[ 454 ] [June 1, 



PROCEEDINGS OF PUBLIC SOCIETIES. 



SOCIETY FOR THE RELfUF OF TtlE DIS- 

 TRESSED SETTLERS AT THE CAPE OF 

 GOOD HOPE. 



AMONG tlic numerous olijccfs vvliinh 

 have from time to time called forth 

 benevolence, none have presented 

 stronger claims to tlie eompassiotiate 

 consideration of tiic public than the 

 iinforlnnate and destitute emigranis to 

 the New Colony at the Cape of Good 

 Hope. 



A Society was formed at Cape Town, 

 in 1820, for the purpose of affording re- 

 lief as far as their means would extend. 

 The utmost efforts, however, of this 

 Society appear to have been totally 

 inadequate to tiie constantly-increasing 

 calls on their humanity ; for the recur- 

 rence of conlinued failures in the iiar- 

 vests, the l're(|ucnt loss of cattle, and the 

 rcciiit cahunity of an inundation, has 

 involved a large portion of a population 

 amonnting to about 5000 souls in one 

 conmion lot of hopeless ruin. 



The two following letters were writ- 

 ten b3'gcni!cinen who are both heads of 

 respectable jjarties, and who had lived 

 in genteel and comfortable circum- 

 stances in their native country : — 



Graham's Town; D<c. 23, 1822. 



I received your letter, and am gl-id that 

 some one thinks it worth while to enquire 

 after so wretched a being as myself. I 

 am sorry to tell you, o<ir dear little Matilda 

 is no more. She was with me while reap- 

 ing some barley, when I told her to go to 

 the house, to bring me some water to 

 drink : she ran off", and fell on one of those 

 vile reptiles that abiuiid in this part of the 

 globe, and was stiuig. I attended my 

 sweet balie for seven days and nights, du- 

 ring which she was in the greatest agony, 

 inilil morfiScafion took place. She then 

 recovered her senses, — prayed for her 

 poor mamma and papa, and expired, quite 

 easy, on Tuesday, at four o'clock. She 

 ■was a lovely child, only four years old : 

 all my misfortunes are notliing compared 

 to this ; she was our last and only child. 



You ask me tor an account of ouv situa- 

 tion, which I will give you, and I believe 

 it is applicable to all the settlers, as re- 

 gards our crops and prospect of food for 

 the ensuing year. IMy wlieat, two months 

 ago the most promising I ever saw in any 

 country, is now cut down, and in heaps 

 for burning, befVire we plough the ground 

 again, 'i'he rust has utterly destroyed it ; 

 not a grain have we saved. My barley, 

 from the drought, and a grub wliich 

 attacks the blade just under the siirlacc, 

 produced little more than I sowed. My 



Indian corn, very mucli injured by the 

 caterpillar; cabbages destroyed by the 

 lice; the beans all scorched with the hot 

 winds; the carrots run to seed; the pota- 

 toes are good, hut I have but a small 

 quantity. Our cows are all dry, for want 

 of grass. ; not the least appearance of ver- 

 dure as far as the eye can reach. Nothing 

 but one great wilderness of faded grass, 

 something resembling a conchy fallow in 

 England. On Saturday, whilst wateliiug 

 by the sick bed of my dear little girl, I 

 was startled by the cry of wild dogs.* I 

 ran to the window, and saw about thirty 

 of those ferocious animals : before I could 

 drive Iheui off, they killed twenty of my 

 flock, which consisted of twenty-seven iu 

 all. I stood for a moment to think of my 

 misery; my dying child, — my blasted 

 crops,— my scattered and mined flock, 

 God's will be done ! I have need of forti- 

 tude to bear up agaiust such accumulated 

 misery. Farewell ! 



Graham's Town; Jan. 23, 1823. 



We are all here struggling in the same 

 way in which you left us, or rather worse ; 

 our prospects being still more gloomy, as 

 the crops have again very generally failed 

 in this part of the country. We have also 

 this season been troubled with a new 

 enemy ; the caterpillars and locusts have 

 been so numerous, that our gardens are 

 totally destroyed. I took the greatest 

 care of mine, and the prospect of its pro- 

 ducing something cheered us a little ; but 

 this unexpected visitation has thrown a 

 complete damp on our exertions. The 

 season has been so dry, that many farmers 

 in the Graaff-Reynet district have been 

 obliged to leave their places for want of 

 water. Several whom I know here are 

 forced to send three miles for what water 

 they use for domestic purposes, liread is 

 now quite out of the question : the scanty 

 allowance of half a pound of rice is all 

 we get. We feel nnich the want of vege- 

 tables, sometimes beiug under the neces* 

 sity of living several days on meat alone. 

 The Caffres are very troublesome ; they 

 lately stole twenty-four head of oxen 

 fioni me ; but misfiutime has so long been 

 my companion, that we begin to be recon- 

 ciled to each other. 



The next two extracts are selected 

 from letters now before the Committee, 

 and are written by a gentleman who 

 formerly held a captain's commission 

 in his majesty's service. They are 

 addressed 



* The Wilde Hond, or Wild Dog of the 

 Cape, is mentioned by Burclicll as an un- 

 deseribed aud very terocious species of 

 the Uytena. 



