CHAPTER II.

[Contents]CHAPTER II.FIRST CONTACT OF AFRICANDER AND BRITON IN DIPLOMACY.(1795.)Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon was in chief command of all the regular military forces maintained in the Cape colony. These consisted of a regiment of infantry numbering twenty-five officers and five hundred and forty-six rank and file, an artillery corps mustering twenty-seven officers and four hundred and three rank and file, fifty-seven men stationed at the regimental depots Meuron andWürttembergand a corps of mountaineer soldiers, called pandours, numbering two hundred and ten.It is important to remember that at this time the colonists were divided in sentiment as to the government of the Dutch East India Company, but united in loyalty to the States-General and the Stadtholder of Holland. In the interior the people had risen up in a mild revolt, had dismissed[27]the local magistrates who were the appointees of the Company, and had instituted incipient republics under the government of representative assemblies. Even in Stellenbosch and Cape Town the majority sympathized with these movements, and only waited a favorable opportunity to declare against the Company’s rule.It is equally important to know that the military, also, were divided in sentiment on this subject. Of the infantry, the officers were loyal to the Orange party, but the rank and file were mercenaries from nearly every country in the north of Europe, and were zealous for that party or nation from whom they could draw the highest pay. The artillery corps, on the contrary, was composed almost entirely of Netherlanders, with a few French and Germans. These men were attached to the mother country. A large majority of them, however, sympathized with the republican movement in Europe, and would have preferred alliance with the French rather than with the English, for, at that time, the lead of France was toward republicanism.Thus weakened by internal divisions, the Colony presented an open door to invasion by any power that might covet a point of so great[28]strategic importance on the ocean thoroughfare between Europe and the Orient.The English government, when about to enter into hostilities with France, became apprehensive that the French would perceive the value of the Cape colony and instantly take forcible possession of it. This they determined to prevent at any cost; for the military occupancy of the Cape by the French would bring England’s highway to India under the control of her hereditary foe.As early as the 2d of February, 1793, negotiations were opened between the British government and the Dutch home and colonial authorities concerning a strengthening of the garrison at the Cape by a contingent of British troops from St. Helena. The States-General and the Dutch East India Company, in response to this proposal, signified their desire for aid in the form of warships to guard the coast of the Cape peninsula, and that in case such assistance could not be given they would accept the offered troops.While this correspondence was going on events were transpiring that occasioned ill-feeling between the Dutch and the English, although they were in alliance against the French. Being[29]paralyzed by dissensions among their own people, the States-General made urgent appeals to the British government for more efficient aid in both men and money. To these appeals the answer of the English authorities was a bitter complaint that their troops were already bearing the brunt of the war in defense of the Netherlands, and that the Stadtholder and his government were not making proper exertions to raise men and money at home.In making such answer, the British ministers seemed to be willfully blind to the prostrate condition of the Dutch government. The French had put the army of invasion under the command of Pichegru, one of the ablest generals of his time. One after another the Dutch strongholds were falling before him. The province of Friesland was threatening to make a separate peace with France if the States-General did not hasten to act in that direction for all Holland. The patriot party felt such antipathy to their English allies that it was difficult to get hospital accommodation in Dutch towns for the wounded British soldiers. And notwithstanding all these circumstances the English authorities asserted that the Stadtholder’s failure to put in the field a large and well-equipped force was due to[30]apathy in his own cause rather than to weakness. The one measure of additional help offered was that if the Dutch government would furnish five hundred to a thousand troops for the better defense of Cape Colony the English East India Company would transport them thither free of charge. It being impossible for the Dutch to furnish the men, the negotiations came to an end.Meanwhile, as was signified in the attitude of Friesland, the Dutch people were considering the question of changing sides in the war. That fact—without the knowledge of the Stadtholder—was informally communicated to the governor of Cape Colony in a letter written by the chief advocate of the Dutch East India Company, with the approbation of the directors. The letter reached the Cape on the 7th of February, 1795, informing the colonists that in all probability Holland might soon dissolve the alliance with the English and make common cause with France. The letter stated that matters at home were in an uncertain condition; that the French armies were advancing and already had occupied a part of the country, and that it would be necessary to be vigilant so as not to be surprised by any European power. The warning, though not[31]specific as to what power, evidently referred to England.Later reports informed the colonists that a French army under Pichegru was besieging Breda and threatening the region across the Maas. But these reports were not in the nature of official dispatches. They were communicated verbally by Captain Dekker of the frigateMedemblik, which arrived at the Cape on the 12th of April, 1795.The next intelligence from Europe was calculated to perplex and alarm the colonists to a high degree. On the 11th of June, 1795, successive reports came by messengers from Simonstown to the castle to the effect that several ships of unknown nationality were beating into False Bay; later that the ships had cast anchor, and at ten in the evening that Captain Dekker had sent a boat to one of the stranger ships to ascertain particulars, directing the lieutenant in charge to wave a flag if he found them friendly, and that no such signal had been made, nor had the boat returned.The situation so suddenly developed was, to say the least, disturbing. The governor called his council together to consider it. After conference the signals of danger were made summoning[32]the Burghers of the country districts to Cape Town. Lieutenant-Colonel De Lille was ordered to proceed at once to Simonstown with two hundred infantry and a hundred gunners to strengthen the garrison there. The troops left the castle within an hour and reached Simonstown before noon of the next day.The council continued in session until past midnight, and after adjournment remained at the castle in readiness to deal with any emergency that might arise. At half-past two in the morning of the 12th they were called together again to consider a letter just received from Simonstown. The communication was from Mr. Brand, the official resident at Simonstown, and contained interesting news. Captain Dekker’s boat had returned from its long visit to the strange fleet. With it had come a Mr. Ross, bearing letters for the head of the Cape government from the English admiral, Sir George Keith Elphinstone and Major-General James Henry Craig.Mr. Ross, having been supplied with a horse and a guide, reached the castle and delivered the letters in due time. They proved to be three complimentary notes from directors of the English East India Company to Commissioner[33]Sluysken, governor of the colony. Mr. Ross also presented an invitation from Admiral Elphinstone to the Commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit his ship, intimating that there they would receive important information and a missive from the Stadtholder of the Netherlands. It was noted that in the conversation Mr. Ross was careful to evade all questions concerning the state of affairs in Europe and the destination and business of the fleet.While the council pondered these things, Lieutenant Van Vegezak, who had visited the English admiral’s ship, arrived at the castle. He had little information to impart. There were in the fleet three seventy-four gun ships, three of sixty-four guns each, a frigate of twenty-four guns, two sloops of war carrying the one eighteen and the other sixteen guns; and there were troops on board under the command of Major-General James Henry Craig, but how many he had not been able to learn.Now, the facts which accounted for the presence at the Cape of this British naval and military force were unknown to the colonists. The Stadtholder’s government had been overthrown. The democratic party in Holland had received the French with open arms. The national government[34]had been remodeled. The States-General had abolished the Stadtholderate. And the British ministers, alarmed for their vast possessions in India, and realizing that they must now depend upon their own exertions to keep the French from seizing the port which practically commanded the sea route thither, had fitted out and dispatched with all haste this expedition, with orders to occupy—peacefully if they could, but forcibly if they must—the castle and harbor of Cape Town. The fleet had made a rapid passage. One division sailed on the 13th of March, the other on the 3d of April. The two squadrons met off the Cape on the 10th of June and on the 11th cast anchor in False Bay.The colonial officers acted with marvelous caution, considering the fact that they were in ignorance of the late events which had led to the appearing of this formidable expedition in South African waters.To the note inviting the commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit the English admiral on his ship, they courteously replied that it was impossible for these officers to leave Cape Town, and begged the admiral to send ashore a responsible representative with the promised information and dispatch. They also instructed[35]the resident at Simonstown to permit the English to provision their ships, but to allow no armed men to land. A force of eighty-four Burghers and thirty gunners, with three field pieces, was posted at Muizenburg in a position to command the road to Simonstown. On the 13th of June the defensive works of Simonstown Bay were strengthened by additional troops, and three hundred and forty infantry and artillerymen were sent to further strengthen the post at Muizenburg.On the 14th of June there came to the castle a deputation from the Admiral, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonel McKenzie, Captain Hardy of the sloop Echo and Mr. Ross, secretary to General Craig.Mr. Ross handed to Commissioner Sluysken a communication from the prince of Orange—late the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and supposed to be so still by the colonists. The prince’s mandate, dated at Kew on the 7th of February, 1795, ordered the Commissioner to admit the troops of the King of England into the colony and the forts thereof and to admit the British ships of war into the ports, and to treat the British troops and ships of war as the forces of[36]a power friendly to Holland and sent to protect the colony against the French.The deputation from the admiral also delivered to the Commissioner a joint letter from Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig, in which was written their account of the then condition of affairs in the Netherlands. They informed him that the winter in Europe had been exceptionally severe; that toward the close of January the rivers had been frozen so hard as to make them passable for armies; that the French had crossed on the ice into Utrecht andGelderlandand had driven the English troops into Germany and compelled the Dutch forces to surrender. They represented that it was a matter of only a few days for the whole of the country to fall into the possession of the French by forced capitulation, without any previous terms of surrender, and that the Stadtholder only escaped capture by taking passage in a fishing boat, which carried him from Scheveningen to England. They further intimated to the Commissioner that this gloomy state of things was only temporary; that Britain and her allies were preparing to enter the field with overwhelming force, and were confident of being[37]able to drive the French out of Holland in the next campaign.The letter stopped short of full particulars, leaving the colonial authorities in ignorance of the cordial welcome given to the French by the democratic party in Holland, and of the remodeling of the national government and the abolition of the Stadtholderate. The impression the British officers sought to make was that Holland had been overrun and conquered, and was being treated with the utmost rigor by the French. They carefully withheld the facts that the remodeled government of the Netherlands was still in existence and that the French were regarded as friends by a majority of the people. They wished the colonists to believe that the Prince of Orange was still the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, though temporarily a fugitive in England; that he would be reinstated by the help of his faithful allies in the next campaign, and that loyalty to his prince required the Commissioner of the Cape Colony to throw open the ports and the forts of the colony to the friendly occupation of the British forces.The council decided that no immediate action should be taken on the prince’s mandatory letter. It was the command of a fugitive in a[38]foreign land and lacked the indorsement of the States-General, and, therefore, had no official force. They were loyal to the House of Orange, but they felt that any present action would be taken in ignorance of the true state of affairs. There was nothing to guide them but this letter of their fugitive prince and the word of these armed and interested visitors who sought to occupy their harbors and strongholds at once. They decided to temporize as far as they could without giving the strangers peaceable possession, hoping that more complete and reliable intelligence from the Netherlands would reach them.The council’s answer to Admiral Elphinstone is an example of rare diplomatic acumen. It assured him that the fleet would be permitted to take in all necessary provisions, but requested that in doing so only small bodies of unarmed men be sent ashore. It also expressed gratitude to the British government for its evident goodwill, and intimated that, while confident of their ability to resist any attack that might be made, they would ask the British for assistance in case the French should attempt to seize the colony. It further requested the admiral to inform the council what number of troops he could furnish,[39]if any were needed. The admiral replied that General Craig would visit the Commissioner in Cape Town and impart fuller information. Meanwhile the arrival of Burgher forces from Stellenbosch enabled the council to add two hundred horsemen to the post at Muizenburg.On the 18th of June General Craig met the Commissioner at Cape Town. The next day the general was introduced to the council, and laid before the members the mission upon which he had been sent and his instructions as to the manner of accomplishing it. He stated that the fleet and the troops had been sent by his Britannic Majesty to defend the colony against seizure by the French, or any other power, and that the British occupancy was intended to last only until the government in the Netherlands could be restored to its ancient form, when it was his Majesty’s purpose to give up the colony to its proper rulers—the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland. He assured them that no changes would be made in the laws and customs of the country, nor would any additional taxes be levied without the expressed desire of the people. The colonists would be required to bear no cost but that of their own government as it then existed, and they would be at[40]liberty to profit largely by trade with England’s possessions in India. The colonial troops would be paid by England, on condition that they take an oath of allegiance to his Britannic Majesty—the obligation thereof to last only as long as the British occupancy of the colony. The civil service would remain as it was, and the present incumbents retain their offices until his Majesty’s pleasure should be made known.To this proposal the council made answer in writing, declining it, and notifying the general that they would protect the colony with their own forces against all comers.Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig responded to this act of the council by a general proclamation to the government and inhabitants of the country, inviting and requiring them to accept his Britannic Majesty’s protection in view of the certainty that the French would endeavor to seize the colonial dependencies of the Netherlands.Three days later the same officers published an address to the inhabitants, in Dutch and German, renewing the offer of protection under the conditions laid before the council by General Craig, and inviting them to send a committee of their own selection to Simonstown to[41]confer with the heads of the British expedition. The address emphasized the alternative before the people—a French or an English occupation. The former, it affirmed, would introduce a government on Jacobin principles, and would result in anarchy, the guillotine, an insurrection of the slaves with all the horrors that had been enacted at St. Domingo and Guadeloupe, isolation from Europe, the destruction of commerce and a dearth of money and of the necessaries of life. But the English occupation, it went on to say, would give them safety under the wing of the only power in Europe that was able to assure protection of person and property under the existing laws, or any others the colonists might choose to enact; it would secure a free market for all their products at the best prices; it would release their trade from the heavy imposts of the Dutch East India Company; it would open and promote commerce by sea and land between all parts of the colony, and it would secure better pay for such of the colonial troops as might choose to enter the British military service.This appeal directly to the people over the heads of their chief officials, and to the cupidity of their mercenary soldiers, was resented by the council, who notified the British representatives[42]forthwith that further communication on the subject of British occupancy was not desired.Nevertheless, on the 26th of June, the admiral and the general sent the colonial authorities another long letter, reiterating therein their former statements to the effect that the Netherlands had been absorbed by France; that if left to itself the Cape colony would be absorbed in like manner, and adding the significant intimation that his Britannic Majesty could not allow it to fall into the hands of his enemies.The council responded to this letter by prohibiting any further supply of provisions to the British force, and strengthening the post at Muizenburg with Burgher horsemen, pandours and the entire garrison from Boetselaar except one man; he was left to spike the guns in case the English should land. The council also wrote the British commanders that they noted the difference between proffered assistance against an invader and a demand to surrender the colony to the British government.When the real design of the English was revealed, the disaffected Burghers of the Cape and of Stellenbosch ceased all opposition to the government, and offered to do their utmost in defense of the colony. When the Commissioner[43]announced that the country would not be surrendered to the English, the people cheered him rapturously in the streets, and saluted him as Father Sluysken.But notwithstanding these outward signs of unity the high officials and the people were not quite of one mind. A majority of the Burghers had adopted republican ideas, and, if they were to be left to themselves, were ready to welcome the French. Such English visitors as had come to the Cape had exasperated the colonists by boastfully predicting the ultimate subjection of the colony to Great Britain. The Burghers believed that they had now come in the guise of friendship to make good the insulting prediction. On the other hand, the official heads of the colony were lukewarm in doing what they knew and admitted to be their duty for the defense of the colony. Colonel Gordon openly expressed his readiness to admit the English troops whenever the French should threaten an attack. He went so far as to say that even in existing circumstances he would admit them if they would covenant to hold the country for the Prince of Orange, but if their purpose was to take possession of it for Great Britain he would resist them to the utmost of his power. The colonel was[44]a disappointment to the English, for they had counted upon the Scotch strain in his blood and his well-known Orange partisanship to bring him over to their designs at the first.Thus three lines of cleavage militated against the perfect solidarity of the colonists. A majority of the Burghers were prepared to resist the British because they preferred the French, if there must be a change of masters. Most of the lower officials and some of the town Burghers were ready to accept the British occupancy, and went about singing Orange party songs because they believed the English were sincere in professing that it was their sole purpose to hold the colony in trust for the Prince of Orange. As for Commissioner Sluysken and Colonel Gordon, while it was their duty to defend the Cape interests against any power that sought to subvert the rule of the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland, they were not quite sure of the course they ought to pursue with reference to the English, who had come to them professing loyal friendship to the fugitive prince and accredited to them by his mandatory letter. There was possible treason in either admitting or resisting them. These circumstances account for some lack of energy on the part of the civil[45]and the military heads of the colony in defending it against the British attack that was soon to follow.[46]

CHAPTER II.FIRST CONTACT OF AFRICANDER AND BRITON IN DIPLOMACY.(1795.)

Colonel Robert Jacob Gordon was in chief command of all the regular military forces maintained in the Cape colony. These consisted of a regiment of infantry numbering twenty-five officers and five hundred and forty-six rank and file, an artillery corps mustering twenty-seven officers and four hundred and three rank and file, fifty-seven men stationed at the regimental depots Meuron andWürttembergand a corps of mountaineer soldiers, called pandours, numbering two hundred and ten.It is important to remember that at this time the colonists were divided in sentiment as to the government of the Dutch East India Company, but united in loyalty to the States-General and the Stadtholder of Holland. In the interior the people had risen up in a mild revolt, had dismissed[27]the local magistrates who were the appointees of the Company, and had instituted incipient republics under the government of representative assemblies. Even in Stellenbosch and Cape Town the majority sympathized with these movements, and only waited a favorable opportunity to declare against the Company’s rule.It is equally important to know that the military, also, were divided in sentiment on this subject. Of the infantry, the officers were loyal to the Orange party, but the rank and file were mercenaries from nearly every country in the north of Europe, and were zealous for that party or nation from whom they could draw the highest pay. The artillery corps, on the contrary, was composed almost entirely of Netherlanders, with a few French and Germans. These men were attached to the mother country. A large majority of them, however, sympathized with the republican movement in Europe, and would have preferred alliance with the French rather than with the English, for, at that time, the lead of France was toward republicanism.Thus weakened by internal divisions, the Colony presented an open door to invasion by any power that might covet a point of so great[28]strategic importance on the ocean thoroughfare between Europe and the Orient.The English government, when about to enter into hostilities with France, became apprehensive that the French would perceive the value of the Cape colony and instantly take forcible possession of it. This they determined to prevent at any cost; for the military occupancy of the Cape by the French would bring England’s highway to India under the control of her hereditary foe.As early as the 2d of February, 1793, negotiations were opened between the British government and the Dutch home and colonial authorities concerning a strengthening of the garrison at the Cape by a contingent of British troops from St. Helena. The States-General and the Dutch East India Company, in response to this proposal, signified their desire for aid in the form of warships to guard the coast of the Cape peninsula, and that in case such assistance could not be given they would accept the offered troops.While this correspondence was going on events were transpiring that occasioned ill-feeling between the Dutch and the English, although they were in alliance against the French. Being[29]paralyzed by dissensions among their own people, the States-General made urgent appeals to the British government for more efficient aid in both men and money. To these appeals the answer of the English authorities was a bitter complaint that their troops were already bearing the brunt of the war in defense of the Netherlands, and that the Stadtholder and his government were not making proper exertions to raise men and money at home.In making such answer, the British ministers seemed to be willfully blind to the prostrate condition of the Dutch government. The French had put the army of invasion under the command of Pichegru, one of the ablest generals of his time. One after another the Dutch strongholds were falling before him. The province of Friesland was threatening to make a separate peace with France if the States-General did not hasten to act in that direction for all Holland. The patriot party felt such antipathy to their English allies that it was difficult to get hospital accommodation in Dutch towns for the wounded British soldiers. And notwithstanding all these circumstances the English authorities asserted that the Stadtholder’s failure to put in the field a large and well-equipped force was due to[30]apathy in his own cause rather than to weakness. The one measure of additional help offered was that if the Dutch government would furnish five hundred to a thousand troops for the better defense of Cape Colony the English East India Company would transport them thither free of charge. It being impossible for the Dutch to furnish the men, the negotiations came to an end.Meanwhile, as was signified in the attitude of Friesland, the Dutch people were considering the question of changing sides in the war. That fact—without the knowledge of the Stadtholder—was informally communicated to the governor of Cape Colony in a letter written by the chief advocate of the Dutch East India Company, with the approbation of the directors. The letter reached the Cape on the 7th of February, 1795, informing the colonists that in all probability Holland might soon dissolve the alliance with the English and make common cause with France. The letter stated that matters at home were in an uncertain condition; that the French armies were advancing and already had occupied a part of the country, and that it would be necessary to be vigilant so as not to be surprised by any European power. The warning, though not[31]specific as to what power, evidently referred to England.Later reports informed the colonists that a French army under Pichegru was besieging Breda and threatening the region across the Maas. But these reports were not in the nature of official dispatches. They were communicated verbally by Captain Dekker of the frigateMedemblik, which arrived at the Cape on the 12th of April, 1795.The next intelligence from Europe was calculated to perplex and alarm the colonists to a high degree. On the 11th of June, 1795, successive reports came by messengers from Simonstown to the castle to the effect that several ships of unknown nationality were beating into False Bay; later that the ships had cast anchor, and at ten in the evening that Captain Dekker had sent a boat to one of the stranger ships to ascertain particulars, directing the lieutenant in charge to wave a flag if he found them friendly, and that no such signal had been made, nor had the boat returned.The situation so suddenly developed was, to say the least, disturbing. The governor called his council together to consider it. After conference the signals of danger were made summoning[32]the Burghers of the country districts to Cape Town. Lieutenant-Colonel De Lille was ordered to proceed at once to Simonstown with two hundred infantry and a hundred gunners to strengthen the garrison there. The troops left the castle within an hour and reached Simonstown before noon of the next day.The council continued in session until past midnight, and after adjournment remained at the castle in readiness to deal with any emergency that might arise. At half-past two in the morning of the 12th they were called together again to consider a letter just received from Simonstown. The communication was from Mr. Brand, the official resident at Simonstown, and contained interesting news. Captain Dekker’s boat had returned from its long visit to the strange fleet. With it had come a Mr. Ross, bearing letters for the head of the Cape government from the English admiral, Sir George Keith Elphinstone and Major-General James Henry Craig.Mr. Ross, having been supplied with a horse and a guide, reached the castle and delivered the letters in due time. They proved to be three complimentary notes from directors of the English East India Company to Commissioner[33]Sluysken, governor of the colony. Mr. Ross also presented an invitation from Admiral Elphinstone to the Commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit his ship, intimating that there they would receive important information and a missive from the Stadtholder of the Netherlands. It was noted that in the conversation Mr. Ross was careful to evade all questions concerning the state of affairs in Europe and the destination and business of the fleet.While the council pondered these things, Lieutenant Van Vegezak, who had visited the English admiral’s ship, arrived at the castle. He had little information to impart. There were in the fleet three seventy-four gun ships, three of sixty-four guns each, a frigate of twenty-four guns, two sloops of war carrying the one eighteen and the other sixteen guns; and there were troops on board under the command of Major-General James Henry Craig, but how many he had not been able to learn.Now, the facts which accounted for the presence at the Cape of this British naval and military force were unknown to the colonists. The Stadtholder’s government had been overthrown. The democratic party in Holland had received the French with open arms. The national government[34]had been remodeled. The States-General had abolished the Stadtholderate. And the British ministers, alarmed for their vast possessions in India, and realizing that they must now depend upon their own exertions to keep the French from seizing the port which practically commanded the sea route thither, had fitted out and dispatched with all haste this expedition, with orders to occupy—peacefully if they could, but forcibly if they must—the castle and harbor of Cape Town. The fleet had made a rapid passage. One division sailed on the 13th of March, the other on the 3d of April. The two squadrons met off the Cape on the 10th of June and on the 11th cast anchor in False Bay.The colonial officers acted with marvelous caution, considering the fact that they were in ignorance of the late events which had led to the appearing of this formidable expedition in South African waters.To the note inviting the commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit the English admiral on his ship, they courteously replied that it was impossible for these officers to leave Cape Town, and begged the admiral to send ashore a responsible representative with the promised information and dispatch. They also instructed[35]the resident at Simonstown to permit the English to provision their ships, but to allow no armed men to land. A force of eighty-four Burghers and thirty gunners, with three field pieces, was posted at Muizenburg in a position to command the road to Simonstown. On the 13th of June the defensive works of Simonstown Bay were strengthened by additional troops, and three hundred and forty infantry and artillerymen were sent to further strengthen the post at Muizenburg.On the 14th of June there came to the castle a deputation from the Admiral, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonel McKenzie, Captain Hardy of the sloop Echo and Mr. Ross, secretary to General Craig.Mr. Ross handed to Commissioner Sluysken a communication from the prince of Orange—late the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and supposed to be so still by the colonists. The prince’s mandate, dated at Kew on the 7th of February, 1795, ordered the Commissioner to admit the troops of the King of England into the colony and the forts thereof and to admit the British ships of war into the ports, and to treat the British troops and ships of war as the forces of[36]a power friendly to Holland and sent to protect the colony against the French.The deputation from the admiral also delivered to the Commissioner a joint letter from Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig, in which was written their account of the then condition of affairs in the Netherlands. They informed him that the winter in Europe had been exceptionally severe; that toward the close of January the rivers had been frozen so hard as to make them passable for armies; that the French had crossed on the ice into Utrecht andGelderlandand had driven the English troops into Germany and compelled the Dutch forces to surrender. They represented that it was a matter of only a few days for the whole of the country to fall into the possession of the French by forced capitulation, without any previous terms of surrender, and that the Stadtholder only escaped capture by taking passage in a fishing boat, which carried him from Scheveningen to England. They further intimated to the Commissioner that this gloomy state of things was only temporary; that Britain and her allies were preparing to enter the field with overwhelming force, and were confident of being[37]able to drive the French out of Holland in the next campaign.The letter stopped short of full particulars, leaving the colonial authorities in ignorance of the cordial welcome given to the French by the democratic party in Holland, and of the remodeling of the national government and the abolition of the Stadtholderate. The impression the British officers sought to make was that Holland had been overrun and conquered, and was being treated with the utmost rigor by the French. They carefully withheld the facts that the remodeled government of the Netherlands was still in existence and that the French were regarded as friends by a majority of the people. They wished the colonists to believe that the Prince of Orange was still the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, though temporarily a fugitive in England; that he would be reinstated by the help of his faithful allies in the next campaign, and that loyalty to his prince required the Commissioner of the Cape Colony to throw open the ports and the forts of the colony to the friendly occupation of the British forces.The council decided that no immediate action should be taken on the prince’s mandatory letter. It was the command of a fugitive in a[38]foreign land and lacked the indorsement of the States-General, and, therefore, had no official force. They were loyal to the House of Orange, but they felt that any present action would be taken in ignorance of the true state of affairs. There was nothing to guide them but this letter of their fugitive prince and the word of these armed and interested visitors who sought to occupy their harbors and strongholds at once. They decided to temporize as far as they could without giving the strangers peaceable possession, hoping that more complete and reliable intelligence from the Netherlands would reach them.The council’s answer to Admiral Elphinstone is an example of rare diplomatic acumen. It assured him that the fleet would be permitted to take in all necessary provisions, but requested that in doing so only small bodies of unarmed men be sent ashore. It also expressed gratitude to the British government for its evident goodwill, and intimated that, while confident of their ability to resist any attack that might be made, they would ask the British for assistance in case the French should attempt to seize the colony. It further requested the admiral to inform the council what number of troops he could furnish,[39]if any were needed. The admiral replied that General Craig would visit the Commissioner in Cape Town and impart fuller information. Meanwhile the arrival of Burgher forces from Stellenbosch enabled the council to add two hundred horsemen to the post at Muizenburg.On the 18th of June General Craig met the Commissioner at Cape Town. The next day the general was introduced to the council, and laid before the members the mission upon which he had been sent and his instructions as to the manner of accomplishing it. He stated that the fleet and the troops had been sent by his Britannic Majesty to defend the colony against seizure by the French, or any other power, and that the British occupancy was intended to last only until the government in the Netherlands could be restored to its ancient form, when it was his Majesty’s purpose to give up the colony to its proper rulers—the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland. He assured them that no changes would be made in the laws and customs of the country, nor would any additional taxes be levied without the expressed desire of the people. The colonists would be required to bear no cost but that of their own government as it then existed, and they would be at[40]liberty to profit largely by trade with England’s possessions in India. The colonial troops would be paid by England, on condition that they take an oath of allegiance to his Britannic Majesty—the obligation thereof to last only as long as the British occupancy of the colony. The civil service would remain as it was, and the present incumbents retain their offices until his Majesty’s pleasure should be made known.To this proposal the council made answer in writing, declining it, and notifying the general that they would protect the colony with their own forces against all comers.Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig responded to this act of the council by a general proclamation to the government and inhabitants of the country, inviting and requiring them to accept his Britannic Majesty’s protection in view of the certainty that the French would endeavor to seize the colonial dependencies of the Netherlands.Three days later the same officers published an address to the inhabitants, in Dutch and German, renewing the offer of protection under the conditions laid before the council by General Craig, and inviting them to send a committee of their own selection to Simonstown to[41]confer with the heads of the British expedition. The address emphasized the alternative before the people—a French or an English occupation. The former, it affirmed, would introduce a government on Jacobin principles, and would result in anarchy, the guillotine, an insurrection of the slaves with all the horrors that had been enacted at St. Domingo and Guadeloupe, isolation from Europe, the destruction of commerce and a dearth of money and of the necessaries of life. But the English occupation, it went on to say, would give them safety under the wing of the only power in Europe that was able to assure protection of person and property under the existing laws, or any others the colonists might choose to enact; it would secure a free market for all their products at the best prices; it would release their trade from the heavy imposts of the Dutch East India Company; it would open and promote commerce by sea and land between all parts of the colony, and it would secure better pay for such of the colonial troops as might choose to enter the British military service.This appeal directly to the people over the heads of their chief officials, and to the cupidity of their mercenary soldiers, was resented by the council, who notified the British representatives[42]forthwith that further communication on the subject of British occupancy was not desired.Nevertheless, on the 26th of June, the admiral and the general sent the colonial authorities another long letter, reiterating therein their former statements to the effect that the Netherlands had been absorbed by France; that if left to itself the Cape colony would be absorbed in like manner, and adding the significant intimation that his Britannic Majesty could not allow it to fall into the hands of his enemies.The council responded to this letter by prohibiting any further supply of provisions to the British force, and strengthening the post at Muizenburg with Burgher horsemen, pandours and the entire garrison from Boetselaar except one man; he was left to spike the guns in case the English should land. The council also wrote the British commanders that they noted the difference between proffered assistance against an invader and a demand to surrender the colony to the British government.When the real design of the English was revealed, the disaffected Burghers of the Cape and of Stellenbosch ceased all opposition to the government, and offered to do their utmost in defense of the colony. When the Commissioner[43]announced that the country would not be surrendered to the English, the people cheered him rapturously in the streets, and saluted him as Father Sluysken.But notwithstanding these outward signs of unity the high officials and the people were not quite of one mind. A majority of the Burghers had adopted republican ideas, and, if they were to be left to themselves, were ready to welcome the French. Such English visitors as had come to the Cape had exasperated the colonists by boastfully predicting the ultimate subjection of the colony to Great Britain. The Burghers believed that they had now come in the guise of friendship to make good the insulting prediction. On the other hand, the official heads of the colony were lukewarm in doing what they knew and admitted to be their duty for the defense of the colony. Colonel Gordon openly expressed his readiness to admit the English troops whenever the French should threaten an attack. He went so far as to say that even in existing circumstances he would admit them if they would covenant to hold the country for the Prince of Orange, but if their purpose was to take possession of it for Great Britain he would resist them to the utmost of his power. The colonel was[44]a disappointment to the English, for they had counted upon the Scotch strain in his blood and his well-known Orange partisanship to bring him over to their designs at the first.Thus three lines of cleavage militated against the perfect solidarity of the colonists. A majority of the Burghers were prepared to resist the British because they preferred the French, if there must be a change of masters. Most of the lower officials and some of the town Burghers were ready to accept the British occupancy, and went about singing Orange party songs because they believed the English were sincere in professing that it was their sole purpose to hold the colony in trust for the Prince of Orange. As for Commissioner Sluysken and Colonel Gordon, while it was their duty to defend the Cape interests against any power that sought to subvert the rule of the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland, they were not quite sure of the course they ought to pursue with reference to the English, who had come to them professing loyal friendship to the fugitive prince and accredited to them by his mandatory letter. There was possible treason in either admitting or resisting them. These circumstances account for some lack of energy on the part of the civil[45]and the military heads of the colony in defending it against the British attack that was soon to follow.[46]

It is important to remember that at this time the colonists were divided in sentiment as to the government of the Dutch East India Company, but united in loyalty to the States-General and the Stadtholder of Holland. In the interior the people had risen up in a mild revolt, had dismissed[27]the local magistrates who were the appointees of the Company, and had instituted incipient republics under the government of representative assemblies. Even in Stellenbosch and Cape Town the majority sympathized with these movements, and only waited a favorable opportunity to declare against the Company’s rule.

It is equally important to know that the military, also, were divided in sentiment on this subject. Of the infantry, the officers were loyal to the Orange party, but the rank and file were mercenaries from nearly every country in the north of Europe, and were zealous for that party or nation from whom they could draw the highest pay. The artillery corps, on the contrary, was composed almost entirely of Netherlanders, with a few French and Germans. These men were attached to the mother country. A large majority of them, however, sympathized with the republican movement in Europe, and would have preferred alliance with the French rather than with the English, for, at that time, the lead of France was toward republicanism.

Thus weakened by internal divisions, the Colony presented an open door to invasion by any power that might covet a point of so great[28]strategic importance on the ocean thoroughfare between Europe and the Orient.

The English government, when about to enter into hostilities with France, became apprehensive that the French would perceive the value of the Cape colony and instantly take forcible possession of it. This they determined to prevent at any cost; for the military occupancy of the Cape by the French would bring England’s highway to India under the control of her hereditary foe.

As early as the 2d of February, 1793, negotiations were opened between the British government and the Dutch home and colonial authorities concerning a strengthening of the garrison at the Cape by a contingent of British troops from St. Helena. The States-General and the Dutch East India Company, in response to this proposal, signified their desire for aid in the form of warships to guard the coast of the Cape peninsula, and that in case such assistance could not be given they would accept the offered troops.

While this correspondence was going on events were transpiring that occasioned ill-feeling between the Dutch and the English, although they were in alliance against the French. Being[29]paralyzed by dissensions among their own people, the States-General made urgent appeals to the British government for more efficient aid in both men and money. To these appeals the answer of the English authorities was a bitter complaint that their troops were already bearing the brunt of the war in defense of the Netherlands, and that the Stadtholder and his government were not making proper exertions to raise men and money at home.

In making such answer, the British ministers seemed to be willfully blind to the prostrate condition of the Dutch government. The French had put the army of invasion under the command of Pichegru, one of the ablest generals of his time. One after another the Dutch strongholds were falling before him. The province of Friesland was threatening to make a separate peace with France if the States-General did not hasten to act in that direction for all Holland. The patriot party felt such antipathy to their English allies that it was difficult to get hospital accommodation in Dutch towns for the wounded British soldiers. And notwithstanding all these circumstances the English authorities asserted that the Stadtholder’s failure to put in the field a large and well-equipped force was due to[30]apathy in his own cause rather than to weakness. The one measure of additional help offered was that if the Dutch government would furnish five hundred to a thousand troops for the better defense of Cape Colony the English East India Company would transport them thither free of charge. It being impossible for the Dutch to furnish the men, the negotiations came to an end.

Meanwhile, as was signified in the attitude of Friesland, the Dutch people were considering the question of changing sides in the war. That fact—without the knowledge of the Stadtholder—was informally communicated to the governor of Cape Colony in a letter written by the chief advocate of the Dutch East India Company, with the approbation of the directors. The letter reached the Cape on the 7th of February, 1795, informing the colonists that in all probability Holland might soon dissolve the alliance with the English and make common cause with France. The letter stated that matters at home were in an uncertain condition; that the French armies were advancing and already had occupied a part of the country, and that it would be necessary to be vigilant so as not to be surprised by any European power. The warning, though not[31]specific as to what power, evidently referred to England.

Later reports informed the colonists that a French army under Pichegru was besieging Breda and threatening the region across the Maas. But these reports were not in the nature of official dispatches. They were communicated verbally by Captain Dekker of the frigateMedemblik, which arrived at the Cape on the 12th of April, 1795.

The next intelligence from Europe was calculated to perplex and alarm the colonists to a high degree. On the 11th of June, 1795, successive reports came by messengers from Simonstown to the castle to the effect that several ships of unknown nationality were beating into False Bay; later that the ships had cast anchor, and at ten in the evening that Captain Dekker had sent a boat to one of the stranger ships to ascertain particulars, directing the lieutenant in charge to wave a flag if he found them friendly, and that no such signal had been made, nor had the boat returned.

The situation so suddenly developed was, to say the least, disturbing. The governor called his council together to consider it. After conference the signals of danger were made summoning[32]the Burghers of the country districts to Cape Town. Lieutenant-Colonel De Lille was ordered to proceed at once to Simonstown with two hundred infantry and a hundred gunners to strengthen the garrison there. The troops left the castle within an hour and reached Simonstown before noon of the next day.

The council continued in session until past midnight, and after adjournment remained at the castle in readiness to deal with any emergency that might arise. At half-past two in the morning of the 12th they were called together again to consider a letter just received from Simonstown. The communication was from Mr. Brand, the official resident at Simonstown, and contained interesting news. Captain Dekker’s boat had returned from its long visit to the strange fleet. With it had come a Mr. Ross, bearing letters for the head of the Cape government from the English admiral, Sir George Keith Elphinstone and Major-General James Henry Craig.

Mr. Ross, having been supplied with a horse and a guide, reached the castle and delivered the letters in due time. They proved to be three complimentary notes from directors of the English East India Company to Commissioner[33]Sluysken, governor of the colony. Mr. Ross also presented an invitation from Admiral Elphinstone to the Commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit his ship, intimating that there they would receive important information and a missive from the Stadtholder of the Netherlands. It was noted that in the conversation Mr. Ross was careful to evade all questions concerning the state of affairs in Europe and the destination and business of the fleet.

While the council pondered these things, Lieutenant Van Vegezak, who had visited the English admiral’s ship, arrived at the castle. He had little information to impart. There were in the fleet three seventy-four gun ships, three of sixty-four guns each, a frigate of twenty-four guns, two sloops of war carrying the one eighteen and the other sixteen guns; and there were troops on board under the command of Major-General James Henry Craig, but how many he had not been able to learn.

Now, the facts which accounted for the presence at the Cape of this British naval and military force were unknown to the colonists. The Stadtholder’s government had been overthrown. The democratic party in Holland had received the French with open arms. The national government[34]had been remodeled. The States-General had abolished the Stadtholderate. And the British ministers, alarmed for their vast possessions in India, and realizing that they must now depend upon their own exertions to keep the French from seizing the port which practically commanded the sea route thither, had fitted out and dispatched with all haste this expedition, with orders to occupy—peacefully if they could, but forcibly if they must—the castle and harbor of Cape Town. The fleet had made a rapid passage. One division sailed on the 13th of March, the other on the 3d of April. The two squadrons met off the Cape on the 10th of June and on the 11th cast anchor in False Bay.

The colonial officers acted with marvelous caution, considering the fact that they were in ignorance of the late events which had led to the appearing of this formidable expedition in South African waters.

To the note inviting the commissioner and Colonel Gordon to visit the English admiral on his ship, they courteously replied that it was impossible for these officers to leave Cape Town, and begged the admiral to send ashore a responsible representative with the promised information and dispatch. They also instructed[35]the resident at Simonstown to permit the English to provision their ships, but to allow no armed men to land. A force of eighty-four Burghers and thirty gunners, with three field pieces, was posted at Muizenburg in a position to command the road to Simonstown. On the 13th of June the defensive works of Simonstown Bay were strengthened by additional troops, and three hundred and forty infantry and artillerymen were sent to further strengthen the post at Muizenburg.

On the 14th of June there came to the castle a deputation from the Admiral, consisting of Lieutenant-Colonel McKenzie, Captain Hardy of the sloop Echo and Mr. Ross, secretary to General Craig.

Mr. Ross handed to Commissioner Sluysken a communication from the prince of Orange—late the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, and supposed to be so still by the colonists. The prince’s mandate, dated at Kew on the 7th of February, 1795, ordered the Commissioner to admit the troops of the King of England into the colony and the forts thereof and to admit the British ships of war into the ports, and to treat the British troops and ships of war as the forces of[36]a power friendly to Holland and sent to protect the colony against the French.

The deputation from the admiral also delivered to the Commissioner a joint letter from Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig, in which was written their account of the then condition of affairs in the Netherlands. They informed him that the winter in Europe had been exceptionally severe; that toward the close of January the rivers had been frozen so hard as to make them passable for armies; that the French had crossed on the ice into Utrecht andGelderlandand had driven the English troops into Germany and compelled the Dutch forces to surrender. They represented that it was a matter of only a few days for the whole of the country to fall into the possession of the French by forced capitulation, without any previous terms of surrender, and that the Stadtholder only escaped capture by taking passage in a fishing boat, which carried him from Scheveningen to England. They further intimated to the Commissioner that this gloomy state of things was only temporary; that Britain and her allies were preparing to enter the field with overwhelming force, and were confident of being[37]able to drive the French out of Holland in the next campaign.

The letter stopped short of full particulars, leaving the colonial authorities in ignorance of the cordial welcome given to the French by the democratic party in Holland, and of the remodeling of the national government and the abolition of the Stadtholderate. The impression the British officers sought to make was that Holland had been overrun and conquered, and was being treated with the utmost rigor by the French. They carefully withheld the facts that the remodeled government of the Netherlands was still in existence and that the French were regarded as friends by a majority of the people. They wished the colonists to believe that the Prince of Orange was still the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, though temporarily a fugitive in England; that he would be reinstated by the help of his faithful allies in the next campaign, and that loyalty to his prince required the Commissioner of the Cape Colony to throw open the ports and the forts of the colony to the friendly occupation of the British forces.

The council decided that no immediate action should be taken on the prince’s mandatory letter. It was the command of a fugitive in a[38]foreign land and lacked the indorsement of the States-General, and, therefore, had no official force. They were loyal to the House of Orange, but they felt that any present action would be taken in ignorance of the true state of affairs. There was nothing to guide them but this letter of their fugitive prince and the word of these armed and interested visitors who sought to occupy their harbors and strongholds at once. They decided to temporize as far as they could without giving the strangers peaceable possession, hoping that more complete and reliable intelligence from the Netherlands would reach them.

The council’s answer to Admiral Elphinstone is an example of rare diplomatic acumen. It assured him that the fleet would be permitted to take in all necessary provisions, but requested that in doing so only small bodies of unarmed men be sent ashore. It also expressed gratitude to the British government for its evident goodwill, and intimated that, while confident of their ability to resist any attack that might be made, they would ask the British for assistance in case the French should attempt to seize the colony. It further requested the admiral to inform the council what number of troops he could furnish,[39]if any were needed. The admiral replied that General Craig would visit the Commissioner in Cape Town and impart fuller information. Meanwhile the arrival of Burgher forces from Stellenbosch enabled the council to add two hundred horsemen to the post at Muizenburg.

On the 18th of June General Craig met the Commissioner at Cape Town. The next day the general was introduced to the council, and laid before the members the mission upon which he had been sent and his instructions as to the manner of accomplishing it. He stated that the fleet and the troops had been sent by his Britannic Majesty to defend the colony against seizure by the French, or any other power, and that the British occupancy was intended to last only until the government in the Netherlands could be restored to its ancient form, when it was his Majesty’s purpose to give up the colony to its proper rulers—the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland. He assured them that no changes would be made in the laws and customs of the country, nor would any additional taxes be levied without the expressed desire of the people. The colonists would be required to bear no cost but that of their own government as it then existed, and they would be at[40]liberty to profit largely by trade with England’s possessions in India. The colonial troops would be paid by England, on condition that they take an oath of allegiance to his Britannic Majesty—the obligation thereof to last only as long as the British occupancy of the colony. The civil service would remain as it was, and the present incumbents retain their offices until his Majesty’s pleasure should be made known.

To this proposal the council made answer in writing, declining it, and notifying the general that they would protect the colony with their own forces against all comers.

Admiral Elphinstone and General Craig responded to this act of the council by a general proclamation to the government and inhabitants of the country, inviting and requiring them to accept his Britannic Majesty’s protection in view of the certainty that the French would endeavor to seize the colonial dependencies of the Netherlands.

Three days later the same officers published an address to the inhabitants, in Dutch and German, renewing the offer of protection under the conditions laid before the council by General Craig, and inviting them to send a committee of their own selection to Simonstown to[41]confer with the heads of the British expedition. The address emphasized the alternative before the people—a French or an English occupation. The former, it affirmed, would introduce a government on Jacobin principles, and would result in anarchy, the guillotine, an insurrection of the slaves with all the horrors that had been enacted at St. Domingo and Guadeloupe, isolation from Europe, the destruction of commerce and a dearth of money and of the necessaries of life. But the English occupation, it went on to say, would give them safety under the wing of the only power in Europe that was able to assure protection of person and property under the existing laws, or any others the colonists might choose to enact; it would secure a free market for all their products at the best prices; it would release their trade from the heavy imposts of the Dutch East India Company; it would open and promote commerce by sea and land between all parts of the colony, and it would secure better pay for such of the colonial troops as might choose to enter the British military service.

This appeal directly to the people over the heads of their chief officials, and to the cupidity of their mercenary soldiers, was resented by the council, who notified the British representatives[42]forthwith that further communication on the subject of British occupancy was not desired.

Nevertheless, on the 26th of June, the admiral and the general sent the colonial authorities another long letter, reiterating therein their former statements to the effect that the Netherlands had been absorbed by France; that if left to itself the Cape colony would be absorbed in like manner, and adding the significant intimation that his Britannic Majesty could not allow it to fall into the hands of his enemies.

The council responded to this letter by prohibiting any further supply of provisions to the British force, and strengthening the post at Muizenburg with Burgher horsemen, pandours and the entire garrison from Boetselaar except one man; he was left to spike the guns in case the English should land. The council also wrote the British commanders that they noted the difference between proffered assistance against an invader and a demand to surrender the colony to the British government.

When the real design of the English was revealed, the disaffected Burghers of the Cape and of Stellenbosch ceased all opposition to the government, and offered to do their utmost in defense of the colony. When the Commissioner[43]announced that the country would not be surrendered to the English, the people cheered him rapturously in the streets, and saluted him as Father Sluysken.

But notwithstanding these outward signs of unity the high officials and the people were not quite of one mind. A majority of the Burghers had adopted republican ideas, and, if they were to be left to themselves, were ready to welcome the French. Such English visitors as had come to the Cape had exasperated the colonists by boastfully predicting the ultimate subjection of the colony to Great Britain. The Burghers believed that they had now come in the guise of friendship to make good the insulting prediction. On the other hand, the official heads of the colony were lukewarm in doing what they knew and admitted to be their duty for the defense of the colony. Colonel Gordon openly expressed his readiness to admit the English troops whenever the French should threaten an attack. He went so far as to say that even in existing circumstances he would admit them if they would covenant to hold the country for the Prince of Orange, but if their purpose was to take possession of it for Great Britain he would resist them to the utmost of his power. The colonel was[44]a disappointment to the English, for they had counted upon the Scotch strain in his blood and his well-known Orange partisanship to bring him over to their designs at the first.

Thus three lines of cleavage militated against the perfect solidarity of the colonists. A majority of the Burghers were prepared to resist the British because they preferred the French, if there must be a change of masters. Most of the lower officials and some of the town Burghers were ready to accept the British occupancy, and went about singing Orange party songs because they believed the English were sincere in professing that it was their sole purpose to hold the colony in trust for the Prince of Orange. As for Commissioner Sluysken and Colonel Gordon, while it was their duty to defend the Cape interests against any power that sought to subvert the rule of the Stadtholder and the States-General of Holland, they were not quite sure of the course they ought to pursue with reference to the English, who had come to them professing loyal friendship to the fugitive prince and accredited to them by his mandatory letter. There was possible treason in either admitting or resisting them. These circumstances account for some lack of energy on the part of the civil[45]and the military heads of the colony in defending it against the British attack that was soon to follow.[46]

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