which Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read were written to by me on the 3rd March following to repair to Cape Town as soon as possible for the purpose of commencing the investigation, which letter they having complied with in the latter end of April, an especial Commission from the worshipful the Court of Justice commenced their Session on the 1st May and closed the same on the 29th June following; in the course of which Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read stated with the most unimpeded freedom, on oath, all the cases of cruelty, ill treatment, or oppression of which they had any knowledge, together with the names of all those who were concerned either as the perpetrators or as witnesses in each case, of all which a very ample record was held, a translated copy of which I had the honor to forward to Government on the 30th June 1811 with some remarks respecting the further mode of proceeding in the business, which are contained in the conductory letter under that date addressed to the Colonial Secretary, and to which I request to be allowed to refer as far as regards these remarks.

These remarks led me to distinguish the cases stated by Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read into the four following classes, viz. :

1st. In which wantonness has been committed and injustice done, from which however no material damage has ensued to the Hottentot; for instance when a Hottentot has been kept in service beyond the time stipulated in his contract.

2nd. In which the wantonness and injustice brought some detrimental consequences upon the Hottentot, without amounting to that degree of criminality which is requisite for a public criminal prosecution, the withholding ex. gr. of wages or property.

3rd. In which the ill treatment of a Hottentot, without endangering his life, yet is of that degree of wickedness as to demand a criminal prosecution, for instance intentional ill treatment accompanied by mutilation or injury done to any part of the body, by which the complainant be deprived of the use thereof.

4th. In which atrocious ill treatment and cruelty have been committed, so that death ensued, or which from the nature of the case and the intention of the perpetrator could have ensued, and in which therefore a criminal prosecution has become unavoidable.

The two first being provided against by a special local law of the 1st November 1809, I stated the provisions contained therein

as sufficient to obtain redress for the injured Hottentot; recommending that the respective Landdrosts should be enjoined to make a quarterly report of all such cases as might occur in their Districts.

With respect to the two latter sorts I recommended the criminal prosecution of all such crimes as were stated by Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read to have been perpetrated since the day of the last surrender of this Colony on the 10th January 1806; while as to the others I proposed that His Majesty's Fiscal should be charged to make himself further acquainted with the nature of the same, and thereupon to forward to Government such considerations as the circumstances of each case might appear to him to require; to which I finally conceived I should suggest that a copy should be sent to the Landdrost of Uitenhage of all cases in which any claim appeared against him, for his report thereon.

All these propositions have also met with the approbation of your Excellency's predecessor, and consequently contain, should your Excellency be pleased to coincide therein, in answer to the second point, everything which is necessary to be further done in this business, and which certainly would have been carried into effect in case on the departure of the Earl of Caledon the disturbances had not broken out between the Caffres in that part of the Colony where the cases are stated by Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read to have happened; in consequence of which disturbances the Landdrost as well as most of the persons concerned in the investigation have been employed in defending and protecting the Boundaries, which necessity in some measure even still continues.

However as we now perceive that peace and tranquillity on the boundaries are daily increasing, it would not be unseasonable to fix more in detail upon the future mode of proceeding in those cases, in order, as soon as circumstances would admit, to cause as well the civil as the criminal prosecutions of the different complaints which appear in the depositions of Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read, to take their course; on which subject as merely comprehending the manner of carrying into execution what I have had the honour to state the outlines of, I shall take the liberty to submit my opinion by a separate letter to your Excellency's better judgment. I have, &c.

[Office Copy.]

Letter from LORD BATHURST to SIR JOHN CRADOCK.

DOWNING STREET, 22nd June 1812.

SIR,-I am to acquaint you that Mr. Edmund Byng, who holds the Situation of Civil Paymaster at the Cape of Good Hope, applied to the Earl of Liverpool, previous to his Lordship's resigning the Seals of this Department, for an Extension of his Leave of Absence from the Colony, which his Lordship declined to grant.

Under these circumstances, I am of opinion that Mr. Byng will not be entitled to any part whatever of the Salary attached to that Office from the date of the receipt of this Letter until the period when he shall return to the Cape and resume in person the exercise of the Duties of his Office, in which Case the payment of the Salary may be continued to him from the date of his arrival.

There of course will be a Saving to the Colonial Treasury of the amount of the Arrears which became due in the interim.

Letter from the Moravian Missionaries at Groene Kloof to
SIR JOHN CRADOCK.

GROENE KLOOF, June 22nd 1812.

Your Excellency will, we hope, pardon the freedom we take in making our request known to Your Excellency in writing; we are deeply convinced of the favors we have hitherto enjoyed from the English Government, and feel the share Your Excellency takes in the welfare of the Hottentots, and believe also that we have Your Excellency's best wishes for the prosperity of our mission amongst them; we can therefore not conceal from Your Excellency our intention that we wish, by degrees, to make the needful preparations for the building a new church for the Hottentots, which will

in a short time be very needful. We now humbly request Your Excellency's consent to this undertaking.

In expectation of Your Excellency's gracious answer we remain etc.

Letter from SIR JOHN CRADOCK to the EARL OF LIVERPOOL.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

CAPE OF GOOD HOPE, 23rd June 1812.

MY LORD,-The absence of the paymaster of the Cape Regiment with his corps on the frontier has prevented a more early acknowledgement of your Lordship's dispatch (No. 11) under date the 29th October 1811, requiring certain certificates from that officer, that were considered to be indispensable for the adjustment of the accounts of the late colonial agent, the Hon'ble Mr. Agar.

In the reply, which I received from Lieutenant Bell the acting paymaster upon this subject, he states, that in consequence of the communication addressed to him by Mr. Benn, he had transmitted on the 7th of last February, the requisite certificates, and having forwarded to me a duplicate of those certificates I have the honor to transmit the same herewith, to your Lordship. I have etc. J. F. CRADOCK.

(Signed)

[Original.]

Letter from SIR JOHN CRADOCK to the EARL OF LIVERPOOL.

GOVERNMENT HOUSE, CAPE TOWN, 24th June 1812.

MY LORD,—I beg to lay before your Lordship a letter I have lately received from His Majesty's Fiscal in answer to one from me written in further pursuance of your Lordship's dispatch (No. 9), to which I had the honor to advert in mine (No. 13) of the 27th January last.

In that communication I assured your Lordship that every

exertion had been made by my predecessor the Earl of Caledon to investigate and punish, as far as practicable and just, the offences stated by the Missionaries Messrs. Van der Kemp and Read to have taken place in the distant Districts of this Colony; and your Lordship will perceive by the details of measures now exhibited by Mr. Truter that the utmost energy had been employed by the preceding Government.

His Majesty's Fiscal has given very satisfactory reasons why the further prosecution of these measures has experienced some delay, but I now expect every day to receive from him the future course of proceeding he proposes to pursue, and no time shall be lost in bringing to a conclusion the whole of the subject, so difficult to accomplish from the length of period it embraces under different dominion, the vague and unsupported accusations set forth, and the great exaggeration that I believe has been bestowed upon the entire representation. It is also to be submitted to your Lordship's view that the Dutch Government had issued several Proclamations wherein general amnesty and oblivion were declared, and under such circumstances it is now impracticable upon them to revive any proceedings.

I beg to repeat, what in former communications I have stated to your Lordship, my assurance that whatever may have been the misconduct and the impunity permitted in the interior of this Colony, the same cannot happen again, from the energy that has been given of late years to the course of justice and the establishment of regular Circuits to take immediate cognizance of all offences. I have &c.

Permits Mr. F. E. Turr to proceed to the Cape.