480 
JOURNEY IN THE COLONY. 
[1813. 
truth of such reports, instituted this court, fully to in- 
vestigate the business, a scheme which I understood his 
Lordship was previously concerting 
I was favoured, at the Castle of Good Hope, with 
the perusal of all the papers relating to that business, 
and permitted to take what extracts I pleased ; and I 
must, injustice to Lord Caledon, say that, from these 
documents, it appeared that every facility was given 
to obtaining the truth of these reports. I was parti- 
cularly pleased with the instruction given to the Circuit 
Court, in which I perceived much wisdom, and evi- 
dently an anxious desire that the poor Hottentots 
might have justice done them, and enjoy protection 
from violence and oppression. 
Most of the cases which came before the court 
could not be substantiated by legal evidence ; for ac- 
cording to the Dutch law, the oath of a Hottentot is 
inadmissible. However, the establishment of such a 
court, annually to visit the interior of the colony, will 
greatly ameliorate the condition of the Hottentots. 
1 understood that this third circuit would have 
scarcely any business to attend to ; nor can they have 
much, till some law be made to admit instructed Hot- 
tentots to give evidence on oath ; because, iu the pre- 
sent state of the interior of the colony, it would be one 
of the most difficult things imaginable, to get one white 
man to witness against another, if it referred to an in- 
jury sustained by a Hottentot. 
