Briefwisseling oor Kaapse sake 1778-1792

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XVI. ? to Swellengrebel,
29.5 and 6.6.1780

From my compendious letter despatched some time ago, you will be aware that we are at least of one mind in our condemnation of the procedure adopted by our discontented burghers. Their so-called plan for the improvement of the colony was marred by personal attacks on officials, which has not done their cause any good. They were warned of this, while the Governor offered to give them free access to him at any time to discuss the situation in the Colony, but all in vain. The Buytendagh case was a mere pretext to justify their behaviour. Had it arisen in a more tranquil period, nothing would have happened. There are plenty of precedents. In the past several burghers who had misbehaved were banished at the request of burgerraden or heemraden. It is noteworthy that, a few months earlier, the Landdrost and Heemraden of Stellenbosch had requested Buytendagh's removal as an undesirable. It was not carried out only because of a dispute between the Fiscal and the Landdrost at the time. It is stupid to think that a justifiable action changes its character if the proposal comes from someone of doubtful repute.

I told you (when the disputes first broke out) that the malcontents had not made the best choice of representatives. My intention was chiefly to illustrate who the ringleaders were, and that there were others who strongly disapproved. The main inciters are motivated by self-interest and do not have the good of the Colony at heart. The ultimate cause of the trouble is luxury, over-indulgence and pride. If reforms were needed and there were reasonable complaints to put forward, why were they not brought forward locally in the first instance before the lawful authorities, for the Governor to enquire into them and propose remedies? If the local Government had then paid inadequate attention to them or simply rejected them, it would have been time enough to approach the XVII. Now the whole Colony is in turmoil, from which escape will not be easy.

It is a pity that the memorandum of complaint and reforms drawn up by the representatives was not handed over in its original form. Now it has been mangled by an advocate, who knows little about the Cape but has to exhibit his own competence by expanding and re-writing it. The XVII's handling of the affair, however, deserves praise.

I am not clever enough to follow the phrases you have from time to time applied to me, but I feel I have grounds for complaint that you have misrepresented me - or else I have expressed my meaning badly. In the instance you raise, I remember that, in informing you of the sad ferment in the Colony, I added that since I got back to Cape Town I had chosen a quiet life. But at that time I knew nothing of any open dissatisfaction, and

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I was shocked when the first pamphlet appeared, containing, as it did, matter which, even in the Governor's opinion, called for indignation and could have dangerous consequences. Have you drawn the conclusion, from that remark of mine, that I was disassociating myself from matters with which my office obliged me to be concerned?

I am surprised that you seem to share the view that private trading by Company's servants is detrimental to the free burghers. This may seem to be the case to people who are ignorant of actual local conditions. But you have spent some time here and have made detailed studies of how things stand. You know how poorly paid most of the officials are, and that they need to supplement their salaries. The burghers were originally Company's servants or descended from Company's servants who took their freedom from the Company in order to exercise some trade or other. Burghers' families and Company's servants' families are intermarried - and the burghers would be unwilling to allow their daughters to marry Company's servants who had nothing beyond their pay to live on. Since 1706, Company's servants have been restricted from owning wine or corn farms, or being stockbreeders, or participants in the leasing of monopoly rights - for wine, brandy, butcher's meat, etc. Otherwise they have been on the same footing.

Current trading difficulties do not result from there being too many Company's servants engaged, in competition with the freeburghers, in supplying limited demands, but from luxury, laziness and such-like defects.

I think that in this matter I am impartial. I share the interests of my fellow company's servants; but I am a Kaapenaar and I do not trade myself. I am not a spendthrift. I have inherited money from my parents. My wife was the daughter of a free-burgher and we are related to many free-burgher families. I have the interests of Colony and burghers at heart, and will try to promote their welfare.

In the last two decades the colony has thrived. Since my return here in 1758 about 300 houses have been built, some very beautiful. People who work have nothing to complain about, but those who allow half-trained slaves to do all their work! They live beyond their means and they are the people who complain. It is difficult to get competent and faithful workpeople; whilst you would no longer recognise the Cape to-day, so widespread is luxury.