IX. Swellengrebel to W.C. Boers,
Schoonoord, oct./nov. 1779
Throughout this summer I expected a visit from your Hon. cousin, the First Advocate of the Company, but unfortunately we failed to meet before the recent meeting of the XVII, when the Hon. V.d. Oudermeulen asked me to come to Amsterdam to examine what sort of complaints were being put forward from the Cape. We hoped to dissuade the Cape burghers from including individual grievances in their petition so that one could concentrate upon working out the best way to restore the Cape Colony to prosperity. I communicated my ideas to the Hon. Advocate, but as we did not see eye to eye about the meaning of freedom, I had nothing to offer the burghers in exchange for their forbearance. Your cousin advised me to recommend an adv. Calcoen to them, but, not knowing him, they did not wish to make use of his services. I am sorry that matters took such a turn. The airing of grievances is never pleasant for a government to experience and seldom fruitful. I have done my best to prevent this, but have not succeeded. I trust that you will be assured of my good intentions. Had the disinterested nature of my intention been fully realized, things might have taken another turn.
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