SOUTHERN AFRICA. 
ships had been attached to the Indian station, the victualhng 
account Avould at the very least have been equal to twice the 
sum contained therein. 
With respect to the wear and tear of the tackle and furni- 
ture, I have understood it to be very considerable on this sta- 
tion, owing to the frequent gales of wind, and the exposed 
situation of the ships. Admiral Pringle used to say, that 
every south-easterly gale, of a week's duration, cost his Ma- 
jesty some thousand pounds. But this expence might, pro- 
bably, be obviated by forming an establishment at Saldanha 
Bay. 
The geographical position of the Cape of Good Hope 
throws a vast weight into the scale of its importance to Eng- 
land. Its happy situation, with regard to climate and the 
productions of the soil, stamps its value as a depository of 
troops and seamen ; and its relative position on the globe en- 
hances that value by the ready communication it commands 
with almost every part of the world. We have seen with 
what expedition more than two thousand troops were thrown 
from hence into India, to the very walls of Seringapatam ; 
and, on another occasion, twelve hundred effective men into 
Egypt. With equal facility and dispatch could the same, 
or a greater, number have been conveyed to the east coast of 
North America, the West India islands, and the east and 
west coasts of South America. At a month's notice, the 
whole coast of Brazil could be lined with cruizers from the 
Cape. The whole eastern coast of Africa, and the various 
islands contiguous to it, are at the mercy of the power who 
