9 
ever uninhabited, except by the lion and 
the tiger? what a being is the sordid specu- 
lator, whose views, bounded by commerce, 
port-fees, and customs, can prefer the 
storms and dangers of Table Bay, to the 
safe-riding, or natural and charming ports, 
that are so common on the oriental coasts 
of Africa!" 
Captain Stout, in his address to Mr. 
Adams, accounts in a manner perfectly 
satisfactory for the slender progress the 
Dutch made into the interior since their 
first settlement in 1652. He tells us that 
when the government at home founded a 
settlement on the southern promontory of 
Africa, they encouraged for some time all 
those of an adventuring disposition, who 
were desirous of settling in those parts, 
and likewise transported a great number 
of their criminals to the Cape, especially 
those who had some knowledge in the cul- 
tivation of land, or were bred to some 
mechanical employment. In a few years 
they advanced from 30 to 40 miles, formed 
settlements that amply repaid their la- 
bours, and opened a new source of com- 
