83] 
Sir, 
I have great satisfaction in res 
porting to you the event of an at- 
tempt which has been made by the 
enemy, and which has terminated 
to the honour of his majesty’s arms, 
in the entire capture of the squa- 
dron of Dutch ships of war, destin- 
ed for the purpose of retaking this 
settlement. 
Having made. every arrangement 
within my means, by the establish- 
ment of a small post, and the lay- 
ing the road by asufficient number 
of the few men which J had been able 
to mount, for watching Saldanha 
Bay, I received a report on the 3d 
instant, transmitted in fourteen 
hours, that nine ships had appeared 
off that coast, on the preceding 
afternoon, which I immediately 
communicated to vice-admiral sir 
George Keith Elphinstone. By the 
same report there appeared to be 
the strongest probability that his 
majesty’s brig the Hope had been 
captured by them; and as there 
was no further- account of them 
that day, I concluded that the in- 
formation which they had received, 
by that means, of our strength 
here, had induced them to con- 
tinue their route, and that they 
would stand far to the westward 
before they doubled the Cape, to 
avoid. sir George’s fleet, which had 
put to sea as soon as was possibie 
after the, receipt of the intelli- 
gence. 
In order, however, to omit-no 
precaution, I sent up Lieut. M’Nab, 
with a few mounted men, to watch 
the Bay more narrowly ; and from 
him I received a report, on Satur- 
day night the 6th instant, at twelve 
o’clock, that the same number of 
sh ps which had formerly been re- 
ported had anchored that morning 
ANNUAL REGISTER, 1796. 
in the Bay, and that there was no 
doubt of their being enemies. [ 
lost not a moment in sending die 
reétions to Simon’s Town, from 
whence, by the general willing- 
ness and afétivity which prevailed 
amongst all ranks, five vessels were 
dispatched by nine o’clock, in quest 
of the admiral, with the informa. 
tion. 
As it fortunately bappened that 
the 25th and 27th light dragrvons, 
with part. of the 19th, and the 
whole of the 33rd regiments, were 
in Simon’s Bay, I could be under 
no apprehension for the safety of 
the colony from any force which 
could be landed from nine ships of 
war. It became, however, an ob« 
ject of infinite importance to the 
welfare of the settlement, to pre- 
vent any body of the enemy from 
throwing themselves into the coun- 
try. At the same time the security 
of the Cape Town became an object 
of particular attention, both from 
the reasonable expectation, that the 
enemy would not have come with 
sueh a force, without a prospect 
of a junétion with some other ar- 
mament, and from the possibility 
of the admiral being prevented 
from doubling the Cape by the 
north westerly winds which usually 
prevail at this season, and which 
would carry the enemy in six hours 
from Saldanha to Table Bay. It 
was therefore with particular sa- 
tisfaétion that I found myself pos- 
sessed of a force adequate to both 
these objects. 
No time was lost in making the 
necessary arrangements in a coun- 
try totally unused to a movement 
of this nature. ‘The troops began 
their march on Sunday morning, 
necessarily by divisions, on account 
of subsistence, The burgher se- 
3 nate 
