a6o 
TRAVELS IN 
" establishment of the naval yard, but for a great number of 
" ships of war which touched at the Cape on their passage 
" to and from India, as well as for a considerable body of 
" troops wiiich were sent to that settlement and afterwards. 
" transported to India. The abatement of the expences of 
" victualling these ships and troops, and of the prisoners 
" taken from the enemy, would very much reduce the ex- 
" pence relating to the victualling department ; and the same 
" observation will apply to a considerable extent in respect 
" of the expences for the sick and wounded seamen, and also 
" of the expences for refitment of ships not belonging to the 
" Cape squadron, and for stores supplied to them : but find- 
" ing it impracticable to separate the expences, so as to 
" ascertain with correctness what part was incurred for such 
" a number of ships and for such a naval establishment as 
" might be considered to have been maintained solely for 
" the protection of the settlement, which expences only 
" would come within the meaning of the precept, it has been 
" judged better to send the accounts in their present form, 
" with the above explanations, than to attempt to form an 
" estimate thereof, the accuracy of which could not be 
^* relied on." 
It would indeed be just as correct to charge the victualling 
and other expences of the fleet under Lord Nelson blockad- 
ing Cadiz to the account of Gibraltar, as the whole money 
expended on naval services at the Cape of Good Hope to 
the account of maintaining that settlement. As a great pro- 
portion of the provisions were the produce of the colony, I 
have little hesitation in saying that if the same number of 
