History of South Africa from 1795 to 1872/Chapter 1
History of South Africa
Since September 1795.
Chapter I.
Admiral Sir George Keith Elphinstone and Generals Alured Clarke and James Henry Craig, conjointly, commanders of the British forces, 16th September to 15th November 1795.
Major-General James Henry Craig, commandant of the town and settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, 15th November 1795 to 5th May 1797.
On the 16th of September 1795 the English troops took possession of Capetown, and as far as the Dutch East India Company was concerned the colony was surrendered; but the people of the country districts were not disposed to acknowledge the new authorities. The greater number of the burghers retired to their homes, declaring that they did not consider themselves bound by the capitulation of Commissioner Sluysken and the council of policy, and about a hundred of the Dutch artillery corps deserted and followed them inland.
Under these circumstances every possible effort to soothe the colonists was made by the English commanders. The people of Capetown were treated in such a manner as to dispel their anxiety, and they were assured that they would presently be in the enjoyment of such liberty and good fortune as they had never known before. The government was carried on by Admiral Elphinstone and Generals Clarke and Craig, acting conjointly. On the 1st of October the important office of secretary to government was provisionally bestowed upon Mr. Hercules Ross. But many of the former civil servants who were willing to take an oath of fidelity to the new authorities were retained in employment. On the 10th of October the late secunde—Johan Isaac Rhenius—was offered and accepted the office of receiver and treasurer general, the late resident at Simonstown—Christoffel Brand—became collector of the tithes of grain and the wine tax, and another of the Dutch East India Company's old servants—Jan Pieter Baumgardt—was appointed collector of the land revenue. The fiscal—Willem Stephanus van Ryneveld—remained in office, and most of the clerks in the different departments were allowed to keep their posts.
The paper currency of the colony amounted to £258,255, and there was no metallic coin in circulation. To relieve anxiety concerning this matter, on the 1st of October the British commanders issued a proclamation fixing the rate of exchange at two hundred and sixty-four stivers in paper for a golden guinea, sixty stivers in paper for a Spanish silver dollar, and twelve stivers in paper for an English silver shilling. This proclamation was of great service in relieving the apprehensions of the colonists, though it was imposssible to keep up the value of the paper by such means. Persons owing money in Europe, for instance, could not obtain bills of exchange under twenty to thirty per cent premium, and in common dealings three shillings in silver would purchase as much as a paper rixdollar. Copper coin that was paid to the troops was eagerly sought by shopkeepers, and penny pieces passed current as equal to two stivers, instead of only one. A few years later—in 1800—this value was put upon them by law to prevent their immediate exportation, and to this day they are often called by the coloured people dubbeltjes, a name they then acquired. For the time, however, the attempt of the British commanders to place the paper money on a par with metal had the desired effect of doing much towards conciliating the colonists.
Another popular proclamation was issued on the 30th of October, relative to auction sales. From the proceeds of the sale the auctioneer was to deduct three and a half per cent for the government and one and a half per cent for himself on movable property, and one and three-fourths per cent for the government and three-fourths per cent for himself on fixed property. Purchasers of goods under the value of £20 at any sale were relieved of the payment of stamp duty on their accounts as made out from the vendue rolls.
The committee of the high court of justice ceased to exist, but in its stead a much more popular board, termed the burgher senate, was created. This board consisted of six members, the senior of whom was president. Vacancies were filled by the head of the government from a fourfold list of names furnished by the board itself. The members were not by virtue of their office judges in the high court of justice, though any of them could be appointed judges without resigning their seats in the senate. The duties of the burgher senate were to represent to the government matters affecting the colonists, to keep the roads in order, to provide watchmen for the town, to propose to the head of the government the best method of levying taxes for these purposes, to farm out the public windmills, to regulate the prices of bread and meat, to fix tradesmen's wages, &c., &c., in short to perform all the duties—except judicial—of the burgher councillors and the commissioners of the high court of justice in former times. The creation of this board was announced soon after the capitulation, but the arrange- ments for its establishment could not be completed before the end of January 1796.
These measures had equally good effects in Stellenbosch as in Capetown. Landdrost Bletterman, however, expressed a wish to retire from service, assigning as a reason that he was getting old and was not in good health. His resignation was accepted, and on the 7th of November he was succeeded by Mr. Ryno Johannes van der Riet, a staunch adherent of the Orange party. In the district no opposition was made to the new authorities.
Swellendam also was induced to submit without a struggle. Fieldcornet Daniel du Plessis was made much of by the British officers, and was quite won over for the time. Two days after the capitulation, when he desired to return home, a document was given to him, with the request that he would make its contents known to every one whom he should meet. It announced that the first wish of the British commanders was to adopt every measure which might appear proper to promote the prosperity of the settlement and the happiness of the inhabitants; that the monopolies and oppressions practised for the benefit of the India Company were at an end; that internal trade was free from that day; that every man might buy of whom he pleased, sell to whom he pleased, employ whom he pleased, and come and go where he chose by land or water; that no new taxes should be levied, but those then existing which were found after consideration to be burdensome to the people should be abolished; and that the paper money was to retain its value, but that the British would make their payments in hard coin. The inhabitants of the country districts were invited to send their cattle and farm produce to Capetown for sale in any way that suited them, and were promised that if they desired explanation upon any subject the British commanders would give it to such persons as they might delegate for the purpose.
Du Plessis was further informed that Mr. Faure would be sent back as landdrost, and that the past acts of the nationals would be buried in oblivion if they would submit to the British authorities. This mode of proceeding had the desired effect. Mr, Faure called a special meeting of the heemraden for the 4th of November, and invited the members of the national assembly to be present. The heemraden Hillegard Mulder, Pieter Pienaar, Pieter du Pré, and Hermanus Steyn—the last named the landdrost under the nationals—and the members of the national assembly, Jacobus Steyn, Ernst du Toit, and Anthonie van Vollenhoven, attended. Mr. Faure read the instructions which he had received, when all who were present gave in their submission, and took the oath required by the British commanders. Mr. Steyn transferred the drostdy, and thereafter took his seat with the heemraden.
A few months later a man of marked ability, named Andries Stockenstrom, was appointed secretary of the district of Swellendam. He was by birth a Swede, but had entered the Dutch East India Company's service, and in 1786 became a clerk in an office in Capetown. The great difference between the ideas of those days and our own is exemplified by this man—who in later years was known as a philanthropist—having been for some time employed as the supercargo of a vessel engaged in transporting slaves from Madagascar to the Cape. It was he who purchased the negroes, and collected them together for embarkation. But at that time it was regarded rather as a meritorious than as a sinful act to remove savages to a country where they would be within the influence of Christianity. Stockenstrom was next appointed bookkeeper of the naval establishment, and performed the duties of that office until the surrender of the colony. In March 1796 he was selected by General Craig to fill the post of secretary of Swellendam.
The oath which was required to be taken by all the officials and generally by the burghers of the Cape, Stellenbosch, and Swellendam districts was the following: "I swear to be true and faithful to his Majesty George the third, by God's grace king of Great Britain, France, and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c., for so long a time as his Majesty shall remain in possession of this colony."
On the 30th of September Admiral Elphinstone and General Clarke issued a proclamation in which they announced that they had appointed Major-General James Henry Craig commandant of the town and settlement of the Cape of Good Hope, and that he had their authority to arrange and dispose of all matters civil or military relating to the colony. The government, however, was conducted by the three officers conjointly until the 15th of November, when Admiral Elphinstone and General Clarke sailed with the greater part of the fleet for India.
To protect the colony the whole military force that had been employed in the conquest, except the East India Company's troops, was left under General Craig's command. It consisted of two thousand nine hundred and twenty-eight men. Commodore Blankett was also left at the Cape with the America, Ruby, Princess—previously the Willemstad en Boetzelaar,—and the Star, previously the property of the Dutch East India Company.
The Dutch signals had to this time been kept flying on the Lion's rump, and on the 19th of October the packet Maria Louisa, that had left Batavia on the 29th of August, deceived by them, ran into Table Bay, On finding the port in possession of the English she tried to escape, but was chased by the Rattlesnake, and was captured a short distance outside. From the despatches which she carried the admiral obtained full information of affairs in the Indian possessions of the Dutch.
The people of Graaff-Reinet had not yet submitted, but on the 29th of October a letter explaining their conduct was written by the leaders of the nationals to the British commanders, which led to the belief that they were ready to come to terms. General Craig sent them a friendly but firm reply, overlooking their past conduct, and approving of Mr. Gerotz acting as landdrost until a gentleman whom he had selected for the post could take over the duty. This gentleman was a colonist named Frans Reinhard Bresler, who had been an officer in De Lille's regiment; and who was a staunch adherent of the Orange party. His instructions were to conciliate the farmers. "They would be required to obey him as a father, but he was to act as such, to study their welfare, to represent what means would ameliorate their condition, and to protect them against their enemies. If he should find that the Bushmen, grown bold through want of proper exertions to stem their progress, had become formidable, and that he required powder and ball for the parties he might find proper to send on commando, he needed only to say so to be immediately supplied from the government stores."
On the 9th of February 1796 Mr. Bresler arrived at the village of Graaff-Reinet. He was accompanied by the reverend Mr. Von Manger, who had retired to Capetown some time before. On his journey he met a party of seventeen farmers, who made no objection to take the oath of fidelity, and he sent out a commando, under Matthys de Beer, against Bushman marauders. Upon reaching the village, the national landdrost Gerotz gave him quarters in the drostdy. But he was not permitted to enter the court-room, and was informed that the landdrost, the secretary, and the minor officials had been instructed by the representatives of the people to retain their posts and to allow no one else access to the records until after a meeting which was to be held on the 22nd.
On the day appointed the heemraden Jan Booysen, David van der Merwe, Schalk Burger, and Andries van der Walt were present, as were also the militia officers Adriaan van Jaarsveld, Andries Burger, Andries Smit, David van der Merwe, junior, and Pieter Kruger. At a separate table sat the representatives of the people: Hendrik Krugel, Jan Durand, Christoffel Lotter, and Jacob Kruger. A messenger was sent to invite Mr. Bresler to appear and inform the assembly for what purpose he had visited Graaff-Reinet, He did as desired, and, after reading his commission, added that he would convene a meeting of the heemraden that afternoon and preside in it. He was asked if the representatives of the people would be admitted, and replied that he could not acknowledge them.
At two in the afternoon Mr. Bresler caused the drostdy bell to be rung, and directed one of his servants to hoist the English flag on the staff. A few minutes later a number of excited people crowded about him, and one of them—Jacobus Joubert—ordered him to have the flag lowered at once. He refused to comply. Joubert, Jan Groning, and Jan Kruger then hauled the flag down. Amid uproar, Mr. Bresler demanded to know whether they would acknowledge the king of England as their sovereign, Major-General Craig as their governor, and himself as their landdrost, also whether they would take the oath of fidelity. Not one was willing to do so. Mr. Bresler was informed that they had elected Marthinus Prinsloo, of the Boschberg, to be "protector of the voice of the people," and that they had instructions from him which they would obey. The district secretary, Samuel Oertel, was directed to read the letter of instructions. It forbade the taking an oath of allegiance to the king of England, and announced that another meeting would be held on the 22nd of March to settle matters finally.
Mr. Bresler remained to learn the result of this meeting. The day before it was to take place, a man named Jan Pieter Woyer returned to the village from a tour he had just made through the district. Woyer, who had studied medicine in Europe and was generally well informed, had not been long in South Africa, but had filled the post of district surgeon of Graaff-Reinet since December 1794, and had thus an opportunity of acquiring influence. He was a warm upholder of French principles, and hated England to a corresponding extent. At this time he was doing all he could to induce the farmers not to submit to the British authorities. Mr. Bresler had found the landdrost Gerotz and the secretary Oertel men of sound sense and moderate opinions, so that he had thought he would be able to convince them of the uselessness of resistance; but when Woyer appeared, he recognised at once that his cause was hopeless.
On the 22nd of March there was a large gathering at the drostdy. The heemraden, militia officers, and representatives of the people took their seats in the courtroom, and a son of Adriaan van Jaarsveld was then sent to call Mr. Bresler. There was a crowd outside the building, and upon Mr. Bresler's making his appearance, Marthinus Prinsloo ordered silence to be kept that they might hear what he had to say. He commenced to read some proclamations issued by General Craig, but was interrupted by Carel Triegard and others. At length Adriaan van Jaarsveld stated that they intended to retain their own government, and would only agree to terms which he wished to be taken down in writing. These were:
1. That the people of Graaff-Reinet were willing to take to Capetown for sale such articles as their land produced, according to the ancient custom.
2. That they would observe all reasonable orders and laws, provided the English governor would supply them with powder, lead, clothing, and such other articles as they needed.
Hendrik Krugel dictated two additional articles:
3. That the people of Graaff-Reinet would not draw the sword against the English.
4. That their only reason for refusing to take the oath required was that when the states-general of the Netherlands should retake the country they would not be able to justify themselves if they did so.
These articles were confirmed by all present, and the crowd outside then dispersed. Next morning Van Jaarsveld and some others proposed to the reverend Mr. Von Manger that he should remain under their government, but he declined, on the ground that he had taken an oath of fidelity to the king of England. On the 25th he and Mr. Bresler left the drostdy to return to Capetown.
On hearing of these proceedings, General Craig sent Major King with three hundred men of the eighty-fourth regiment to Stellenboseh, to be in readiness to move forward at short notice. Supplies of ammunition and goods of all kinds were cut off from the district of Graaff-Reinet, and a corps of Hottentots was raised for service in the interior. They were enlisted for a year, were provided with arms, clothing, and rations, and each man received sixpence a week in money.
Meantime dissension appeared among the people of Graaff-Reinet. The farmers of the fieldcornetcies of Zwartkops River, the Zuurveld, and Bruintjes Hoogte remained faithful to the government they had established, but the others began to argue that it would be better to submit to the English than to be deprived of ammunition and of a market to buy and sell in. Woyer, for whose apprehension the government was striving, suddenly disappeared, and another who had been active in promoting resistance—Hubert Dirk Campagne—was arrested when on a visit to Capetown, and was sent to England.
Just at this time an event took place which disheartened the great majority of the patriot party in the colony. This was the surrender to the British forces in South Africa of a Dutch fleet of war, and the consequent destruction of their hope of assistance from the Batavian Republic.
One of the first acts of the new government of the Netherlands was to fit out a number of ships to convey reinforcements to the Indian islands, for the purpose of protecting them against the British and of bringing the administrations there into harmony with the order of things established by the revolution in the mother country. The ships selected with this object were the Dordrecht, of sixty-four guns, to carry the admiral's flag, the Revolutie, of sixty-four guns, Captain Jan Rynbende, the Maarten Harpertzoon Tromp, of fifty-four guns, Lieutenant-Commander Jan Valkenburg, the Castor, of forty-four guns, Captain Jacob Claris, the Braave, of forty-two guns, Lieutenant-Commander Jacob Zoetemans, the Sirene, of twenty-six guns, Lieutenant-Commander Christiaan de Cerf, the Bellona, of twenty-four guns, Lieutenant-Commander Gustaaf Adolf de Falck, the Havik, of eighteen guns, Lieutenant-Commander Pieter Bessemer, and the Vrouw Maria, an Indiaman armed with sixteen guns, to be used as a victualler, commanded by Lieutenant Hermanus Barbier.
On board this fleet were embarked altogether, including soldiers, nineteen hundred and seventy-two men; but they were hastily got together, and a very large proportion of them were at heart more attached to the Orange than to the patriot faction. The ships were generally well equipped, though as it was difficult to obtain a sufficient number of cannon, they were twelve short of their full complement of heavy guns.
As commander in chief, with the title of rear admiral, an old sea captain named Engelbertus Lucas was selected. His only qualifications for the post were that he had once made a voyage to India and that in 1795 he had been a member of a commission appointed to inspect and report upon the condition of the ships of war and everything connected with them. But he was a zealous partisan of the patriot cause, and on that account was placed in a position which needed skill and judgment such as he did not possess.
Intelligence of the surrender of the colony to the British forces reached the Netherlands before this fleet sailed, but no fresh instructions were given to Admiral Lucas, who was left to act entirely upon his own discretion. It was indeed understood that he would be joined near the Cape by a French squadron consisting of La Forte, of fifty guns, La Vertu and La Seine, each of forty guns, and La Regenerée, of thirty-six guns, which were being fitted out at Rochefort at the same time; but there was no settled plan of action or place of meeting: all was left to chance. The Dutch fleet sailed from Texel on the 23rd of February 1796. The course pursued was north of Scotland and west of Ireland, in order to avoid the danger of meeting an enemy in the Channel. About a fortnight later the French squadron sailed from Rochefort.
The British government was acquainted with the object of these expeditions, and lost no time in sending out strong reinforcements of ships and soldiers. On the 23rd of April a fast sailing frigate bound to India put into Table Bay with despatches for General Craig, in which he was informed that a hostile armament was to be looked for, and that troops were on the way to assist him.
On the 28th of May the Sceptre, of sixty-four guns, and the Crescent, of thirty-six, arrived with a number of transports having on board the first battalion of the seventy-eighth regiment and some artillerymen to reinforce the garrison. A number of artillerymen arrived about the same time from Madras, having been replaced there by others in the East India Company's service. The Sceptre and the Crescent were to remain on the Cape station. On the 21st of July the Tremendous, of seventy-four guns, and the Jupiter, of fifty, arrived, also with a convoy of transports conveying the eightieth regiment of infantry and the twenty-eighth light dragoons for service at the Cape and some other troops for India. The two men-of-war were to remain at the Cape. On the 2nd of August the Trident, of sixty-four guns, arrived with a convoy on the way to India. The troops that thus happened to be at the Cape in the first week of August, exclusive of the garrison, were five companies of the nineteenth, the thirty-third regiment of infantry, and the twenty-fifth and twenty-seventh light dragoons.
In addition to this very imposing force Admiral Elphinstone had arrived from Madras on the 23rd of May with the Monarch and the Sphinx, and had resumed command of the fleet. The Stately, Rattlesnake, and Echo, forming part of the force he had taken with him to India, arrived somewhat later from a cruise off Mauritius. The admiral had purchased a damaged American vessel in Simon's Bay, had repaired her, armed her with sixteen guns, and put her in commission as his Majesty's brig of war Euphrosyne. And on the 21st of July the frigate Moselle arrived. She was proceeding from the Mediterranean to the West Indies when she caught sight of the Dutch fleet steering southward, and Captain Brisbane, her commander, considered it his duty to hasten to the Cape with the intelligence.
The French squadron made a rapid passage. On the 26th of May it nearly succeeded in capturing the Sphinx a little to the eastward of False Cape, and retook a prize that ship was bringing into Simon's Bay. On the 15th of May the English whaler Lord Hawkesbury was captured, a few men were put on board, and the prizemaster was directed to proceed to Mauritius. But eleven days later, as she was close to the coast near Zoetendal's Vlei, an English sailor who was at the helm ran her ashore. All on board got safely to land, and from the prizemaster, who was made a prisoner, it was learned that the admiral commanding the squadron intended to proceed to Mauritius. He might cruise off the coast for a time to pick up prizes, but he was not disposed to wait long for the Dutch fleet, nor did he ever make an effort to form a junction with it.
Admiral Lucas arrived at Grand Canary on the 13th of April. The preceding day he had allowed the Moselle to come almost within gunshot without any attempt to pursue her, and while at anchor here the Jupiter with the transports passed within sight, as did the Tremendous eleven days later, without his trying to capture them. At this place disturbances occurred on board the Dordrecht, Revolutie, and Castor. The cry Oranje boven, weg met de patriotten! was raised, and echoed through these ships, but the disaffected party was appeased, and on the 17th of May the fleet again set sail.
At Porto Praya, the next place of call, the admiral learned that the Sceptre and Crescent with a reinforcement of troops for the Cape garrison had been there six weeks before, still, without taking in sufficient water to last to Mauritius, he continued his voyage.
On the 6th of August he anchored in Saldanha Bay, in the belief that the colonists would at once rise and assist him. The lieutenants De Cerf, Zoetemans, and Valkenburg landed without delay to procure information and give notice of his arrival, and during their absence the sick were landed on Schapen Island, where tents were pitched for their accommodation. Many of the sails also were unbent to be repaired, and it was with difficulty that Captain Melvill, of the flag ship, induced the admiral to order others to be substituted. The Havik was stationed at Hoetjes Bay to protect the landing place, where water was being taken in, and the Bellona was moored off Langbaan on the eastern shore for the same purpose.
Lieutenant Valkenburg was married to the daughter of a Cape farmer. He made his way to his father-in-law's house some twenty-four kilometres or fifteen miles from Saldanha Bay, where he learned particulars of the British forces, and that under the circumstances no assistance could possibly be given by the colonists. From another source the same information was obtained, coupled with strong advice to leave the bay as soon as possible. The men were deserting at every opportunity. In one night no fewer than thirty got away, and on this account it was not safe to send parties ashore. The admiral therefore decided to set sail for Mauritius on the 16th, but it was then too late.
During the night of the 3rd an express arrived at Capetown from Saldanha Bay, with information that the Dutch fleet so long expected was off that harbour. General Craig forwarded the intelligence to Admiral Elphinstone in Simonstown, who at once put to sea with the object of intercepting the hostile ships off the Cape of Good Hope, as it was not supposed they would attempt to enter any port west of Agulhas. Lieutenant McNab, of the ninety-eighth regiment, was sent with twenty mounted men to the coast below Saldanha Bay to watch their movements. On the 6th he reported that they had anchored in the bay that morning.
On the 7th a proclamation was issued by General Craig, ordering all persons living within thirty miles or forty-eight kilometres of Saldanha Bay to drive their cattle inland, and announcing that any one found communicating with or endeavouring to join the Dutch fleet, or supplying the Dutch forces with provisions, cattle, horses, or assistance of any kind whatever, would be punished with immediate death.
The troops destined for India were landed from the transports in Simon's Bay, and every exertion was made to mount the dragoons. All the saddle horses in the town and neighbourhood were required to be brought in by their owners, but were paid for on a valuation made by two dragoon officers and two members of the court of justice. Waggons for transport were also pressed into service, but without being purchased. One owner of a waggon—a wealthy resident in Capetown—declined to supply it on the demand of the commissariat officer. General Craig promptly warned others, by quartering a sergeant and ten soldiers upon him.
Leaving nearly four thousand soldiers in the Cape peninsula under command of Major-General Doyle, General Craig marched to Saldanha Bay to prevent the Dutch troops from landing, and arrived on its eastern shore in the morning of the 16th of August with a well-equipped force of two thousand five hundred men and eleven field guns. The Bellona fired on the British troops as they approached, but without any effect, and she was obliged to retire by some shells that she received in return.
Meantime Admiral Elphinstone, having encountered very stormy weather, had returned to Simon's Bay on the 12th, and learned there that the Dutch fleet was in Saldanha Bay. The weather was so boisterous that he could not put to sea again until the 15th, but next evening he cast anchor within gunshot of the Dutch ships. As the troops under General Craig approached on one side, they saw the English fleet drawing in on the other. It consisted of eight ships of the line, three frigates; two sloops of war, and one brig.
As soon as the anchors were down, Admiral Elphinstone sent a letter to the Dutch commander in chief, demanding surrender without shedding blood, as resistance to his overwhelming force must be useless. He received a verbal reply that a decided answer would be given next morning. Upon this he required an assurance that no damage would be done to the ships, and received a written promise to that effect from Admiral Lucas.
At nine o'clock in the morning of the 17th Captain Claris was sent on board the flagship Monarch with a draft of terms of surrender, but the British admiral would grant no other conditions than the retention of private property by every one and permission for the officers to return to the Netherlands upon pledging their word of honour not to serve against Great Britain until exchanged or until the conclusion of peace. The fleet with everything that belonged to it must be surrendered intact. At five in the evening Lieutenant Valkenburg brought to the Monarch articles to this effect signed by the Dutch admiral, and requested that possession should at once be taken of the Dordrecht, Revolutie, and Castor, as discipline had ceased on board those ships. The crews were trampling on the new national flag, and shouting Oranje boven, de dood aan de patriotten! while the officers were being insulted and abused. These ships were accordingly taken in possession at once, and the remainder of the fleet on the following morning.
Most of the soldiers on board were found to be Germans, who asserted that they had been prisoners of the French and had been compelled to take service under the Batavian Republic. They were very willing to change sides, and the transports that soon afterwards sailed to India took most of them away in English uniforms. A considerable number of the Dutch seamen also offered to enter the English service, and were gladly taken over. The British officers, indeed, congratulated themselves on having secured not only a number of excellent ships, but a fine body of recruits both for the army and the navy.
Before the close of the year most of the Dutch officers were sent to the Netherlands in a cartel ship, and the others returned in a neutral vessel. A court was constituted for their trial, but on the 21st of June 1797, before a decision was given, Admiral Lucas died of illness caused mainly by mortification and anxiety. The other officers were absolved from blame.
This event disheartened the patriot party in the colony, and the large naval and military force that was present overawed even the farmers of the distant eastern frontier. On the 22nd of August there was a public meeting at the drostdy of Graaff-Reinet, attended, however, by no one from Zwartkops River, the Zuurveld, or Bruintjes Hoogte, except Adriaan van Jaarsveld. The landdrost Gerotz and the secretary Oertel exerted themselves to bring about submission to the authorities at the Cape, with the result that a document was signed by all the people of note who were present—including Van Jaarsveld—in which they promised fidelity to the English government. Two deputies—Pieter Ernst Kruger and Christiaan Rudolph Opperman by name—were sent to Capetown with it. The deputies reached their destination on the 8th of September. Two days earlier Major King had left Groenekloof—where a considerable military force was stationed by General Craig on his return from Saldanha Bay—with two hundred dragoons, five companies of light infantry, one hundred and fifty pandours, and three field guns, to endeavour to restore order in the country beyond Swellendam. An express was sent to recall this expedition, and overtook it at Roodezand. General Craig empowered Mr. Gerotz to act as landdrost and Mr. Oertel as secretary until further instructions, promised that the past should be forgotten, and issued a general amnesty from which only Woyer was excluded.
The inhabitants of the wards Bruintjes Hoogte, Zuurveld, and Zwartkops Eiver, however, did not regard themselves as included in this submission. In June, on Marthinus Prinsloo's summons, a meeting had been held at the Boschberg to discuss the question of their surrender, when the decision was adverse. They had even used wild language about marching to Swellendam, expelling the landdrost of that district, and restoring the national assembly there. But since the surrender of the Dutch fleet they had been reflecting, and at length they came to a resolution to send delegates to Capetown to proffer submission and to endeavour to obtain certain concessions. The burghers Willem Prinsloo, junior, and Frans Labuschagne accordingly brought to General Craig a letter dated the 12th of November and signed by thirty-one persons, which professed to explain the wishes of the farmers of Bruintjes Hoogte and the Zuurveld. They desired the approval of the government to their entering the Xosa country to recover cattle that had been stolen from them, requested permission to occupy land along the Koonap and Kat rivers, objected to Mr. Bresler as landdrost and asked that some one having greater sympathy with the farmers should be sent in his stead, suggested an alteration in the constitution of the board of heemraden which would make it elective, and hoped that a proclamation would be issued to secure them from being forced to serve in either the British army or navy.
General Craig replied in writing on the 31st of December. He informed them that they became subjects of the king of England by the capitulation of the Dutch government, and could not expect special terms. He strictly ordered them not to make war upon the Xosas to recover their cattle, or to occupy land beyond the boundary; and advised them to treat the Xosas with all possible kindness. He could not allow them to dictate the nomination of a landdrost. No alteration in the form of government of the district could be made, and the heemraden would be appointed as of old. He advised them to abandon the absurd idea of an independent government, and warned them against further opposition. The deputies hereupon declared that they were willing to submit, and with this the matter ended for a time. Mr. Gerotz remained as acting landdrost, and administered justice in the name of the king of England, without any open opposition, though without any strong hold upon the people. The national party was by no means extinct, but recognised the uselessness under existing circumstances of attempting to set the British authorities at defiance. Many of them hoped that aid from abroad would shortly reach them, for Woyer had been confident of French assistance and had gone to procure it.
A Danish ship that put into Algoa Bay gave him an opportunity to leave South Africa, and embarking in her, he reached Batavia safely. To the governor-general Van Overstraten he communicated the condition of things in Graaff-Reinet, and persuaded him to believe that only a supply of ammunition was needed to ensure a formidable opposition to the English. After remaining eight days in Batavia, Woyer left in a French ship bound to Mauritius, and nothing more is related of him in the colonial records until October 1802. He was then a military lieutenant in the Dutch service, and had gone to the United States with a view of getting a passage to Java in an American ship. The government at the Cape was warned that he intended, if possible, to touch at South Africa, and it would be necessary to watch his movements closely.
Mr. Van Overstraten resolved to send all the aid that was in his power. Not a soldier could be spared, but there was plenty of ammunition in the magazines, and a smart-sailing brig named the Haasje was at anchor in the roads awaiting orders. In her the governor-general shipped sixteen thousand kilogrammes of gunpowder, eight pieces of field artillery, fifty bales of clothing material, and as much sugar and coffee as would complete her lading. With a crew of twenty Europeans and twenty-four Malays she sailed from Batavia on the 19th of February 1797, no one but the governor-general and her skipper knowing her destination. The crew believed they were bound to Ternate, and so much secrecy was observed that a pilot who was engaged to conduct the brig through the strait of Bali was not set ashore lest he should make the true course known. The skipper of the Haasje was a half-caste Javanese named Jan de Freyn, a natural son of a Dutch officer of rank.
The destination of the Haasje was Algoa Bay, but on approaching the African coast a violent storm was encountered, in which she sprang a leak and was otherwise so much damaged that Skipper De Freyn resolved to put into Delagoa Bay to refit. He cast anchor there on the 3rd of May, and found that nothing was to be had except from his own resources.
The Portuguese fort at Lourenço Marques had been destroyed by two French frigates in October 1796. The captain and garrison of eighty soldiers were obliged to retire into the back country, and they were then living in great discomfort and anxiously waiting for a vessel to come and take them away. There was a whaling ship named the Hope, with a crew of twenty-four men, lying at anchor, and flying the American flag. With the officers of this ship De Freyn opened a friendly intercourse, and after a short acquaintance he informed them that he intended to try to communicate with the farmers of Graaff-Reinet from Delagoa Bay, but if he could not do so he would proceed to Algoa Bay as soon as his vessel was repaired and he had taken in wood and water. This divulging of his business was fatal to his mission, for the Hope was really an English ship, and was only flying the American flag as a ruse.
The Haasje went some distance up the Tembe river, to the territory of the kapela, where her cargo was landed, and she was then hove down to be repaired. On his arrival Skipper De Freyn engaged a black man to go inland with a letter addressed to the farmers of Graaff-Reinet, and while his vessel was being repaired he set out in person to try to make his way to them, but after three days' travel was obliged by the attitude of the inhabitants to return.
A day or two later a Portuguese vessel arrived in Delagoa Bay to remove the distressed people. From her the master of the Hope got assistance in men and guns,[1] and then proceeded up the river to attack the Dutch. The Haasje was so far ready for sea that she was afloat in the river with six pieces of artillery in her hold, when a Tonga brought a report that the English were approaching with hostile intentions. De Freyn at once sank his vessel, and prepared for defence on shore, where all the cargo—except the six guns—was stacked up and covered with sails. On the 28th of May the English and Portuguese attacked him, but a party of Kapela's followers came to his aid, and enabled him to resist for some time. In the end, however, he was beaten, and the English got possession of the two fieldpieces which were on shore and eleven thousand kilogrammes of gun- powder. The remainder of the cargo was plundered and carried away by the blacks while the skirmishing was going on.
The Haasje was got afloat again, and Alexander Dixon, chief officer of the Hope, with a prize crew of five men, brought her to Simon's Bay, where she arrived on the 11th of August. De Freyn and some others were left behind.[2] After vainly trying a second time to make his way to Graaff-Reinet, the skipper and his companions returned to Lourenço Marques, and obtained passages to Table Bay in some whalers that put in shortly afterwards. On his arrival at Capetown De Freyn entered a protest against the seizure of the Haasje by the crew of a vessel not provided with letters of marque, and in a neutral port belonging to a sovereign who was not at war with the Batavian Republic. But his protest was of no avail. He was arrested and sent to England, where he remained in confinement as a prisoner of war until March 1800, when he was exchanged.
General Craig did his utmost to place English rule before the colonists in as favourable a light as possible. As a conqueror he could not be loved, but as a man he was highly respected. His government was just without being severe, and though the system was retained of civil servants deriving the larger part of their incomes from fees,[3] bribery and corruption were not tolerated. Much of his attention was occupied with strengthening old fortifications and constructing new ones. Some blockhouses which he caused to be built on the slope of the Devil's peak are still in existence, and a tower near the mouth of Salt River, which was called by his name, remained standing until 1888, when it was broken down, and a large earthen fort was built upon its site.
In one matter only he made a great mistake. When the colony was surrendered there were over thirty-six thousand muids of wheat in the magazines, and the crops which were gathered a few months later were the best known for many years. Against the advice of men of experience in South Africa, General Craig sent a large quantity of the prize wheat to England, and maintained that the demand created by the troops and naval forces would be met by increased production. But the harvest of the summer of 1796–7 was a very poor one, and famine was barely averted by sending in haste to India for wheat and rice and to Europe for flour at any cost. It was necessary to adopt very stringent measures to obtain bread for the troops, and a farmer who was at all dilatory in furnishing grain, if he had any, might make sure of soldiers being quartered upon him.
During the period of scarcity there was not sufficient money in the military chest to provide for urgent requirements, and coin was not to be had for treasury bills. General Craig therefore issued paper to the amount of £50,000, similar to that already in use in the colony. It was appropriated solely to purposes connected with the support of the troops.
The military force stationed in the colony at this time was very large. After the surrender of Admiral Lucas the troops destined for India, but temporarily detained, were sent to that country, and in November the two battalions of the seventy-eighth, then united into one strong regiment, proceeded to Calcutta. They were followed in December by the eightieth, To take their place at the Cape, in September the Scotch Brigade and the eighty-sixth regiment arrived, and in November the eighth light dragoons. The ninety-fifth regiment was drafted into the eighty-fourth and the eighty-sixth. There were thus in garrison nearly two hundred artillerymen, four strong regiments of infantry—the eighty-fourth, eighty-sixth, ninety-eighth,[4] and Scotch Brigade,—and two regiments of cavalry, the eighth and twenty-eighth light dragoons, in all nearly five thousand men.
The naval force on the station was also very strong, as the Dutch ships captured in Saldanha Bay had been put into commission as British men-of-war. The command which Admiral Elphinstone had held was divided into two, on his leaving for England in November 1796, the Indian station being assigned to Rear Admiral Peter Rainier and the Cape station to Rear Admiral Thomas Pringle, flying the red flag. With Admiral Pringle were left seven ships of the line, the Tremendous, Ruby, Stately, Dordrecht, Sceptre, Tromp, and Jupiter, three frigates, the Saldanha—previously the Castor,—the Braave, and the Crescent, and seven smaller vessels, the Vindictive—previously the Sirene,—the Sphinx, Rattlesnake, Echo, Princess, Euphrosyne, and the Hope, previously the Star. In addition to these, in November 1796, after Admiral Elphinstone 's departure, the frigate Imperieuse arrived from England for service on the Cape station, and in May 1797 the Trusty, a ship of fifty guns. This powerful fleet carried between four and five thousand men, and was used not only to protect the Cape, but to supply detachments to cruise off Mauritius, and to intercept vessels bound to Europe and America under neutral flags, but really French or Dutch bottoms laden with Indian produce.
No other than British or colonial vessels were permitted to capture whales or seals along any part of the coast between Loanda and Delagoa Bay, and a small cruizer was generally employed in protecting this industry. In December 1795 Captain Alexander was sent up the western coast in the Star to examine the bays along it, to take possession of them for the crown of England, and to warn foreign whalers to leave. The Star proceeded as far as the fifteenth degree of south latitude, touching on the passage at Angra Pequena, Spencer Bay, Walfish Bay,[5] and two ports several hundred kilometres farther north. At each of these places possession was taken by Captain Alexander, the ceremony consisting in hoisting the British flag, firing three volleys of musketry, and turning over a few spades full of soil. Very few inhabitants were seen, and those few could not be communicated with. At Angra Pequena two whalers were found, and from them it was ascertained that in the preceding season thirty ships—half of them American—were engaged in taking whales on the coast, Possession Island being their main station.
- ↑ De Freyn, in a deposition made in Capetown on the 18th of October before the attorney Willem Kolver, says eight fieldpieces and fifty soldiers under a Portuguese officer. Alexander Dixon, mate of the Hope, in his official report, says ten men with a supply of ammunition and four guns. The only other document in the Cape archives from an actor and eye-witness—a deposition of Frans Nicholas Peterson, a Dane who was chief officer of the Haasje—does not settle the question. It is not a matter of very great importance.
- ↑ De Freyn, in his deposition, says that the English and Portuguese refused to make prisoners of the pilot Willem Sluyter, a mate named De Moor, and himself; but abandoned them and some Indian seamen in the Kaffir country. Dixon, in his report, states that the master of the Haasje and two mates fled inland.
- ↑ As an instance, the salary of the landdrost of Stellenbosch at this time was £120 a year, with house and garden. But his perquisites were officially stated to amount to at least £1500 a year.
- ↑ This regiment, which was raised in 1794 as the ninety-eighth Argyllshire Highlanders, in October 1798 changed its number to the ninety-first. It remained in the colony during the whole period of the first British occupation. In July 1881 it changed its title once more, on this occasion to the first battalion Princess Louise's Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. It will be met with again in the course of South African history, and was always a favourite regiment with the people of this country.
- ↑ The spelling of this name in official documents being as above, I am obliged to retain it, although the word Walfish, being partly Dutch and partly English, is objectionable. The Portuguese discoverers gave the inlet the name Bahia das Balêas, on account of the number of whales found there. The Dutch, who came next, merely translated the name into Walvisch Baai, and the first English followed their example and called it Whale Bay. During the time that Napoleon was confined on St. Helena, cattle were often brought down from Damaraland and sent from the bay for the use of the garrison at that island, and the English sailors corrupted the word Walvisch—which they heard from some Cape fishermen there—into Walwich and Woolwich. Some mapmakers took over this corruption, and as Walwich Bay it is still often found on charts. When it was annexed to the Cape Colony in 1884, the word underwent another change in the proclamation, and appeared as Walfish.