George McCall Theal

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”