Service, I adopted this measure, which was in progress when Le Genereux a French Cartel arrived from Port Louis on the 11th of October having on board 330 British Prisoners of War. By means of this Vessel I was informed of the Surrender by Capitulation of His Majesty’s Ship Iphigenia and the Garrison at Isle de Passe to a superior land and Sea force on the 28th August, an event for which my preceding Dispatch (No. 14) will have prepared Your Lordship. The only Article in the terms of Capitulation favorable to the English provides for their conveyance to the Cape or any other Port under the British Government within the space of One Month, to be there exchanged or not serve until such time as an exchange takes place. This agreement has in part been executed by the arrival of le Genereux, and I am led to believe other Cartel Ships are preparing at Port Louis for England and Bengal. Although the intelligence bore at first an unfavorable appear- ance, yet upon enquiry I found from Lieu* Cator of the Royal Navy and from Captn Meriton late of the Ceylon East Indiaman that the Enemy’s Vessels were not in that state of preparation which renders them formidable to a British Squadron of inferior strength ; of seven heavy Frigates only two or three, and those separated, are effective ; the remainder are represented as wanting such repairs as the means of the Enemy cannot furnish, for it appears a principal part of the Naval Stores on board of the Ranger Transport were destroyed previous to her Capture, or even if possessed of the means the length of time required for equip- ment would defeat what might otherwise have been apprehended from their collective strength. To this information Lieu* Cator added that His Majesty’s Ship Africaine had arrived at Rodriguez, and that an English Frigate (supposed to be the Nisus) looked into Port Louis on the 11th of August, and afterwards steered for Bourbon. Under cover to the First Lord of the Admiralty I have trans- 416 Records of the Cape Colony. 10 46 mitted Copies of Letters to Vice Admiral Bertie from Captain Lambert, late of His Majesty’s Ship Iphigenia, and Lieut. Cator, late of the Ranger Transport, which if your Lordship should deem farther particulars necessary I beg leave to refer to. Upon the arrival of the Cartel two points of difficulty arose, first as to the dispatch of the Transports, 2ndly as to the expedience of exchanging Prisoners. The Resident Naval commissioner and Capt. Hillyar whom I consulted having weighed the intelligence brought by le Genereux, and considered the accession of .strength by the equipment of the Transports and the arrival of His Majesty’s Brig Actceon on the one hand, and the state and disposition of the French Squadron on the other, were of opinion they might proceed with safety ; in this I concur’d, and having made my decision I felt no time should be lost in carrying it into effect. To render the armament as complete as possible, it was proposed the Ships should carry the number of Guns as per Margin and that each should be commanded by an officer of the Royal Navy and manned with a proportion of Seamen from the Frigate and from the Cartel. I assure Your Lordship no ordinary exertion on this occasion would have been sufficient ; the Guns and Ammunition for the greater part were in Cape Town and their removal by Water considering the advanced period of the Season would have been attended with too much uncertainty, but the necessity of dis- patch was universally felt and the personal activity of Capt. Hillyar and his ready ac- quiescence in whatever I proposed facilitated many difficulties. Mr. Bird the Deputy Colonial Secretary and Mr. Pringle the Honorable East India Company’s Agent entered warmly into my views, and thus assisted I had the satisfaction of finding the equipment completed on the 16th Instant. Captain Hillyar, the senior Naval Officer on the station, concluded an exchange of Prisoners, according to the established regulations, and though it may at first appear imprudent to give the Enemy an encrease of Force at Mauritius under any circum- Minerva — 36 long 12 lbr Cardos 24 lb! Guns. Hon’ble Cap* Gor- don (late His Majesty’s Ship Nereide ) Anna — 22 Car11'’ 12 lb" 6 d° 18 lb“ 2 long 9 lb“ 6 d" 6 lb" 36 guns. Lieut. Bertie Cator, (late Banger Transport) Troubridge — ■ 8 long 1 8 lb", 6 demi d°., 6 Car'10* d", 14 d° 32 lb" — 34 guns Lieut. Maunsell (His Majesty’s ship Africaine) Records of the Cape Colony. 417 stances yet when Your Lordship knows he is possessed of the Crews of Four Frigates, that in the Cartel there were 166 Seamen who have come into immediate Service, and that the Frenchmen who are to be sent from hence will not sail for some time, and in all probability will not arrive at the Isle of France until the result of the Expedition is determined, I hope for your approval of the recommendation I offered for concluding the Exchange. On the 18th Instant the Ships of War and Transports got under weigh, but had not cleared the Land before they were forced to resume their anchorage from stress of Weather. The Wind continued to blow with extreme violence at South-East until the 24th, when it ceased, and upon its becoming favorable on the 25th they pursued their voyage. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Office Copy.] Letter from E. Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, Is! November, 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearers Mrs. Labat with her four children and a Maid Servant to return to the Cape of Good Hope accompanied by Mr. Onkruydt her Nephew who is also a native of that place. I have etc. (Signed) K. Peel. [Office Copy.] Letter from E. Teel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 1s< November, 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to Mr. and Mrs. Pellegrini to return to the Cape of Good Hope. The Lady is a Native of the Colony. The Circumstances under which this permission has been granted to Mr. Pellegrini are as follows : He was an officer in the Dutch Service at the Cape when it surrendered to His 2 E VII. 418 Records of the Cape Colony. Majesty’s Arms in 1806, and returned to Europe under tine Capitulation made by Gen1 Janssens. He married Mrs. Pellegrini in Holland, and having obtained from the Dutch Government his Dismission he is now desirous of proceeding to settle at the Cape. I have etc. (Signed) R. Peel. [Admiralty List Book.] Return of Ships of War under command of Rear Admiral Hon. R. Stopford at the Cape of Good Hope, 1st November , 1810. Scipion, 74 guns, 640 men, on passage out, President, 38 guns, 300 men, under orders to proceed, Menelaus, 38 guns, 300 men, Nisus, 38 guns, 300 men, Roadicea, 38 guns, 284 men, Sirius, 38 guns, 284 men, lphigenia, 36 guns, 274 men, Phoebe, 36 guns, 274 men, Astrea, 36 guns, 274 men, on passage out, Malacca, 36 guns, 274 men, under orders to proceed, Galatea, 36 guns, 274 men, under orders to proceed, Magicienne, 36 guns, 264 men, Nereide, 32 guns, 254 men. Otter, 18 guns, 121 men, Aeteon, 18 guns, 121 men, Racehorse, 18 guns, 121 men, Harpy, 18 guns, 121 men, under orders to proceed, Staunch, 10 guns, 50 men, Olympia, 10 guns, 42 men. [Office Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Liverpool to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 2nd November, 1810. My Lord, — Representations having been made to the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury by the Transport board respecting Records of the Cape Colony. 419 the Employment of certain Transports at the Cape of Good Hope on services totally distinct from those for which they were engaged, I herewith transmit to your Lordship Copies of the Papers referred to. I have etc. (Signed) Liverpool. [Office Copy.] Letter from, Kobert Peel, Esqre., to the Earl of Caledon. Downing Street, 2nd November, 1810. My Lord, — I am directed by Lord Liverpool to acquaint your Lordship that permission has been given to the Bearer Mrs. Anna Scholtz to proceed to the Cape of Good Hope to join her Husband. I have etc. (Signed) Robt. Peel. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 1 ith November 1810. Sir, — The Commandantship of Simon’s Town being vacated by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Edward Butler, I have the honor io acquaint you with my intention of nominating Major Bates to succeed him, unless there exists on your part military reasons for objecting to this appointment. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Head Quarters, Castle, November 14 tin 1810. My Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency’s letter of this day’s date, acquainting me “that 420 Records of the Cape Colony. it is your intention to appoint Major Bates Commandant of Simon’s Town unless there should be military reasons on my part for objecting to this appointment.” Altho’ my Lord, it at all times gives me the greatest pleasure to meet your wishes when I can do so, and altho’ I hope you will do me the justice to believe that I do not wish to make unnecessary difficulties, there are in my opinion such strong objections to the appointment you propose that I feel it to be impossible to give my consent to it, first because Major Bates’s services cannot be spared from his Begiment, and next, being a Cavalry Officer, I cannot consider him a proper person to hold the military command at a Post where he would be thrown so completely out of his own line of service, there being only two hundred Infantry there. I must take this opportunity of representing to your Excellency that in the present reduced state of the Army, I do not know a Field Officer who can be with propriety detached from his Corps, except Colonel Graham of the Cape Begiment : I would therefore with the greatest respect propose that this Officer should be named to the joint Civil and Military command at Simon’s Town, should these duties at that place continue to be united in one Person, but which I think had, in every point of view, better be divided. Should your Lordship however differ with me in this last opinion, in support of my recommendation of Colonel Graham I beg to state that his Begiment being so much detached he can without injury to the Service be spared from the immediate duties of his Corps, he is also from his knowledge of Light Infantry movements particularly calculated for this command, and being, owing to the departure of General Cockell the next Officer in Seniority to Colonel Baird, and having in consequence the general superintendence of the Troops at Simon’s town and the other out posts, it seem just that he should have the Military Emolument of the Appointment in question, as he will otherwise be unavoidably put to much additional expense without any Staff Pay. In the event of my being fortunate enough to meet with your Excellency’s concurrence as to the appointment of Colonel Graham to the Commandantship of Simon’s Town, I would order him to lix his Head Quarters there, and would reinforce the Garrison by a Company of the Cape Begiment that I am convinced would be 421 Records of the Cape Colony. much the best that could be made for the Defence of that place, which Conviction I beg to assure your Lordship is my only motive for objecting to what you have suggested. I have &c. (Signed) H, Grey. [Copy.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 15 th November 1810. Sir,— I have received the Honor of your Letter acquainting me, for the Reasons therein contained, that you feel it impossible to give your Consent to the appointment of Major Bates as Commandant of Simon’s Town, and suggesting the Nomination of Lieutenant Colonel Graham to that Situation. Notwithstanding my anxious desire of concurring with you in all public Measures, I must beg to decline acquiescing in what I conceive would virtually deprive me of the selection of a Com- mandant to Simon’s Town, which is entrusted to me by a recent decision of His Majesty’s Ministers, and highly as I respect the Character of Lieutenant Colonel Graham, I cannot think of pro- posing to your approval any Officer in the place of Major Bates until I obtain His Majesty’s Pleasure upon the present occasion. I have etc, (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Torrens. Cape of Good Hope, 16 th November 1810. Sir, — It becomes necessary for me to refer to His Excellency the Commander in Chief another Correspondence which has taken place between Lord Caledon and myself, in regard to the right His Lordship thinks he has to make Military Appointments in this 422 Records of the Cape Colony. Colony, and it really distresses me to give Sir David Dundas so much trouble upon this subject. I however trust he will believe that it is not my wish to thwart Lord Caledon by making un- necessary difficulties or to obstruct the Service by unwarrantable objections to the proposals of the Governor, as I can with truth assert, that I am solely actuated by a desire to do my duty, in not resigning the authority which I conceive to be vested in me, and without which I should not do justice to the old and meritorious Officers under me, nor should I have it in my power to make such arrangements as I think best calculated for the Defence of the place for which I consider the officer in command of the army, and not the Civil Governor, to be totally and entirely responsible. In consequence of Lord Caledon’s decision when the question of the appointment of a Commandant of Simon’s Town was before submitted to the consideration of Government, I was afraid that Difficulties might occur and which I expressed in my letter to Colonel Gordon of the 4th October 1808, but I have never received a reply. The nomination however which Lord Caledon has now proposed, it is impossible for any General Officer to agree to, without sacrificing every thing like justice or judgment in posting affairs. Simon’s Town is a situation where Cavalry cannot act, being surrounded with mountains and difficult of access from all its ap- proaches by land, it is also the second place in the Colony, and one of the Arsenals is established there, it therefore requires an active Infantry Officer to command this Post, and one who is well acquainted with the movements of light Troops, a character which cannot be better applied to any man than to Colonel Graham ; Major Bates, on the other hand, is a Cavalry Officer, and tho’ a very respectable good man, not one of bodily activity, or in any way calculated for the command in question, in addition to which, it is unnecessary for me to point out to the Commander in Chief, how ill a Major of Cavalry can be spared from the immediate duties of his Corps ; in point of Justice too Colonel Graham seems entitled to this command, being really a valuable officer, and in consequence of General Cockell’s removal the second in seniority in the Colony ; and as a proof that no personal considerations or private regard operate upon my mind in making this representa- tion, I beg to state that I never knew Colonel Graham till I met him here, whereas I have been long acquainted with Major Bates Records of the Cape Colony. 423 whom, particularly as he has a Family, I should be happy to serve when I could do so without a Dereliction of Duty. Upon the whole I must take the Liberty of submitting to the Commander in Chief respectfully my opinion, that for the service to go on as it should do, the Authority of the Civil Governor and that of the Officer in command of the Troops cannot be too distinct, or too clearly defined, and there appears to be no good reason why the Officer Commanding at Simon’s Town should have any thing to do in Civil Matters, which, tho’ so trifling as far as he is concerned as to be almost nothing, there being a Magistrate styled a Deputy Fiscal resident there, gives the Governor in the opinion of Lord Caledon a Claim to the appointment. Many other circumstances relative to the situations of Governor and Commander of the Forces have been referred to His Majesty’s Ministers by Lord Caledon, and given in charge to Mr. Alexander, the Colonial Secretary, some of which I addressed you upon in my letter of the 10th September last, and I have now only to repeat my earnest hope that the Commander in Chief will be pleased to use his influence in support of the Military Commanders, and in preventing Officers and Troops being disposed of contrary to their judgment, which if permitted must tend to lessen their authority and consequence with the Armies under their orders, and must place them in a very unpleasant predicament, by making them responsible for the conduct of Officers who may be placed in situations of military trust and importance for which they are unfit. I must take this opportunity of observing that by the existing Eegulations the Civil Governor would have the Command of the Army in the event of there not being an Officer at the Head of it of the Bank of Brigadier General, which I fear might cause some confusion in the present state of this Army, should anything happen to remove me from the command of it, Colonel Baird being the only Officer of Eank under me, I would therefore beg to recommend that this Officer should have the rank of Brigadier General, or that the authority over the Troops now confided to General Officers should be extended to Colonels on the Staff. I have &c. (Signed) H. Grey. 424 Records of the Cape Colony. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, November 19, 1810. My Lord, — In my dispatch No 14 of the 25th September I acquainted Your Lordship with the Measures I had taken for rein- forcing Vice Admiral Bertie, and in a subsequent one of the 30th of October I informed Your Lordship of the equipment and departure of the armament from Simon’s Bay on the 25th of the same month. Governor Beatson in compliance with my application requested Captain Parker of His Majesty’s Ship Menelaus to proceed to the Cape, from whence she departed for Rodriguez on the 6th Inst., and as the wind has continued most favorable will no doubt together with the Phoebe and Transports arrive sufficiently soon to assist in the future operations against the Mauritius. Mr. Farquhar, who did me the honor of enclosing a copy of his letter to your Lordship under date the 11th of October, calculates upon the arrival of the whole Force at the place of rendezvous on or about the 1st November, but Your Lordship will at once perceive that the Cape Force should not (from circumstances of which Mr. Farquhar was unaware) be expected before the 20th of November, an 1 assuming that date for its arrival I am led to imagine the last India reinforcements will not have effected their junction with the detachment from Bourbon at an earlier period. I understand from Vice Admiral Bertie it was originally in- tended the whole India force should assemble at Madras, but that the arrangement at present stands thus : The Bengal division, to sail the 5th of September, was expected to arrive on the 5th November; the Bombay division to sail the 10th of September was expected to arrive about the 25th Septem- ber, and the Madras division to sail from the 20th to the 25th September, the passage supposed to be from six weeks to two months. Admitting the several divisions to have sailed and arrived within the computed time (which is not probable) I presume the Commander in Chief would still defer acting until the junction of the Cape armament. As it should seem from Mr. Farquhar’s observation that no danger is to be apprehended from hurricanes before the close of Records of tJce Cape Colony. 425 December, and if I am correct in this conjecture the attack will not be commenced before the end of November or the first week in December. As Mr. Farquhar has referred Your Lordship to an extract of his letter to me which regards the disposal of Prisoners of War on board the Bombay Merchant Cartel, it is my duty to acquaint Your Lordship that by a subsequent arrangement made by Lieut. Gen1 Abercromby and Vice Admiral Bertie it has been stipulated on the part of the British Government at Bourbon that she shall proceed to the Port of Morlaix for the purpose of landing the Prisoners of War with which she is charged. Capt. Hamelin late of La Venus and the other Officers on board have entered into the usual promise of not serving until exchanged, and have guaranteed the security of the Vessel. I shall not interfere with this arrangement farther than by taking out some seamen and substituting those Officers who were included in the capitulation of Bourbon and who are still at the Cape. The intercourse of the French Officers with the Colonists, which it is so desirable to discountenance, dictates the propriety of this measure, of which I hope Your Lordship -will approve. The French Cartel Lc Genereux is not yet completed for Sea, nor will she be ready for some time. To the account, which Your Lordship will receive thro’ Mr. Farquhar of the capture and recapture of His Majesty’s Frigates Africaine and Ceylon and the intended movement of the Squadron I have only to add that Vice Admiral Bertie sailed from St. Paul’s according to his intention on the 14th of October for the purpose of resuming his station off Port Louis. I have etc. Africaine, flag- ship Venus Boadicea Ceylon (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Letter from Major Christopher Bird to the Honourable C. B. Agar. Castle of Good Hope, 20 November 1810. Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency Earl Caledon to transmit to you herewith a copy of an Estimate for Watering Cape Town, 426 Records of the Cape Colony. drawn up for His Excellency’s approval by Mr. H. Rennie, of Stamford Street, Blackfriars, together with copy of the reply which His Excellency has directed to be given to Mr. Rennie on this subject. You will observe on inspection of these Papers that it is His Excellency’s intention to carry this object into effect as speedily as possible, and that His Excellency means to remit to you the sums of Money necessary for defraying such part of the expence as must necessarily be incurred in England. For this purpose, at the end of Next Month, His Excellency proposes remitting to you £6000 in Government Bills, and a like sum as soon as the receipt thereof shall have been acknowledged, by which time the probable balance will have been tolerably correctly ascertained, which will then be forwarded to you. It will be a most desirable relief to the funds of this Colony if the Transport Board would apportion a part of such Vessels as they are occasionally sending out here for the reception of the Pipes, and His Excellency requests that you may be pleased to apply to His Majesty’s Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs on this subject, and urge His Lordship to give directions therein. Should you be so successful as to obtain from Lord Liverpool that the whole of the Pipes are thus forwarded to our Colony, you will be pleased to apprize Mr. Rennie thereof, but should it so happen that only a part thereof can be sent out by these means, His Excellency must trouble you to take up freight for the remainder in Such Merchant Vessels as may be coming to this Port, upon the most economical terms you can. It will be also desirable if a passage can be obtained for the Superintendent of the Works by Means of the Transport Office ; but as his early arrival here is much to be wished, His Excellency begs that such a passage may not be waited for, but that you may be so kind as to urge Mr. Rennie to send him out by the earliest opportunity. Should Mr. Alexander not have left England before this Letter reaches you, His Excellency begs to refer you to him for such further information as you may require on this subject. I have etc. (Signed) C. Bird. Records of the Cajpe Colony. 427 [Copy.] Letter from Major C. Bird to J. Bennie, Esqre. Castle of Good Hope, 20 November 1810. Sir, — Mr. Barrow has been so good as to forward by the Rarhadoes Frigate, which arrived about a fortnight since, your plan and Estimate for supplying the respective dwellings of this Town with Water, and I have not failed to lay them before His Excellency Earl Caledon. His Lordship, approving highly both of the Plan itself and of your general reasoning upon the subject, has desired me to express to you his anxiety to have it carried into execution with as little delay as possible. The short stay I made in England, and the conse- quent hurry I was in during that time, prevented me from making myself Master of the mode in which the ulterior arrangements were to be directed, but I presume I am right in addressing myself to you on that head. The first object that appears to be Necessary is to Secure a proper person to superintend the work and to have the permanent management thereof after it is executed. You are so good as to say that you can find such a one, and the Governor has authorized me to acquaint you that he will grant him a permanent Salary of £400 Sterling, payable out of the Colonial Revenues. The Money necessary for defraying the Expence of tbe Pipes and such other incidental charges as may occur on Your side of the Water will be remitted by degrees to the Honorable C. B. Agar, who is agent for this Settlement, and whose address may be learnt at the Secretary of State’s Office for Colonial Affairs, Downing Street. It does not appear that your estimate is charged with the leaden Pipes which will be necessary for conveying the Water into each dwelling, and a considerable part of the Town, not built when the plan was drawn from which you have made your calculations, is consequently not included therein. His Excellency is, however, provided for the additional expence which will be thereby incurred. The distance from the head of the Spring at Breda’s to the Pump at Heuting’s where your calculation commences, is 1550 Rynland feet, the fall very precipitate. Upon examination I find the Water 428 Records of the Cape Colony. divided at its Source. The water is collected at the source into a very small bason, and is discharged from that through two tubes, one of 15 inches diameter, the other of 6 ; the former supplies the Town with Drinkwater in the manner you are already aware of, the greater part of it running to waste for want of a Eeservoir to receive it, the latter tube discharges the supply from which the gardens in and at the back of the Town are watered. This I presume could not be interfered with. Your proposal for a tank could not be conveniently executed except at Heuting’s close to the Pump, at which place there is waste Land sufficient for this purpose. A principal difficulty in effecting the object in question is the freight of the Pipes, as Merchant Vessels would probably not choose to take a large quantity of such dead weight on board, and consequently it will be some time before the whole of the Pipes can be brought here. Mr. Agar will be requested to apply for some aid for this purpose to the Transport Board, and this difficulty (if it he one) must at any rate be surmounted in England. I have etc. (Signed) C. Btrd. [Copy.] Letter from M. C. Gie, Esqre., to Deputy Secretary Bird. Cape of Good Hope, 23rd November, 1810. Sir, — In order to reply as correctly as possible to the different points His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to demand from me by your letter of the 13th last, I scrutinized the old books of my Office (named formerly Wildschutte Boeken) several very imperfect, also with your permission the old records and diagrams respecting the same, to obtain therefrom that information that could lead to give a full account of the origin of Loan Places, &c., on which I have likewise consulted with old inhabitants, but have been unable to discover anything further respecting the same than what I shall have the honor to submit. Prom the oldest book commencing with the year 1687 I find that the name Loan Place originated from a grant given to the inhabitants of the Town (on ordonnantie) which is a permission to Records of the Cape Colony. 429 shoot game for the space of 8 and 14 days. Sometimes this has been extended for a longer period, in order to provide and partly maintain their families ; this has caused the name of Wildschutte Eoeken ; the grants being duly registered in the same, and leads to suppose that in proportion as the Town increased with in- habitants the ground for grazing the cattle near the Town became insufficient, besides unwilling to trust to the then neighbouring Hottentots for the exchange of cattle, which appears to have been the custom, it became of moment to encourage the breeding of cattle and to give grants to the inhabitants so inclined and had chosen spots of land to that effect, with an order to keep at some distance from each other, not only to prevent daily quarrels and vexations but also that they should not wander through the country. Other inhabitants had spots of land noted at the Secretary’s office, when found not to be too near or detrimental to those already possessed of, a lease was made of the same by the Governor’s verbal permission, none of which are previous to the year 1703, when grants were given for the space of 3, 6, or 12 months on different conditions (viz. annexures 1, 2, and 3) some expressing for cultivation others not, without that it appears that they paid for the same or were restricted to extent of ground, but always with that clausule not to be of hindrance of each other. It appears from grants of the year 1705 that they have sold to one another the premises thereon, called Opstallen. Orders were given in April 1714 to bring to the Government magazine the tithe of their grain. In the month of July 1714 it appears that one Rix dollar per month was paid beforehand besides the tithe, (viz. annexures 4 and 5, to which agreeable annexure No. 6 has been added in June 1715 the condition to renew the lease one month after the expiration of the same, under the penalty of Rds. 15 for the first omission, Rds. 20 for the second, and Rds. 30 for the third. Government was pleased in the year 1728 to take cattle at the rate of 8 Rds. per ox in payment, to be delivered to the different Overseers of the outposts, when grants were given for the space of two years, the consequence of this was that by an order of Council dated the 28th February 1732 the loan hire was increased to 2 Rds. per month, and the ordonnanties continued on the same footing until July 1793, when the form was altered by the Com- 430 Records of the Ccqoc Colony. missioners Neder burgh and Frykenius. From all Leases and papers respecting to the same which have been duly examined, I can’t trace why Loan Places have obtained the right of half an hour’s extent each way from a certain placed Beacon, which seems to have become an adopted custom, to place on a certain spot when new lands were petitioned for. When disputes arise between possessors of old Loanplaces where Beacon cannot be found or is purposely concealed, which sometimes happens, generally the hut or house is taken for such, and half an hour is given each way. There are instances that Buildings have been removed to a better or more convenient spot, but not without the consent of the Land- drosts of their Districts, provided the first Beacon be not taken from the place the half hour was measured from. This custom of giving a half hour each way has been followed for many years and serves as a limit, and now become a surreptitious custom, of which no Law exists, but from the time elapsed can be considered as a tacit acquiescence of the same, as many decisions of Landdrost and Heemraden and of Commissioners of the Court of Justice in case of disputes between two farmers have rested upon this point, and accordingly been decided in favor of one of the parties. When the Commission on which Messrs. Yos and Wernich were appointed by order of the late Batavian Government in 1805 to examine the Lands that could be given to different petitioners, it appears that they have particularly observed that each Loan place should have half an hour each way. There are several cases where the petitioner could not obtain the full extent of an hour’s ground in circumference, that the grant of the lease has been refused to him, and on the other hand places which had not the extent of half an hour each way have been given on paying 24 Rdols. for the same, the cause of this I attribute that either a river, sea, or hill on one side, deprived them of the full extent. Several leases were likewise easily obtained in the late Government notwith- standing the places were destitute of the full half hour, as when the person who had chosen a spot of land could produce certificates from the adjacent neighbours that they had no objection of him becoming the possessor of the same. This usurped custom has also further been acquiesced in by the late Batavian Government in the 267th Article of their instructions to Field Cornets how to proceed in walking the half hour for new petitioned loan lands. From the above mentioned acquiescence of Records of the Cape Colony. 431 Government and principally from the levy of 2J per cent duty on the sale of loan places by a decree of Council dated 20th July 1790 and published the 10th of September following, the possessors of loan places, notwithstanding the annual renewal of the same is expressed in the grants, feel themselves equally secure in the possession thereof as if they were real property, moreover confiding in the uprightness of an equitable Government they cultivate the same at pleasure, bequeath the same, and although they do not dispose of the land itself by public sale it is very well understood that the premises thereon (often not worth the transfer duty) are sold, that the good quality of the land is paid for, and becomes the only object of the purchaser. This has likewise been con- sidered at the establishment of a new Drostdy, when the land wanted for that purpose has been paid for by Government accordingly, which leaves every possessor in the full assurance that an equitable Government will ever continue him in the secure possession thereof, amenable to such laws and regulations as she may deem proper to enact in future. I observe with regard to the Leening Eigendommen that in consequence of a decree of Council dated the 31st of July 1714, viz. annexure No. 11, whereby proprietors of loan lands were permitted to apply to obtain the same in property that many of Corn lands differ in extent ; that in several title deeds is expressed already possessed several years in loan, in others not, without being able to discover if they had the privilege of pasturage. I conclude from circumstances where 2 or 3 property places only encompassing an hour, that they could not have the same extent of grazing as attached to property loan lands, but the Colony then being' little inhabited, there was sufficiency of waste land which they tacitly used for that purpose, except those given as a recom- pense to the inhabitants who attended Governor La Fontaine on his journey in the Country in the year 1732 there are no full loan places given in property without being previously measured. Eespecting the commutation of loan places into Freehold, there are none granted until the year 1743 agreeable to an instruction left by Governor General Imhoff to that purpose, in whose title deed is expressed Yeeplaats before possessed in loan, and of which 60 morgen have been measured in property, continuing to pay even as before Eds. 24, without that I can detect wherefore, as it is not explained either in the title deeds or in the above instruc- 432 Records of the Cape Colony. tion. And whereas most of these places have been redeemed for the different sums from Eds. 80 to Rds. 300 just as other land granted in property, and not liable to any yearly payment, I have reason to suppose that the continuation of the payment of Eds. 24 was to maintain the right of grazing that land which with the measured 60 morgen made the loan place. With regard to the measured freeholds when I take into consideration the notification given on the 8th of February and the warning published the 1st of July 1732, whereby the Government strictly prohibited the usurpation of lands beyond their limits, and possessors of property lands were desired to petition for such land on Quit Eent, which having been granted to several it is my opinion that they can claim no land beyond their diagrams. Nevertheless it has become a custom to make a surreptitious use of Government land beyond their boundaries as indispensable for grazing of cattle or otherwise, which never having been prevented they absolutely now claim it as their right, many disputes having been settled on that head by Landdrost and Heemraden as well as sentences pronounced by the Court of Justice upon the reports made by their Com- missioners, which will always be alleged as precedents on their behalf. I can discover nothing further about the place the Lange Eiet Yallei (the property of Jacob Laubscher, Pz., deceased) than that the Erf Grond brief contains 52 morgens 120 roods measured land, with the permission to sow, plant, build, dispose, and make the said hereditary, and that no mention is made in the same as in other title deeds that the said land has been possessed in lease or had right of pasturage, wherefore it can have no claim upon any more land than the measured 52 morgen 120 roods or enjoy other privileges than allowed to property places. It might however have been the case that the first possessor at the time that he obtained the grant had a verbal permission from the Governor in loco to graze thereabout, the Country being very extensive and little sought for, so that having for a length of time remained the uninterrupted possessor, he considered himself entitled thereto, disposed of the said place, which being bequeathed to Jacob Laubscher, Pietz., he considered bona fide to have the right to use the said land at pleasure and never petitioned Government for the same, from which neglect the widow would become the loser when given to another, was it not that relying on the benevolent Records of the Cape Colony. 433 decision of His Excellency, who from a particular consideration of the case might be pleased to grant her the remaining land between that Estate and the loan place Jantjes Fontein, of which she likewise possesses the half, after allowing the usual half hour to the same either on a loan lease or quitrent to remain for ever attached to the Lange Riet Vallei, or on such footing as His Excellency in his wisdom shall deem proper. Permit me to observe from what I have alleged respecting the origin of Loan Lands, Perpetual Loan places, the commutation of loan places into Freehold measured by Diagram, and of measured freeholds, that nothing positive can be proved from the books of my Office, but it evidently appears that a very irregular system formerly had place in the manner of granting lands, that no atten- tion has been paid to the admonition and the order of the year 1732, and as the Colony daily will increase more and more under the favorable auspices of this present Government, attention must be paid that the proprietors of land do not usurp upon Govern- ment ground, and carefully cultivate their lands obtained in property or otherwise, for which reason I beg leave to suggest to have a general Chart formed into Districts, on which the places should be painted with different colours denoting the place itself and the usurped ground. This should be offered in preference to those inhabitants who had made a good use of or ameliorated the land as His Excellency may deem most expedient either on quit rent or lease, this would abolish the innovation of similar abuses for the future. The loan places could in time, by having proper Beacons placed by the respective Landdrosts, be more distinguish- able, and the proprietors limited within their loan right, whereby the grantable land would also be better ascertained. It will afford me much satisfaction to find that I have been able by this to answer somewhat to the intention of His Excellency the Governor. I have &c. For J. P. Baumgardt, Receiver General of Land Revenue, by his indisposition. (Signed) M. C. Gie. vii. 434 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy-] Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to the Fiscal J. A. Truter, Esqre. Secretary’s Office, November 21th, 1810. Sir, — A paragraph having appeared in a Pamphlet published by the Missionary Society in England, purporting to be an Extract of a Letter from Mr. Bead, a Missionary residing at Bethelsdorp, in which strong Censure is passed upon the negligence of the Magistrates of the Interior Districts of this Settlement in over- looking atrocious Acts of Cruelty towards the Hottentots by certain Inhabitants of those parts, His Excellency the Governor directed a Copy of the Paragraph in question to be forwarded to the Landdrost of Uitenhage, and desired him to call upon Mr. Bead to make known to him the Cases generally alluded to in his Statement, and to cause Such further enquiry to be in- stituted into this Affair as might tend to bring the whole matter to light. Major Cuyler having now transmitted his report thereon, His Excellency has desired me to forward to you a Copy of the Paragraph in question together with a Copy of my letter to him on the Subject herein enclosed, Nos. 1 and 2. I have also to add a Copy of the Landdrost’s reply, -N° 3, with Copies of the Enclosures therewith received, and N° 4, a Copy of a letter from Mr. Bead relative to the Same Business. His Excellency desires that you be pleased to take the whole of this Case into your Consideration and favor him with Your Opinion : Whether the Landdrost of Uitenhage has made all the Enquiry which the Nature of the circumstances and of the case required ? If not what further Measures he should take for discovering the truth of these Insinuations ? Whether any Case of cruelty or Other Crime appears to have been committed Since the British Government took possession of the Settlement ? Whether any other Cases appear or can be brought to light in which it is incumbent to proceed against the Parties accused ? Whether any of the Cases alluded to by Mr. Bead were made known to and prosecuted by the Batavian Government ? If any other points arise in your Consideration of this Case, Records of the Cape Colony. 435 which you thiuk it essential His Excellency should be made acquainted with, He relies upon Your entering fully into them, and though His Excellency does not wish to press you for a speedy Answer, Yet it is His Wish to be favoured with it as Soon as you conveniently can give one. I have etc. (Signed) C. Bird, Dty Secretary. [Original.] Letter from Sir David Dundas to the Earl of Liverpool. Horse Guards, 28 th November 1810. My Lord, — I have the Honor to transmit to you herewith the Copy of a Letter from Lieut. General Grey to my Secretary, enclosing a Memorandum of a conversation which had taken place between that Officer and the Earl of Caledon, relative to the respective and distinct powers of the Civil and Military Authorities vested in the Governor and Commander of the Forces. In Order that your Lordship may avail yourself of more immediate reference to former Documents and decisions upon the subject now again at issue between Lord Caledon and Lieut. General Grey, I beg to transmit for your Consideration the Copies of Several Papers, some of which must be in Your Office, referred to in General Grey’s Letter and stated in the enclosed Schedule. Your Lordship will perceive that Mr Dundas’s Letter to Sir George Yonge of September 1800, enclosing the Extract of a Letter from The Secretary at War to Lord Halifax dated in February 1765, is quite conclusive in the Establishment of a Line between the Civil Governor and the Military Commander; and the Ex- planation given in those Papers is quite clear in prohibiting an interference on the part of the former in the details of the Regular Army. Upon these Documents are principally founded the Letters addressed to General Grey by His Boyal Highness the Duke of York of the 25th November 1807 and 29th April 1808, in reply to the General’s representations of the Governor’s interference with his Command. I have no doubt but that these Documents and the expediency 2 F 2 436 llecords of the Cape Colony. of the principle upon which Military controul in all the details of Command is vested by His Majesty in His several Military Commanders will convince Your Lordship that Lord Caledon is not justified in assuming any right of interference in the Command of the Eegular Army ; and that His Lordship misunderstands His Situation by giving a more general bearing to the wording of his Commission as Governor, in common with all others, than had ever been intended or acted upon ; But while I have thought it necessary from the tenor and bearings of Lord Caledon’s former Letters to General Grey to bring forward the general subject founded upon the Documents to which General Grey has referred, I must state to Your Lordship that the present question of difference between him and the Governor appears to me to be totally of a distinct nature from the subject of former Corre- spondence, and appears to rest upon the question of whether the general officer Commanding has authority to diminish the Force of the garrison without the concurrence of the Governor when the necessities of the general service may in his opinion require it. The discussion of this question will naturally branch into the consideration of whether the Commander of the Forces has not the power of refusing to diminish the Force under his Command upon any requisition made by the Governor for Troops for distinct Services. As the good of the Service is intimately involved in the early decision of a point which, while unsettled, might lead to the interruption of that cordial cooperation which it is essential should subsist between the Civil and Military authorities, I trust Your Lordship will be enabled to take the subject into your immediate consideration ; and I am confident that the authority which the usage of the service and former decisions have established in the person of an officer holding His Majesty’s Commission of Com- mander of the Forces, will in the instance of Lieut. General Grey receive that support and protection from your Lordship which is necessary to the respectability and efficiency of the important situation He holds. I have etc. (Signed) David Dundas. Records of the Cape Colony. 427 [Enclosure A in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Torrens. Cape op Good Hope, 1( )th September 1810. Sir, — I regret being under the necessity of troubling the Right Honorable the Commander in Chief upon a subject which I had hoped was completely set at rest by former decisions of His Royal Highness the late Commander in Chief, and of the Secretary of State. I allude to the control the Civil Governor of this Colony conceives he has over the Army, which I should feel myself very blameable in admitting, and, that by so doing, I should most unjustifiably resign the authority which is, and ought to be, vested in the Commander of the Forces, particularly after the Corre- spondence which took place in the Years 1807 and 1808, and I beg to refer you to my Statement dated the 10th of August 1807, with the Duke of York’s answer of the 25th of November in the Same Year, in which His Royal Highness says, “ Although the powers of Government, Civil and Military, are certainly by the Governor’s Commission, vested in him, it is to be understood, as relating entirely to the Colonial force, Militia, etc. ; The Army paid by this Country being solely and exclusively under the Command of the Officer Commanding the Forces, provided such Officer had the rank of a Brigadier General, in which case the Civil Governor has no control or direction over the Troops.” I must also beg to call your attention to my representation upon the Same Subject, under date the 10th of January 1808, with the Duke of lork’s answer, (accompanied by several enclosures) dated the 29th of April, and my Reply of the 4th of October, in the same Year. The circumstance which has given rise to the present discussion between Lord Caledon and myself is the demand which has been made by the Governor General of India upon this Colony for Troops to co-operate with a force from India, in an Expedition against the French Islands of Mauritius and Bourbon, and the question that has arisen thereupon is, whether it rests with the Governor, or myself, to decide upon the nature and strength ot the Force to be detached upon such an occasion ? The Governor contends that I cannot without his consent and approbation comply with a Requisition of this nature, or detach a Single 438 Records of the Cape Colony. Soldier from the Colony without his permission, and that if he and I differ as to the number of Troops which could be spared, I must give way to his opinion. These claims to authority over me I have resisted in toto, and asserted my exclusive right to judge both of the description and the proportion of Troops it would be eligible to employ, this decision of mine being founded upon the correspondence before alluded to, and more particularly upon the Letter from the Secretary at War to Lord Halifax in 1765, to which Lord Caledon was referred for his guidance, and in which it is expressly stated that the Governor cannot give orders for the disposal of the Troops, “ excepting within his own Government,” and that only when no General Officer is present, and provided that it does not interfere with any instructions which may have been given by the Commander of the Forces. I most earnestly entreat the Commander in Chief will give this subject his serious consideration, being one with which the authority of the Commander of an Army, and consequently the discipline of the Troops, is so much connected, and that he will use his influence with Government to cause the Line to be so (dearly and explicitly drawn as if possible to prevent in future any difference of opinion. The Governor attaches such importance to this question, that he has sent Mr. Alexander (the Colonial Secretary) home, with his Statement for the decision of His Majesty’s Ministers, and I hope the Right Honorable the Commander in Chief will see the necessity of upholding the right and authority of Military Com- manders, without which they cannot do their duty with justice to the Service or to those under their Orders, nor can they be responsible, as I now conceive they are, for the consequences of any imprudent disposal of the Troops under their Command, if their judgment is to be controlled by a Civil Governor. In the meantime I am fortunate enough to be upon very good terms with Lord Caledon, we have consequently conducted this dispute, like former ones, as a difference upon a public question, without allowing it to interfere with our intercourse in other Matters, and have taken care His Majesty and our Country’s interests should not suffer, every assistance possible having been contributed to the Service which has given rise to it. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey. 439 Records of the Cape Colony. N.B. Perhaps I shall make the matter of dispute between Lord Caledon and myself more clear by the enclosed statement of the conversation that passed between us, which has been admitted by both parties to be correct. [Enclosure B in the above.] Memorandum of a Conversation held at Government House on Sunday the 9th September 1810. Lord Caledon. — General Grey, you mentioned to me in a cursory manner on Friday your intention of sending a Company of Artillery in addition to the Troops now going on service. General Grey. — I did, I intend sending a Company of Artillery. Lord Caledon. — Then Sir ! I wish to understand whether that intention is in consequence of my suggestion or whether it is the result of your own decision founded upon your own opinion, and if the latter be the case, whether you adopt the measure upon what you conceive your own authority, and at your own responsibility. General Grey. — I do adopt it entirely on my own responsibility ; it is the result of my own opinion, and I do the act upon my own authority. Lord Caledon. — Then Sir, I cannot be too explicit in apprizing you that I do not conceive you have authority for detaching a single Soldier from this Colony without my entire approbation. I do therefore in the strongest terms state to you that I resist to the utmost the adoption of such a precedent. I fortunately in this instance perfectly concur in the measure of sending Artillery, but I regret the principle upon which they are to be sent, and I shall lay the whole case before His Majesty’s Ministers with my observations upon it. General Grey. — My Lord ! this is a point that I have been most anxious to come to ; I consider the whole of the regular army completely and entirely under my command, that your Lordship’s power only extends to Colonial Corps or Militia, and that the measure of sending any Troops is a matter in which I alone am concerned, to instance which I was directed to send the 24th Eegiment to India, and I believe you were not written to on the subject. In like manner when Admiral Bertie was instructed to make a requisition for a Eegiment, it was to the 440 Records of the Cape Colony. Commander of the Forces that Bequisition was to have been made, and I was directed to give it to him. Lord Caledon. — I do not recollect at this moment whether I received any Letter respecting the Embarkation of the 24th Eegiment. The main point before ns is this : you distinctly state that it is solely upon your own opinions and what you conceive to be your own power you are about to send Artillery from hence, and I have stated to you that although I concur in detaching that force, I shall to the utmost resist the principle upon which it is sent as forming a precedent which I do not admit. It is fortunate that the question has arisen upon a point where the Service can be continued, but I think it so very important, whether as applying it to what we may be called upon to do either from the present state of South America or as to the Portuguese Settlements on this Coast, that I think I shall send Mr. Alexander home with my statement for the purpose of sooner obtaining a decision upon it. I am very happy to perceive from the manner in which we have held the conversation that it is not likely to interfere with our habits of personal friendship, but for fear there should be any misconception I shall follow it up by a letter to you, on which I shall recapitulate what has passed. General Grey. — I perfectly understood your Lordship, there is not the least occasion to write me any letter, as I shall never deny what has passed ; everything is clear, as we understand each other. Lord Caledon. — General Grey, I am sure you will never deny what has passed, my only motive in proposing the letter was to prevent the possibility of misconception hereafter. The conversation turned upon other subjects, and we parted in the most amicable manner. [Enclosure C in the above.] Letter from W. Huskisson, Esqre., to Colonel Brownrigg. Downing Street, 1 October 1800. Sir, — I have received Mr. Secretary Dundas’s direction to enclose to you a Copy of the Letter he has written to Sir George Yonge respecting the Nature and limits of His Control over His Majesty’s Troops at the Cape of Good Hope, and I am to desire Records of the Cape Colony. 441 that you will lay the same before The Commander in Chief for His Eoyal Highness’s Information. I am etc. (Signed) W. Huskisson. [Enclosure D in the above.] See the letter to Sir George Yonge on page 300 of volume 1799-1801, under date 26th September 1800. [Enclosure E in the above.] Extract of a Letter from Lieutenant General H. Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon, dated Cape of Good Hope, 10 th August, 1807. “ I think it is incumbent on me to state, that I fear there are some points relative to the situations of Governor and Commander of the Forces in this settlement, which may be productive of disagreements between the persons who hold these Appointments, unless the line be plainly and decidedly drawn, by positive Orders from the Government in England, not that I am in the least apprehensive of anything of this kind happening between Lord Caledon and myself, His Lordship’s conduct towards me having been, so far, of the most liberal nature, and all that I could wish, still there are some tilings which may be disputed by others, particularly with respect to Houses. Sir D. Baird exchanged a House which was always considered as a Military Quarter, and in which Genl. Dundas and other Commanders formerly resided, for another much more conveniently situated to the Ground where the Troops are usually encamped, and a more eligible place in every respect ; Sir David has also, in the articles of exchange, called this last place ‘The Military Head Quarters,’ but Lord Caledon, tho’ he has not taken it from me, appears to think that Sir D. Baird had no right to give it such an appellation, and that the Civil Governor might claim it if he thought fit. I there- fore, according to His Lordship’s idea, retain this place upon sufferance, tho’ I cannot conceive it so, and it may produce a dispute, should either His Lordship, or myself, be removed from the Cape, unless the Question be decided at home. I believe Lord Caledon has written to the Secretary of State on the subject, and I trust His Eoyal Highness will be pleased to urge the claim of the Military Commander to this, or some other Country House, 442 Records of the Cape Colony. as a Summer Quarter. Another Circumstance, and a more material one, is, that the Governor’s authority in Military matters does not seem to be clearly understood. I transmit two Letters which have passed between Lord Caledon and myself upon this subject, and as He has expressed himself satisfied with what I have said in my answer, His Eoyal Highness will perceive, by these Letters, the footing upon which it is placed between us, which I trust He will approve of, but which will not, of course, be considered to be binding by other Governors and Commanders, without orders from home.” [Enclosure F in the above.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, July 21 st 1807. Sir, — As the powers with which I am vested may not be clearly understood, I have to refer you to the following extracts from the instructions which I received under the Eoyal Sign Manual, for the guidance of my conduct in this Government. Extract from the 4th Article : — “ But it is nevertheless our especial command that all the powers of Government within the Settlement, as well civil as military, shall be vested solely in you our Governor, or in the Person having the Government for the time being.” Extract from the 9th Article : — “ You are to give Warrants under your hand for the issuing of all public Monies for all public services, and we do particularly require you to take care that regular accounts of all receipts and payment of all public Monies be duly kept, and that copies thereof, attested by you, be transmitted every half year, or oftener, if there should be occasion, to our Commissioners of our Treasury > or to our High Treasurer for the time being, and Duplicates thereof by the next conveyance, on which accounts shall be specified every particular sum raised or disposed of, to the end that we may take such measures as we may deem necessary for the examination of the said accounts, and that we may be satisfied of the due application of the revenues of the said Settlement, and 443 Records of the Cape Colony. with the probability of the encrease and diminution of them, under every head and article thereof.” As from the latter part of the 9th Article it may be conceived that I am only empowered to warrant and control such expences as are defrayed out of the Colonial Treasury, I beg to call your attention to the orders under which the Deputy Paymaster to the Porces acts, likewise to the enclosed instructions from Lord Macartney to the Auditor of Accounts, which will show how entirely His Lordship judged the general superintendence to be vested in Him, and all Official Documents upon this Head prove that His Lordship’s directions were acquiesced in here, and sanctioned at home. In compliance, therefore, with my instructions, and in con- sideration of the usage observed by my Predecessors in the Administration of the affairs of this Government, I am to request that all warrants be offered for my signature, and that every measure in which expence is to be incurred, whether in the Commissariat, Barrack, or any other Department, shall subsequent to your investigation, be laid before me for my Approval. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Enclosure G in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Cape Castle, 22nd July 1807. My Lord, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s letter of the 21st instant, with its enclosure, and referring me to two Extracts from the Instructions, under the Eoyal Sign Manual, for your Lordship’s guidance in the Govern- ment of this Settlement. With respect to the public accounts, which all now go through the Commissary General, I cannot have the smallest objection, as I have had the honor of stating to your Lordship in person, to submit any extraordinary measure which I may think necessary for the Service of the Army, and which may be attended with expence, to your Consideration before it is carried into execution, on the contrary, it will take great responsibility from me 444 Records of the Cape Colony. respecting the public money, which I should be most happy to be relieved from altogether. I do not, however, conceive that it will be necessary for me either to give Your Excellency so much trouble, or to make myself so completely a cypher, as to ask your consent for every trifling expence in the usual course of service. In regard to the warrants upon the Paymaster General, I find that they were always drawn in the name of The Governor, when the Cape was formerly in possession of the British, I have there- fore directed the Deputy Paymaster General to carry on the business in the same manner, tho’ this appears to me to be of very trifling consequence, as his disbursements are merely the subsistence of the Army, in which he cannot err ; he is not now even allowed to negotiate his own Bills, which is done by the Deputy Commissary General, by whom all other payments what- ever are made, indeed the whole system of managing the Military Expenditure has been so completely changed since Lord Macartney’s instructions to the Auditor General, which your Excellency has enclosed to me, were written, that they, in my opinion, do not now apply. I cannot conclude without observing upon the 4th Article of the instructions which your Lordship has transmitted to me, that altho’ the Commission of a Governor still runs in the words, “ all powers as well civil as military are vested solely in you our Governor,” on account of Disputes between Civil Governors and Commanders of the Forces, explanatory instructions have been repeatedly given, drawing the line, and, as I conceive, placing the Command of the Army entirely in the hands of The Commander of the Forces. I particularly allude to a letter written by The Secretary of State to Sir George Yonge, when he was Governor of this settlement, in consequence of a disagreement between him and General Dundas, who was then at the head of the Army. I beg your Excellency to excuse the freedom with which I have given my opinion, and to assure you of my hearty Support in carrying on the Government of the Colony. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey, Lt. Genl. Records of tlic Cape Colony. 445 [Enclosure H in the above.] Letter from the Commander in Chief to Lieutenant General Grey. Horse Guards, 25th November 1807. Sir, — Lt. Col. Gordon having laid before me your letter of the 10th of Augt. last, with its enclosures, by which I am concerned to observe that a difference of opinion exists between the Governor and yourself relative to your respective situations, I have to acquaint you that this subject of difference having been frequently discussed and decided, it remains for me merely to point out to you the line of Conduct which His Majesty has directed should be observed by His Military Officers upon such occasions. Although the Powers of Government Civil and Military are certainly, by the Governor’s Commission, vested in him, it is to be understood as relating entirely to the Colonial Force, Militia, etc., the Army paid by this Country being solely and exclusively under the Command of the Officer Commanding the Forces, provided such officer has the Bank of a Brigadier General, in which case the Civil Governor has no controul or direction over the Troops. His Command or Controul is equally defined and distinct with regard to the Financial arrangements of the Army, over which the Civil Governor cannot exert the smallest direction. The Deputy Commissary General, the Deputy Paymaster General, and the Deputy Barrack Master General, are Military Officers for the time being exclusively attached to the army and under the sole direction of the Commander of the Forces, and in no shape whatever are their accounts and expenditures liable to be submitted to the Governor, with any view of Official Inspection. If any Expenditure for the Army is to be defrayed out of the Colonial "Revenues, the Governor of course has the direction and controul of it; but where any Military Expenditure is to be defrayed by Bills upon the Treasury of this Country, the responsi- bility and direction of that expenditure rest solely with the Officer Commanding the Forces ; the Commissary General negotiates the Bills by order of the Commanding Officer, and places the account in the hands of the Paymaster General, from 446 Records of the Cape Colony. whence it is drawn by Warrant of the Officer Commanding the Forces, and upon his sole responsibility. I am therefore to desire that you will be pleased to confer with Lord Caledon upon this subject, and explain to His Lordsbip that in all matters of Military expenditure which are defrayed by this Country You, as Commander of the Forces, are exclusively re- sponsible, and therefore that no Official reference upon them can be regularly made to His Lordship as Governor. I am etc. (Signed) Frederick, Commander in Chief. [Enclosure I in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon. Cape of Good Hope, 10f7t January 1808. Sir, — I am sorry to feel it my Duty to transmit to you for the Information of His Eoyal Highness the Commander in Chief, the enclosed Correspondence between His Excellency the Earl of Caledon and myself relative to the powers of our respective situations, and I hope His Royal Highness will be pleased to believe that it is far from my wish to make unnecessary difficulties, or unwarrantably to interfere with the Governor’s prerogative, my only aim being to support the Consequence of the Profession I belong to, and to do my Duty to the best of my J udgment. I shall anxiously await His Royal Highness’s Decision upon the Matter in Dispute, in the meantime he may rest assured His Majesty’s Service shall not suffer. In addition to what is stated in the enclosed Papers, 1 must add that in a Conversation I had with Lord Caledon, he appears to think that he has from his Commission of Commander in Chief the entire Controul over the Army and Nomination of all Officers Commanding military Posts in the Colony, which is so directly contrary to what I conceive to be the opinion of Government, as expressed in a Letter written to Sir George Yonge by the Secretary of State in Consequence of a Disagreement between Sir George and General Dundas, that I could not give way to His Lordship’s opinion without feeling that I should most unjustifiably resign the Rights of the Commander of the Forces. His Excellency and I are however on the best terms, this is, therefore, merely a difference of Judgment upon a public question, Records of the Cape Colony. 447 and he has waived his pretensions until the Decision of Govern- ment shall be known, His Lordship having written to the Secretary of State upon the subject by the Ships now about to sail. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey, Lt. General. [Enclosure J in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Newlands, Dec. 31 si 1807. My Dear Lord, — In consequence of Capt. Morris wishing to go to England I should be glad to appoint Lieut. Colonel Austen Military Secretary, but his Duties at Simon’s Town being half civil and half military, I would not remove him without asking your consent, and if you should not see any objection it would give me very great satisfaction to offer again to Colonel Baird the Command which will be relinquished by Lieutenant Colonel Austen. I am etc. (Signed) H. Grey. [Enclosure K in the above.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 2 January 1808. My Dear Sir, — I am much obliged by your attention in com- municating to me your intention of appointing Lieut. Col. Austen your Military Secretary, to which there can be no objection on my part. With respect to the Commandant of Simon’s Town, I conceive it to be an appointment vested in me, and however much I should be happy to meet your wishes respecting Col. Baird, yet I am sure you will feel the necessity there is for me to uphold the power which I think I possess. Sir Geo. Yonge when Governor appointed Major Kelso, altho’ Lieut. Gen. Dundas, at that time Commander of the Forces, nominated another officer, and the appointment of Major Kelso was approved of, and confirmed. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. 448 Records of the Cape Colony. [Enclosure L in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Newlands, January 2, 1808. My Dear Lord, — It really grieves me to differ with you in anything, but I am sure, from the liberality I have always met with from you, that you will allow it to be equally necessary for me to uphold the rights of the Military as for your Lordship to support the powers you possess. I, therefore, must conceive that where an officer of the Army is concerned, any appointment rests with me, and feeling as we both seem to do about it, I think, my Lord, the best mode will be to separate the civil and military duties at Simon’s Town, when the Civilian can have the House and the Pay allowed by the Colony, and the Military Commander that which is paid by the Commissary General. Lieut. General Dundas ordered an Officer, whose name I forget, at his peril not to leave his Eegiment, when he was appointed Commandant of Simon’s Town by Sir Geo. Yonge ; this was one of the subjects upon which Sir George Yonge and General Dundas disagreed, and, as I conceive, was given against Sir George by the Letter which was afterwards written to him by the Secretary of State. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey. [Enclosure M in the above.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to Lieutenant General Grey. Government House, 3 January 1808. My Dear Sir, — I assure you that it gives me equal uneasiness to differ in opinion with you upon any subject, and altho’ it can only be a variance of Judgment upon a public question, yet I feel additional pain in the present instance, as I cannot enter into your view of the matter, without sacrificing altogether what I conceive to be due to my prerogative. Were there to be two Commandants of Simon’s Town, the one Civil, the other Military, their duties must occasionally clash, and misunderstanding be the consequence, but this is not the Records of the Cape Colony. 449 material point of objection on my part. When I am instructed by my Commission that Military as well as Civil power is vested in me, I cannot subscribe to that argument which states that when an Officer of the Army is appointed, that appointment must rest with you. Custom (and perhaps an order, altho’ I am unacquainted with it) has enacted that all appointments and commissions purely military should be filled up by the Officer Commanding the Forces ; such a regulation is intimately con- nected with the discipline of the Troops, but as far as I can learn it is the established and avowed practice in all Governments, where a Military appointment embraces a civil duty, that then it rests solely with the supreme civil power to nominate. In Madras for example, which is not even a King’s Government, and I believe in all other British Plantations, the office of Town Major, which is partly Military, partly civil (altho’ there is no Colonial allowance), is invariably in the Governor’s Gift, and I consider the situation which has given rise to this discussion as being still less liable to be questioned. Lieut. Gen. Dundas, you observe, desired the Officer whom Sir George Yonge appointed “ to leave his Regiment at his peril.” Granted, but was that order obeyed; on the contrary, Major Kelso, the Officer in question, took upon him the Command and resided in Simon’s Town until his Corps, the 22nd Infantry, proceeded to India. Lord Macartney, when Governor, not unfrequently issued his general orders to the Troops, and they were inserted in the Orderly Books of the Ptegiments. Sir George possessed the same power as his Lordship. I have read both Commissions, and they were verbatim. Had Sir Geo. Yonge issued an order appointing Major Kelso, would General Dundas have been hardy enough to have resisted his Authority ? I think not. But the substance of right was overlooked in altercation, and notwithstanding Sir Geo. Yonge’s act was confirmed, yet the uniform misunderstanding which existed between them gave the appearance of undefined authority to that, as well as to other points in themselves, if possible, more clear. Believe me, Sir, that nothing is farther from my desire than to infringe upon or abridge your power, for I feel that I cannot more effectually promote the Interests of the public service than by cultivating the best mutual understanding. vii. 2 G 450 Records of the Cape Colony. What I have written has been the result of much consideration, and so obvious to my mind is the distinction, that should I fail to convince, I must rather regret the inability of my pen than the dictates of an erroneous judgment. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Enclosure N in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Caledon. Newlands, 4 January 1808. My Dear Lord, — I have been so extremely anxious to avoid any misunderstanding with you that I am now truly unhappy that it should occur relative to the Appointment of Commandant to Simon’s Town, but I should feel that I gave up the rights of the Commander of the Forces in a very unjustifiable manner, and for which I should be much blamed, did I subscribe to Your Lordship’s Opinion. I must therefore protest against your power of appointing a commander to any detachment from the Army under my orders. The civil power I will always support to the utmost, and shall be most happy to attend to your Lordship’s wishes on the subject^ but the Officers most fit to command Detachments of Troops for this or any other purpose I must consider that I have the selection of. In answer to that Part of your Lordship’s Letter relative to the Town Major, I have to observe that there is no similarity between that appointment here and in Madras ; in the latter place it is entirely civil, with the exception of parading the Guards ; all the Police of the Town is managed by this Officer ; he is paid ly the Company ; the situation is never filled by a King’s Officer ; and the Person holding it lives with, and is considered one of the Governor’s family. Here the Office in question is entirely military, it is held by an Officer of the Line, who has nothing to do with the Police, and who is paid by the Paymaster General ; I therefore certainly think this Appointment also rests with the Commander of the Forces. I heartily concur in the conviction your Lordship expresses of this being merely a difference of judgement on a Public Question, Records of the Cape Colony. 451 and I hope such Arrangements may be made that we may jointly name Persons to fill the situations about which I am unfortunate enough to differ with your Lordship, until the opinion of Govern- ment can he known. . I believe General Dundas certainly did prevent Major Kelso from leaving his Eegiment until he (the General) gave his consent : a step which I cannot think deserves the Epithet of “ hardy.” General Dundas did however afterwards agree to Major Ivelso’s going to Simon’s Town, as he had a good Opinion of this Officer, to whom he had no objection save that of what he considered an irregular Appointment. I beg also to observe that all this, as well as the insertion of Lord Macartney’s and Sir George Yonge’s orders in the Books of the Army, took place previous to the decision of Government upon the disagreement between Sir George Yonge and General Dundas. I cannot suppose that the strong words Your Lordship alludes to in your commission extends to the points under discussion, as if they were taken in their full force Your Lordship might also claim the Appointment of my Aides de Camp and every other Staff and Kegimental Officer. Allow me again, my Lord, to express my readiness to support you to the utmost, and believe me it cannot be farther from your desire to abridge my powers than it is from my wish to interfere with yours ; but what I have written is also the result of mature deliberation, and whatever pain it may give me to differ with Your Lordship, I cannot give up the consequence, or what I conceive to be the Privileges of the command I have been entrusted with. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey. [Enclosure 0 in the above.] Letter from the Commander in Chief to Viscount Castlereagh. Horse Guards, lltt April 1808. My Lord, — I am concerned to be under the necessity of transmitting to Your Lordship copies of a Correspondence which has taken place at the Cape of Good Hope between Lord Caledon and Lieut. General Grey upon points which appear to me to relate wholly to Military Command. 2 G 2 452 Records of the Cape Colony. As the correspondence has been carried on between these Gentlemen solely for the discussion of a point of public Business, I am induced to believe that the Service has not hitherto sustained any injury by this difference of opinion ; but, as it is impossible that the Commander of the Forces can do his duty to His Majesty, or maintain the discipline of the Army, if the Civil Governor interferes with the Military arrangements of the Army stationed within his Government, I feel it my duty to request Your Lordship will be pleased to explain to Lord Caledon the line of conduct which has been already determined upon this subject, and which has been signified on various occasions by His Majesty’s Commands, and particularly in a letter from the Secretary of State to the Governor of the Cape upon an interference nearly similar dated 25th September 1800. I beg also to observe to Your Lordship, in addition, that in the present case the interference of the Governor would tend to the destruction of the very foundation of Military Authority, were it to he permitted that an Officer could be taken from his Regiment and appointed to a command without the special sanction of the Officer under whom he is serving. I should hope therefore that upon a consideration of all the bearings of this correspondence that Your Lordship would concur with me in opinion of the necessity of upholding the Military Authority, and of explaining to Lord Caledon the proper con- struction of the letter of Mr. Dundas above alluded to. I am etc. (Signed) Frederick. P.S. — I transmit for Your Lordship’s more immediate informa- tion copy of Mr. Dundas’s letter with the Enclosure to Lord Halifax dated 7th Feby 1765, which conveys His Majesty’s com- mands fully and explicitly upon this subject. [Enclosure P in the above.] Letter from Lord Castlereagh to the Commander in Chief. Downing Street, 21 at April 1808. Sir, — Having taken into consideration the correspondence which forms the subject of your Royal Highness’s letter of the 11th instant, it appears that the point on which a discussion has 453 Records of the Cape Colony. arisen between the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and the Commander of the Forces is the right of appointing the Com- mandant of Simon’s Town, who is stated to have mixed duties incident to his office of a Military and Civil nature. It further appears that the Commander of the Forces does not conceive that he has strictly a right to appoint to this office, but that he conceives the Governor cannot appoint to it without his con- currence ; whereas the Governor imagines that he has not only a right to appoint to the office, but that the Commander of the Forces must acquiesce in his appointments. The difficulty therefore in this case arises from the circumstance that in the office alluded to, Civil and Military duties are blended, which seem to give a mixed right of nomination. But it seems clear that the nomination to the office has always been in the first instance in the Civil Governor, although if he selects an officer in the King’s Forces for the situation, he must receive the concurrence of the Commander of the Forces. The right or duty therefore of the Commander of the Forces is confined to approving or dis- approving the nomination of the Governor, and it is to be con- ceived that the Commander of the Forces will never withhold his approbation but upon a just and necessary cause, otherwise he would have the power of converting his right of approbation into a right of nomination. In the appointment to Civil offices in Corporations, this mode of appointing is very common ; one part of the Corporation nominates, the other approves ; but the approving power is not allowed to withhold its approbation arbitrarily, but must assign a just and legal cause, otherwise the Court of King’s Bench will set their disapproval aside. I consider the case of appointing a Town Major to be subject to the same reasoning as the appointment of a Commandant at Simon’s Town : wherever the duties of a Town Major are purely Military the appointment will be in the Commander of the Forces ; when they are mixed, as at Madras, they are appointed by the Governor, who of course consults with the Commander of the Forces to enquire if there be any military objection, but subject to such objection the appointment is a matter of course. I should hope that this explanation which I submit to Your Boyal Highness will be satisfactory upon the subject of appointing to offices the duties of which are partly military, partly civil, it 454 Records of tlie Cape Colony. being necessary to uphold the dignity of His Majesty’s Repre- sentative in the Civil Government of a Colony, all situations connected with its Patronage and Police are properly given to him by His Majesty. When any duties of a military nature are mixed with a civil appointment, so that it becomes necessary to appoint an officer in His Majesty’s Forces to perform the duties of it, the Governor will refer his nomination for the approbation of the Commander of the Forces, the latter will at the same time consider that he can only refuse his concurrence for reasons purely military, and such as will show that he does not mean to interfere with the Eights of the Civil Governor, or to convert his power of disapprobation into a right of appointment. Under this explanation, the authority of the Commander of the Forces will always be upheld, and the Prerogatives of the Governor equally maintained. And as to the situation in question, the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope will have a right to name an Officer to the Commander of the Forces as Commandant of Simon’s Town, and the Commander of the Forces will have a right to approve or disapprove such nomination, but his disapproval must be confined to objections purely military, and such as he can justify and support. For the disapproval of the Commander of the Forces must be conclusive upon the Governor till a representation can be made for His Majesty’s final pleasure. I have &c. (Signed) Castlereagh. [Enclosure Q in the above.] Letter from Lieutenant Colonel Gordon to Lieutenant General Grey. 29 th April 1808. Sir, — I have to acknowledge your Dispatch of the 10th January last, transmitting the Correspondence between His Excellency Earl Caledon and yourself relative to the Powers of your respective situations, which I have not failed to lay before the Commander in Chief, and am commanded to communicate to you that His Eoyal Highness is fully persuaded that under all the Circumstances of the Case it was not possible for you to do other- Records of the Cape Colony. 455 wise than refer the whole matter, as you have done, for considera- tion and further final decision. With regard to the control over the Army which Lord Caledon conceives to be vested in his Lordship by his Commission as Commander in Chief, His Royal Highness commands me to acquaint you that the powers with respect to the Command of the Troops are so clearly explained in the Letter of the Secretary of State to Sir George Yonge dated , to which you allude in your dispatches, and so decidedly mark the line between the Governor and Commander of the Forces, that His Royal Highness has nothing further to add upon the Subject. The particular point on which the discussion has arisen between Lord Caledon and yourself having been referred to His Majesty’s Ministers, I am now to transmit to you a Copy of Lord Castle- reagh’s answer (21st April 1808), by wdiich you will observe that all situations purely Military rest with the Commander of the Forces exclusively, but when they are of a Civil and Military nature combined, the appointment rests with the Civil Governor, who, however, cannot Appoint an Officer from under the General’s command without his full approbation, but the disapproval of the Commander of the Forces must be confined to objections purely Military, and such as he can Justify and Support, such disapproval on his part being conclusive upon the Governor till a Representa- tion can be made for His Majesty’s final pleasure. I have etc. (Signed) J. W. Gordon. [Enclosure R in the above.] Extract of a Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to Lieutenant Colonel Gordon. Cape of Good Hope, 4 th October 1808. April 29 th .. . answering my Dispatch of January 10 th relative to a Difference of Opinion on some matters between the Governor and myself, and encloses a Letter from Lord Castlereagh on the subject. His Royal Highness the Commander in Chief may rest assured that I will neither make unnecessary objections to any proposal of Lord Caledon’s, or interfere with his Powers as Civil Governor, nor do I in the least fear any serious misunderstanding 456 Records of the Cape Colony. between His Lordship and myself, as we are upon the best Terms possible, but I cannot help observing that according to Lord Castlereagh’s decision upon this question, I am apprehensive such appointments as that of the Command at Simon’s Town, which was the immediate Cause of the Discussion, may still produce disagreements hereafter, that place is generally the head Quarters of a Eegiment, and I will suppose the Corps stationed there to be commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel, to whom no objection could be made as an Officer, and that the Governor expressed a Wish to the Commander of the Forces to appoint a Major or a Captain to be Commandant, surely in such a Case, which did happen when Sir George Yonge was Governor, the Appointment was either to be objected to, or the Civil and Military Duties divided in the manner I proposed to Lord Caledon when this question was first agitated, as it would be hard to remove a respectable Officer from the Command of his Eegiment to make way for one of inferior Eank, indeed it would be a piece of Injustice which, in my opinion, it would be necessary for the Commander of the Forces to protest against, and I hope would be considered by the Commander in Chief and Secretary of State a sufficient Military objection. Lord Caledon has not yet received any Instructions from the Secretary of State upon this subject, and the Civil and Military Duties at Simon’s Town are at present done by the Officer Commanding the 24th Eegiment, which is quartered there, without his receiving any Colonial Pay. [Enclosure S in the above.] Letter from the Commander in Chief to Lieutenant General Grey. Horse Guards, 22nd July 1806. Sir, — His Majesty having been graciously pleased to appoint you to the Command of his Forces at the Cape of Good Hope, and to confer upon you the Local Eank of Lt. General in that Settle- ment, vice Sir David Baird recalled, I am to desire that you will proceed at your early convenience to the Cape, and assume the command of that Army accordingly. Lt. General Sir David Baird, at present commanding that Station, has been directed to deliver over to you the several Records of the Cape Colony. 457 Powers and Documents with which he has been entrusted, to the Instructions contained in which you will be pleased to give your best attention and to carry them into effect, together with such further Instructions as you may from time to time receive from His Majesty’s Ministers. I am etc. (Signed) Frederick, Comr in Chief. [Enclosure T in the above.] Letter from the Commander in Chief to Sir David Baird. Hoese Guards, 26 July 1805. Sir, — His Majesty having been graciously pleased to appoint you to the command of the Forces intended for a particular service, I am to desire that you will 3 Comps. Royal Artillery repair immediately to Cork and take upon 2 20 men K°yal yourself the Command of those Forces ac- cordingly, with a view to carry into effect such Instructions as you may be furnished with by His Majesty’s Secretary of State. The Force which you will find at Cork ready to proceed under your Orders is composed of the Corps named in the Margin, and the Staff which His Majesty has been pleased to appoint to this Force consists as follows, viz. : Staff Corps * 24th foot * 38th foot * 71st do. * 72nd do. * 83rd do. 93rd do. Brigadr Gen1 Carr Beresford Ferguson Deputy Adjutant Gen1 Major Tucker Deputy Quarter Master Gen1 Ll Col. Brownrigg 2 Assistant Adjutant General Capt. Munro 42nd Assistant Qr Master General Military Secretary. Hospital Staff. Deputy Inspector . Physicians . Purveyor Deputy do. . . Baillie A. L. Emerson C. Larchin D. Considine C. Clarke 458 Records of the Cape Colony. Surgeons Apothecary . . W. S. Holland r C. Maclean T Price J. Moffatt D. Eobertson J. Moria E. Johnson J. Turnstall J. Brown E. Haleiday T. Beet J. Eichardson A. Huggan Hospital Mates In addition to the Force abovementioned there is actually embarked on Board the India Fleet and Ships of War 6 Troops of 20th D Dns and 2000 Infantry, composed of the 1st Battn. 59th regiment and Detachments for the various Corps in India according to the enclosed Eeturn, the whole of which you are to consider as under your immediate Command and to be employed in carrying into effect the Instructions with which you may be furnished. As it has been intimated to me by His Majesty’s Ministers that the Object of this Expedition is to attempt the reduction of the Cape of Good Hope, which from every Information that can be obtained it is imagined may be effected by the Force under your command, I have to desire that on the Capture of the Place you will use your endeavours to induce as many Germans as possible to enlist into His Majesty’s Service, and on Intelligence of the Capture being received here, a weak Battalion of the 60th Beg1 will be immediately sent out, into which such Germans as you may enlist are to be incorporated. The Terms of Enlistment are herewith enclosed. The Services of the Hottentots having been found extremely useful during the Period of that Colony being in our possession, I have in concurrence with His Majesty’s Ministers to desire that should you deem it expedient you may be pleased to give them every encouragement to enter into His Majesty’s Service upon 459 Records of the Cape Colony. the same terms as those formerly agreed upon, and that you take the necessary Measures for incorporating them into a Battalion under the Charge of proper Officers, one third of whom you will be permitted to recommend from the most deserving under your Command. The Establishment of this Corps is detailed in the Margin. As two of the regiments under your com- mand are destined for other Service, I am to desire that as soon as possible after the re- duction of the Cape you send the 59th and 38th Eegiments to India. On all subjects relating to your command you will be pleased to correspond with me, and to report such Vacancies as may occur in the Eegiments under your command, recommending at the same time those Officers who in your Opinion are most deserving of Promotion, and stating your reasons when such recommendations do not fall upon the Senior Officers in Succession. As the regiments marked thus * in the List of your Force have second Battalions attached to them for limited service in this Country, it is necessary I should observe to you that as the 1st Battalions must be composed exclusively of the Senior Officers of their respective Banks, such Vacancies as may occur therein by Promotion or Casualties must of Necessity be supplied by officers from the 2nd Battalions, who will be immediately ordered to join on such Vacancies being duly reported to me. I have now to desire, that as it is of essential use that we should be in possession of Military Plans of all our Foreign Possessions, you will be pleased to employ the Officers of the Quarter Master General’s Department and those of the Staff Corps in laying down the Country in the best and most accurate manner and transmit those Plans to me by every convenient Opportunity, with such Observations as you may think necessary to make upon them. In all cases where doubts may arise, and in which you may be desirous of receiving further and more specific Instructions, you will always find me ready to give every attention to your representations. I am &c. (Signed) Fkedekick, Comr in Chief. 1 Colonel 1 Lt. Colonel 2 Majors 10 Captains 12 Lieutenants 8 Ensigns 30 Sergeants 650 R. & File 1 Sergeant Major 1 Qr Masr Sergt. 1 P. Masr Sergt. 1 Sergt. Armourer 1 Surgeon Asst. do. Paymaster Adjutant Quarter Master 460 Records of the Cape Colony. [Copy.] Proclamation ly the Earl of Caledon. Whereas J. A. Truter, Esqre., His Majesty’s Fiscal, and C. van Nuldt Onkruydt, Esqre., President of the Burgher Senate, have, in obedience to my Commands, assessed the different Farmers in such proportion of Barley as it will be incumbent on them to furnish for the supply of His Majesty’s Cavalry during the ensuing Year : I do therefore hereby think proper to notify my approbation of the abovementioned assessment, and further to direct that the several Farmers herein named do deliver at the Commissary General’s Stores in Cape Town, on or before the last day of April 1811, the several Quotas of Barley expressed against their Names in the following List. (Here follows a List of the Farmers assessed to furnish 7350 Muids of Barley for the supply of His Majesty’s Cavalry for the ensuing Year 1811). And if any Farmer or Farmers so assessed shall not have delivered his or their proportion of Barley, on or before the Lay above stated, His Majesty’s Fiscal will be instructed to cause an equal Quantity to be purchased at whatever the Market price may be, at the expence of such Farmer or Farmers, and to be delivered into His Majesty’s Stores. The Inhabitants dwelling in the Neighbourhood of Saldanha Bay may deliver their Quotas to the Superintendant Mr. Kendler, who will be directed to give Keceipts for the same, and such Farmers as may not be able to furnish the whole propor- tion of their assessment in Barley will be at liberty to deliver Oats, provided Five Muids thereof be given in lieu of Four of Barley. And whereas it has been reported to me that the Sum of Three Bix Dollars for a Muid of Barley, or a Muid and a Quarter of Oats, appears to be a fair and equitable price for the same, I do therefore hereby make known that the above Sum will be paid by the Deputy Commissary General for the Barley he may receive during the before stipulated time. Given under my Hand and Seal at the Cape of Good Hope, this 5tli Day of December 1810. (Signed) Caledon. Records of the Cape Colony. 4G1 [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Africaine in Port Loots, Isle op France, December 6th 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to announce to you, for the information of their Lordships, the Capture of the Isle of France and its dependencies ; comprehending the extirpation of the Naval Force of the Enemy in these Seas and the Subjugation of the last remaining Colonial Territory of France. By my communication addressed to you on the 12th of October last, and forwarded to England by the Otter from Bourbon, I had the honor to acquaint you that I was on the point of resuming the Blockade of the Isle of France. I accordingly arrived off this Port on the 19th, and finding the whole of the Enemy’s Ships in the Harbour, and two only in a state of forward equipment, I left Captain Bowley with the Boadicea, Nisus, and Nereide to watch the movements of the Enemy, and having previously detached the Ceylon and Staunch to carry the Division of Troops from Bourbon to Bodriguez, I proceeded with the Commander of the Forces (Major General the Honorable John Abercrombie), who had embarked in the Africaine, towards the anchorage. On the 24th I was joined by Bear Admiral Drury with a division of the Squadron as per Margin, and taking under my Orders for the time being the Bear Admiral with the Ships under his command, I was enabled to strengthen the Blockading Squadron by detaching the Cornelia and Hesper for that purpose ; and with the others made all Sail for Bodriguez, where the Squadron arrived on the 3rd November, and found lying there the Division of Troops from Bombay. On the 6tli arrived the division from Madras, under Convoy of the Psyche and Cornwallis. On the 8th Bear Admiral Drury sailed with the Russell, Phaeton, and Bucephalus to resume his Command in India. On the 12th arrived the Division from Bourbon, under Convoy of the Ceylon. The division from Bengal and the Cape not arriving by the 20th, Russell Clorinde Doris Plixton Bucephalus Cornelia Hesper 462 Records of the Cape Colony. the Season being so far advanced, and the Anchorage (surrounded by reefs) by no means Secure, more particularly for so large a number of Ships, I determined on Weighing with the whole Fleet on the Morning of the 22nd, proposing the Convoy should cruize to Windward until joined by one or other of the Divisions. Very fortunately intelligence was received on the night of the 21st that the Bengal division, under Convoy of the Illustrious, was in the Offing ; General Abercrombie deeming it, as well as myself, advisable they should not anchor, but that having communicated with the Convoy and given them such supplies as they might essentially require, we should proceed to the Attack of the Isle of France, without awaiting the junction of the Troops expected from the Cape, the whole Fleet accordingly weighed from the Anchorage, and on the morning of the 29th bore up for the point of debarka- tion it had been determined to occupy in Grande Baye, about 12 miles to Windward of Port Louis, where the Africaine leading in and the Several Ships of War following with the Convoys, according to a previous arrangement, the whole Fleet were at Anchor by 10 o’clock A.M., consisting of nearly Seventy Sail, and the army with the Artillery, Stores, and ammunition, the several detachments of Marines Serving in the Squadron with a large body of Seamen disembarked the same day without a single loss or accident. A Division of Ships still maintained a vigilant Blockade of the port, another division remained for the protection of the Convoy at the Anchorage, and a third under my more immediate command Shifted their Station as circumstances required, to keep up a more effectual communication with the Army as it advanced, and which was dependent for its Supplies of Provisions and Stores wholly on the resources of the Navy. On the 2nd instant the Governor General de Caen proposed terms of Capitulation, and Commissioners being appointed on either Side, a Capitulation was Signed and ratified on the Morning of the 3rd instant at the British Head Quarters, a Copy of which I have the honor to transmit for their Lordships’ information. In a combined operation of this nature, the ultimate Success of which must essentially in a great degree be made to depend upon a zealous and emulative cooperation and Support through each gradation, and in the present instance where the features have been so eminently conspicuous in every Eank and in every situation and circumstance, the recommendation of particular individuals Records of the 'Cape Colony. 463 to their Lordships’ more immediate notice may be deemed superfluous. It is however from a sense of justice that I record the Services of Captain Beaver, of H. M. Ship Nisus, whom I entrusted with the Superintendance of the whole arrangements for the disposition and debarkation of the Army, and whose abilities and experience on similar occasions particularly qualified him to undertake this important duty. Nor should I omit' to bear testimony to the unwearied exertions of Captain Patterson of H. M. Sloop Hcsper, of Lieutenant Benjamin Street, commanding the Government armed Ship Emma, who were employed for many successive nights in Sounding, and (as it has been proved) gained a perfect know- ledge of the Anchorage on the Enemy’s Coast, and who were equally strenuous in their Services in various ways on Shore. I beg also to recommend to their Lordships’ Notice Lieutenant Edward Lloyd, who volunteered his services under the immediate eye of the Commander of the Forces, and in this, as well as many former instances, has received the most honorable testimonies of his gallantry. I have the honor to transmit a Copy of a Letter addressed to me by Captain Montague, of the Eoyal Navy, who commanded the first division of the Seamen landed ; as well as two Extracts from General Orders issued at Head Quarters. From the absence of some of the Ships, I have not been able to collect the returns of the numbers of Marines and Seamen landed, or of the loss, but I have the satisfaction to know it has been very inconsiderable. The return of Shipping, as correctly stated as I have yet been able to collect it, I have the honor to enclose. Various considera- tions have impelled me to dispatch the Menelaus with the least delay possible, and having entrusted these communications to the care of Captain Eowley, who will be the bearer of them to their Lordships, I beg to refer their Lordships to him for every further particular, and to add that his long and arduous Services on this Station have established a just claim to any honorable distinction it may please their Lordships or the Country to bestow on him. I have etc. (Signed) A. Bertie. 464 Records of the Cape Colony. A List of Ships and Vessels of War present at and assisting Capture of the Isle of France : Africaine (Captain Graham, Actg. (Vice Admiral Bertie Illustrious . . Captain Broughton Boadicea . Captain Bowley Nisus . Captain Beaver Cornwallis . . Captain Caulfield Clorinde . . Captain Briggs Cornelia . . Captain Edgell Doris . Captain Lye Nereide . . Captain Henderson, Actg. Psyche . . Captain Edgcumbe Ceylon . . Captain Tomkinson, Actg. Hesper . . Captain Patterson Hecate . . Captain Bennie, Actg. Eclipse . . Captain Lynne, Actg. Emma, G. A. S. . Captain Street, Actg. Staunch, G. B. . . Lieutenant Craig, Actg. Egremont, G. S. . . Lieutenant Forder Farquhar . Mr. Hervey (Mid.) Mouche . . Lieutenant Phoebe . Captain Hillyer Acteon . . Lord Viscount Neville (Signed) A. Bertie. [Original.] Letter from Vice Admiral Bertie to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Africaine in Port Louis, 6th December 1810. Sir, — I have the honor to acquaint you, for the information of their Lordships, that His Majesty’s Ship Phoebe and Sloop Acteon, having under convoy the Division of Troops from the Cape, arrived at this anchorage on the evening of the 2nd instant. I have &c. (Signed) A. Bertie. Records of the Cape Colony. 465 [Copy.] Letter from Rear Admiral Robert Stopford to J. W. Croker, Esqre. Scipion, Table Bat, 1 1th December 1810. Sir, — I take the opportunity of the Marianne bound for London to request that you will be pleased to acquaint my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty with my arrival in Table Bay on the 8th in company with the Astrea. Their Lordships before the receipt of this Letter will be acquainted by the arrival of the Otter Sloop with all the transactions upon this Station, the departure of Vice Admiral Bertie to the Isle of France, and the projected attack upon that Island. As it appears by the Accounts which I receive from His Excellency Lord Caledon that the fate of the Island must be determined long before I could reach it, that Admiral Bertie was to return to the Cape as soon as the operations had ceased, that the arrival at the Isle of France of Rear Admiral Drury with a considerable Naval force from India would make any additional Naval strength unnecessary, and that the hurricane season in these Latitudes has already commenced, I have judged it adviseable to remain in Table Bay with the Astrea until further Accounts have been received from Vice Admiral Bertie, or until circumstances arise for the employment of the Ships with advantage to the Service. There is no other Ship of War in this Bay excepting the Scipion and Astrea. I am etc. (Signed) Robert Stopford, Rear Admiral. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Castle of Good Hope, 12 th December 1810. My Lord, — Rear Admiral Stopford arrived here on the 8th Instant in His Majesty’s Ship Scipion, to whom I immediately communicated all the information in my possession respecting the state of affairs at the Mauritius. 466 Records of the Cape Colony. The Eear Admiral delivered to me your Lordship’s Secret and confidential Dispatch, under date the 20th of September, the contents of which I shall obey as far as possible, consistent with the measures already executed and of which my former letters will have fully apprized Your Lordship. The Bombay division of the expedition sailed from thence for the place of Rendezvous on the 15th of September; the Bengal division was expected to clear the entrance of the River on or about the 17th of the same Month, and the Transports from Bourbon had proceeded under convoy of the Ceylon Frigate on the 20th of October. In my last Dispatch I mentioned the arrival of an English Cartel (the Bombay Merchant), and explained the circumstance under which she was destined to a French Port. She sailed from Table Bay on the 10th Instant, and as it was stipulated at the surrender of the Isle of Bourbon that Colonel St. Susanne and his Family should be sent to France I permitted them to embark in her on signing the usual parole. I am also to acquaint Your Lordship that as it appeared the Agent for Prisoners of War on board of the Vessel had formerly been captured by the French and had not been regularly exchanged, I considered that some risque would be incurred by himself personally, as well as by the Vessel, were he to have proceeded to a French port. I therefore at his request and in concurrence with the East India Company’s Agent appointed his Chief mate to succeed him, to whom I trans- mitted for his guidance the instructions under which his pre- decessor had acted. Le Genereux French Cartel sailed for Port Louis on the 4th Instant. I have etc. (Signed) Caledon. [Copy.] Proclamation by the Earl of Caledon. Concerning the exchange of worn out and defaced Paper Money. Cape of Good Hope, 20 th December 1810. Records of the Cajpc Colony. 467 [Copy.J Letter from Deputy Secretary Bird to the Fiscal, J. A. Truter, Esqre. Secretary’s Office, December 21st 1810. Dear Sir, — A provisional decision given by the Landdrost of the Cape District upon an application made to him by the Executors of the late Laubscher to have measured and confirmed to the Freehold Estate the Lange Riet Valley the same quantity of waste or grazing ground supposed to be the right of perpetual loan places, from which the parties have appealed to the Governor, has given rise to an investigation into the validity of claims of this nature, which in its ultimate consequences is likely to be of the utmost importance to the public interest and deserving every possible consideration. With this view the Governor in the first instance referred the case to the Office of Land Revenue, in order to collect from thence as much information as the Registers of that Department might be able to afford, and he proposed the following queries to Mr. Baumgardt as immediately arising out of the papers brought forward by the Executors of Mr. Laubscher, viz. : 1st. The origin of loan places, their rights ? 2nd. The origin of perpetual loan places (Leenings Eigendom) and their rights ? 3rd. The commutation of loan places into Freehold measured by Diagram and whether any rights beyond the limits of the measured ground attach to places so commuted. 4th. Measured Freeholds, whether any and what right of waste or commonage attach to them and whether any particular quantity of measured freehold gives such rights. 5th. Whether there are instances of exceptions to the general rules under which the four sorts of tenure herein alluded to claim their privileges and what. His Excellency not having derived from the replies made to him all the information he expected, but on the contrary finding fresh difficulties arise from many parts of Mr. Baumgardt’s report, is desirous of availing himself of your knowledge of the laws, long experience in the customs of the Settlement, and of the access the hmh situations you have filled have given you to the Records both 2 II 2 468 Records of ilie Cape Colony. of tlie Government and Court of Justice, by being favored with your answers to the same queries and yoiir subsequent consideration of and opinion upon the case of Laubscher itself. I shall take the liberty of hereunto annexing copies of my letter to Mr. Baumgardt and of all the papers transmitted to him with a copy of his reply. The irregular method observed in the distribution of land in this Settlement, and the still greater irregularity of the entries and registers of lands possessed by individuals under several different modes of tenure cannot have escaped your attention ; from what causes this has proceeded it would now be useless to enquire, but the consequences resulting from them is that the most important part of private property, the landed possessions, appear to be held by tenures few of which comparatively speaking will bear the investigation which they must undergo under a regular Govern- ment at some period or other. It has been suggested that motives of policy induced the Government of the Dutch East India Company to refuse their servants the permission of settling in the country districts, unless at very great distances from each other, with a view of checking the increase of population and of preventing combinations from being formed against their interests. I have met with nothing to confirm this idea, but it is evident that it was the wish of that Government to hold this place merely as a commercial station, and not to make use of the Soil except for supplying the few wants of a small population confined to the Town and its imme- diate environs. Hence probably may be deduced the reasons why the Council of Seventeen do not appear to have given regular and detailed instructions relative to the distribution of land, and why every Governor used a new method of gratifying his adherents without disobeying the spirit of his instructions, by making certain grants to them which they probably well knew were so worded as to be only nominal cessions resumable at pleasure. However it is not now material to canvass what the policy of the Dutch East India Company was with regard to this place, subsequent events and the destruction of the Company itself had I believe entirely changed the views of the mother country in its regard, and it appears to have been the intention of the Batavian Government to have taken the subject of the tenures to lands into their serious consideration. The case above alluded to has necessarily brought the matter Records of the Cape Colony. 469 under the eye of the present Government, and it must be Lord Caledon’s wish to act on it with the greatest caution, not only in order that the interest of the individuals concerned may not suffer by a precipitate decision, but because it is conceived that the future prosperity of this place may in a great measure depend upon what will establish a precedent for all similar cases. While on the one hand he is to weigh the just claims of the parties concerned, he has on the other to consider that the opulence and future strength of this Settlement will depend upon its population being concentrated as near its capital as possible, an object of impossibility to attain while the Cape and Stellen- bosch districts are parcelled out among a few individuals who neither have the means or the will to introduce that cultivation of them without which any considerable addition to the present population could not be maintained. The waste of land arising from the loan farms is so obvious as not to require elucidation. A tract of land containing an area of 9 square miles barely in most cases, and in many instances does not give subsistence to one family and maintain throughout the year the necessary stock for the very small proportion of cultiva- tion carried on upon it ; but if there is ever so small a gain from it which enables the farmer to dispose of part of his produce he must possess another loan place at a great distance off to enable him to keep cattle there to send that produce to the general market. Here then are 18 square miles occupied by one family, which family does not probably send more than four loads of any sort of produce from his land, and not one head of cattle to the Butcher. Is not this an order of tilings greatly to be deprecated ? and is it not a first duty to lay a foundation for an alteration of it ? nor is the example any way I believe exaggerated. The late Government was well aware of the necessity of improve- ments in the agricultural concerns of the Settlement ; besides other encouragement it formed an agricultural institution the members of which were selected from the most respectable gentle- men in the country. It put this institution in possession of 50 square miles of excellent well-watered land in the most advan- tageous situation in the colony in order that the illiterate Boers might there be convinced by ocular demonstration of the advan- tages to be derived from improved husbandry ; it is with regret it must be observed that the result has in no way answered the 470 Records of the Cape Colony. beneficent intention, the 50 square miles remain a desert, one solitary hovel is occupied by an overseer, the only inhabitant of this vast tract, the cattle and sheep committed to his charge dwindling in size and strength, tell the visitor of this fair spot in forcible language how little is to be expected from the exertions of those who have no private interest apparently to gratify in the success of this institution. The fault is certainly not in the land, the crop growing upon it for the consumption of the labourers is a proof of it, nor can the zeal and patriotism of some individuals of the institution be called in question ; but the fact is neverthe- less as I have related it. It would be easier to point out the errors of the enclosed report than to come at direct answers to the queries which were put to the Land Revenue Department, but one point seems to me to be altogether inadmissible, it is the consequence attempted to be drawn from the custom which has obtained of the farmers using land beyond the limits of their diagram ; the persons who have held the functions of Landdrosts from the relaxation and indolence almost inevitable in a hot climate do not appear to have paid that minute attention to the interior of their districts which the interests of their employers required, besides the inconvenience of travelling in a country almost without roads and without accom- modation after the fatigues of the day was an objection which with some reason might have been urged for the neglect of this duty, but can the neglect of the inferior Magistrate operate to the prejudice of the State ? Can it operate in the face of the positive law of the 18th February and 1st July 1732, in which the land- holders are strictly prohibited the use of Government lands beyond their boundaries, and in which it is pointed out to them that in case they have not sufficient land for their wants the Government will grant them as much Quit rent land adjoining their Freeholds as their necessities require ; nor was this a new law. It appears to have been coeval with the first grants ; the resolutions of 1732 instance a person having been fined and having had the crop seized for encroachment upon Government Land. It would be difficult under the prejudices that exist to convince the agriculturist how much his interest would be benefited by keeping his stock entirely on his own ground, by sheltering it there, and raising the necessary quantity of food for its consump- tion ; but that this may be done, nay in a short time must be Records of the Cape Colony. 471 done, will be apparent to those who on one hand see the quantity of forage which grounds hitherto considered as barren now pro- duce, and on the other the population of the town (in spite of every disadvantage) bursting thro’ its lines and spreading itself wherever it can find a place to settle upon. How important under such circumstances it is to put a stop to illegal encroach- ments, to prevent the misapplication of woods to the manifest injury of the public interest, and of the rising generation ? Unless the Government exerts itself for the relief of this increasing population, how are they to be provided for ? where are they to settle ? It has not been with a view to enter into the merits of the case of Laubscher, or to discuss the questions above proposed to you, that I have extended this letter, but in order to point out some of the many reasons which in my opinion should have induced Mr. Baumgardt to have given more attention to the subject from the very motives which I am inclined to think have biassed his report. With regard to a correct examination of the questions them- selves I am free to confess that my inexperience on these subjects, and my inability to decipher the old records, render me unequal to the task, but even were these two difficulties removed I should not hazard an opinion of my own while there remained a possi- bility of laying yours before the Governor, which upon every account is so much more to be depended on. I have &c. (Signed) C. Bird, Depy. Secy. [Original.] Letter from the Earl of Caledon to the Earl of Liverpool. Cape of Good Hope, December 27th 1810. My Lord, — As Your Lordship will have already received from Major General Abercrombie and Vice Admiral Bertie an account of the surrender of the Isle of France it is unnecessary for me to enter farther into the subject than to offer my congratu- lations to Your Lordship upon the acquisition of so important a possession to the Crown and to express my hope that His Majesty 472 Records of the Cape Colony. may view in a favorable light the exertions which were used in this Colony for the promotion of so great a national object. Lieut. General Grey has not yet furnished me with the information which is required in Your Lordship’s secret and confidential dispatch of the 20th September. When I receive it I shall embrace the earliest opportunity of laying it before you. Vice Admiral Bertie has given me reason to expect the arrival of the late French Garrison of the Isle of France within a few days, but as some inconvenience arose from the disembarkation of the prisoners of War taken at Bourbon, I have determined upon confining both Officers and privates to the Ships unless it shall appear that their state of health may require refreshments which cannot be provided on board. I have &c. (Signed) Caledon. [Original.] Letter from Lieutenant General Grey to the Earl of Liverpool. Cape of Good Hope, 27 th December 1810. My Lord, — I have the Honor to acknowledge the Beceipt of Your Lordship’s confidential Letter dated September 20th, although the fortunate result of the measures adopted by Lord Minto for the reduction of the Mauritius precludes the necessity of my troubling Your Lordship further than by assuring you that I should have paid the strictest attention to your Commands had not this Service been Completed previously to their reaching me. I how- ever trust that the Aid I afforded from the Army under my orders, at the Bequest of Lord Minto, will meet with the approbation of His Majesty, and it only remains for me to call Your Lordship’s attention to the reduced State of the Force here, the Troops I detached consisting of the 72nd and 87th Begiments, with One hundred Artillery, having been detained by General Abercromby as part of the Garrison of the conquered Island, which, by the instructions received at different times relative to these Islands, appears to be conformable to the wishes of Government, in order that as many as possible of the Begular Troops drawn from India Records of the Cape Colony. 473 for the Service in question should return thither. I therefore hope your Lordship will, whenever Troops can be spared from the important operations going on in Europe, reinforce me, as although any hostile attempt on the part of the Enemy upon the Cape of Good Hope appears improbable under present circumstances, should such a thing happen the Force I now have would be very small for the defence of so extensive a Colony, particularly as the Troops must be in a great degree divided, from the circumstance of there being two Naval Arsenals to protect, the one at Cape Town, and the other at Simon’s Town, with extensive Stores and Batteries. I have etc. (Signed) H. Grey. [Copy.] Abstract of the Accounts of His Majesty's Receiver General at the Cape of Good Hope for the Year 1810. REVENUE: Rds. skil. St. Balance . 37,678 4 41 Lombard Bank 50,065 5 5 Discount Bank 26,529 3 4 Vendue duties 119,752 7 5 Customs . . 84,937 4 0 Land revenue 102,772 1 4 Tithes and transfer duties 159,301 7 3 Stamps .... 65,091 0 0 Sequestrator’s department 5,832 7 1 Printing department 7,494 7 0 Port dues .... 4,357 1 0 Postage .... 5,089 5 0 Fines ..... 3,678 7 2 Fees of offices 45,720 4 5 Annual repayment by Stellenbosch 3,000 0 0 Purchase money of lands. 3,519 0 2 Rent of a mill 611 0 4 Old paper money formerly in circulation, omitted to be ex- changed .... 578 0 0 Grain fund .... 19,451 4 0 Miscellaneous receipts . 4,711 0 5 Rds. 750,174 1 21 474 Records of the Cape Colony. MISCELLANEOUS RECEIPTS 1810. Fiscal’s department, the amount of expenses refunded by- several masters, whose slaves were criminally prosecuted, and afterwards returned to them .... Yendue master of Stellenbosch, for the sale of a waggon His Majesty’s Fiscal, for the sale of eight oxen . Colonial Paymaster, reimbursements on account of Cape regiment. ........ Premium on some specie sold to Mr. M‘Vitie Messrs. Zorn and Wemich, the amount received by them from several persons, whose petitions for lands were referred to them ......... Mr. Stoll, the amount received by him from several persons whose petitions for lands were referred to Messrs. Zorn and Wernich ........ Rds. Eds. skil. st. 206 0 1 436 7 3 96 7 3 1,957 6 3 164 6 0 1,025 5 1 823 0 0 4,711 0 5 (Signed) J. W. Stoll, Recr Gen'. EXPENDITURE : Civil list, sterling salaries ...... 169,837 3 2f Colonial salaries ........ 244,116 3 5 Public buildings, erection of new, and repairs of old buildings 51,742 1 4 Cape Regiment ........ 173,374 3 3| Burgher Senate, on account of interest .... 8,250 0 0 Expenses of offices ........ 16,036 0 4 Criminal prisoners and convicts ..... 11,071 6 2 Freight and passage money, travelling expenses, &c. . 4,120 0 0 Repair of the wharf ....... 5,512 1 5 Government Constantia wine ...... 4,808 4 0 Roads and bridges ........ 7,235 0 5 In lieu of old paper money, formerly in circulation Expenses of Dr. Cowan and Lieut. Donovan’s journey into the 578 0 0 interior . . . 296 7 0 Miscellaneous expenditure ...... 16,907 2 1 Balance . 36,287 5 5f Rds. 750,174 1 2\ (Signed) J. W. Stoll, Recr Gen1. Records of the Cape Colony. SUNDRY EXPENDITURE:— 1810. Rds. Government surveyor, in payment of the expenses incurred by him in the survey and inspection of several pieces of land, memorialed for by various individuals . . 1 , 048 Landdrost of the Cape district, ditto . . . . . 1 , 236 Ordnance storekeeper, pay to the men employed in putting into a proper state the Dutch arms sent to Rio Janeiro . 27 Messrs. Melvill and Johnson, stores for the Flora transport . 426 Mr. Fotherly, for provisioning nine Caffres .... 58 Mr. Schrader, for four half aums of wine, and one ditto brandy 118 Premiums given at the farming of the salt pans . . . 195 Mr. Smuts, in reimbursement of certain transfer duties paid by him 125 Mr. Lezar, a quantity of flints, sent to Graaff-Reinet . . 221 Ordnance storekeeper, for a quantity of gunpowder . . 414 Mr. G. I. Vos, for four half aums of wine, and one ditto of brandy . ....... 95 Mr. Jurgens, for 24 lbs. of garden seeds for the Island Rodrigues ........ 48 Mr. Newman, in reimbursement of certain export duties paid by him ......... 91 Government surveyor, in payment of the expenses incurred by him in the survey and inspection of several pieces of land, memorialed for by various individuals . . 397 Landdrost of the Cape district, in payment of the expenses incurred by him in the inspection of several pieces of land memorialed for by various individuals . . . 515 Mr. Stoll, the amount refunded by him to the persons who had been overcharged by Messrs. Baumgard & Wernich, for the inspection of land applied for by them . . 1 , 526 J. Schultz, tools purchased for the stone quarry at Robben Island ......... 297 Acting colonial paymaster for a particular service . . 6 , 260 Premiums given at the farming of the wine and spirit licences 1,020 Landdrost of the Cape district, in payment of the expenses incurred by him in the inspection of several pieces of land, memorialed for by various individuals . . 392 Government surveyor, ditto ...... 195 Lieut, da Franceca of the Portuguese navy, an advance of six months’ pay, to be repaid by his draft on the Portuguese government ...... 200 Mr. Stoll, in payment of 500 lbs. of gunpowder sent to Algoa Bay ........ 470 P. Andriessen, for Caffre presents .... 252 475 skil. at. 0 1 7 5 1 1 7 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 6 0 476 Records of the Cape Colony. J. Lezar, for a quantity of lead and sundry other articles sent to Graaff-Reinet ....... Messrs. Melvill & Johnson, for ten water casks . Ditto for six union jacks . F. Geyer, for provisions furnished by him for the Caffres sent to Algoa Bay in the Youny Phaenix .... 549 6 4 257 4 0 280 1 0 189 0 0 Rds. 16,907 2 1 (Signed) J. W. Stoll, Recr Gen1. Return showing the Population and Cattle in the Possession of Individuals at the Cape o, Good Hope in the Year 1810. Records of the Cape Colony. 477 •sSm i , . 742 610 123 21 1,306 2,801 •gassy 168 17 18 CO 05 j •8^00 16,608 85,391 110,856 79,080 64,085 356,020 •daaqg qsiOBdg OO X- CO rH A- V- O CO • rH • CO -H • CO X- CO CO 00 22,325 CATTLE : •daaqg Saipaaig; 14,208 53,248 136,378 1,134,177 333,657 272,762 1,944,430 •sjaq^aAV rH X- X- rH CO 00 (M O *- CO • CO CO rH 05 lO rH 05 17,177 •am«o Saipaajg; »o m co x- i-h in iO CO CO X- O: CO • OC CO CD 00 05 00 IO lO C5 rH CO X- CX U3 CO •— 1 co 00 -H rH *aaxo iqSntfJQ 8,950 18,179 24,610 14,009 9,122 12,992 C5 X- X— co •sasJOH Suipaajg; CO rH CO ® CO CO CO CO rH CO 00 • o ci x>* co x- o CO x~ x- iO i-i x- C5 CO CO •S9S10H QIPP'BS pau noSS^AV 1,956 5,242 1,709 3,102 819 3,337 CO SLAVES: •SJ^9A fl J9pun uaiuojW O © CO X— IQ CO CO T3T3COOCOCOX- T; X- CO rH ID =a <8 1,906 •sa^a^ tl aAoq’B u9xno^\. 3,256 832 1,937 901 548 285 856 m CO 00 •Sira*. 91 japuti uapi O o 05 lO C5 CO *n rQ 1 | -11 i i Uv^fflT*W wo • 1 i v vl^biw ijwr ITjWdyEt^H^ 4 r JwMPMiM mIwi JlA -