grasshoppers, for our use; and, till the Dutch destroyed them, abundance of wild animals to hunt? And will they not return and multiply, when these destroyers are gone?'"-р. 83. The restoration of the Cape to the Dutch, at the peace of Amiens in 1802, was productive of great mischief to the missionary cause so auspiciously begun under Dr. Vanderkemp. The boors proposed to the new Governor to seize all the Hottentots, to put chains on their legs, and distribute them among the colonists as slaves. Defeated in this attempt, they endeavoured to turn the minds of those in power against the English missions, by insinuating that they were pregnant with danger to the government. Fortunately, they were defeated in this also, by the candour of the governor, General Janssens, who granted Dr. Vanderkemp a site for his missionary establishment, which was named Bethelsdorp. Shortly after the commencement of this establishment, it was visited by the Dutch CommissaryGeneral, De Mist, who was accompanied by Dr. Lichtenstein. The latter gave an erroneous and misrepresented account of the missionary labours of Dr. Vanderkemp, evidently from a hatred to the cause, as will be seen from the following extract: " From what has been stated, the reader will be able to judge for himself, what importance he ought to attach to the reports and opinions of Dr. Lichtenstein, connected with the subject of missions; and the following passage may be taken as a specimen of his accuracy: When the Cape was taken by the English, he (Vanderkemp) resolved, though then sixty years of age, to go out as a missionary to the Caffers, and being ordained at Oxford, he came hither in 1797. After two years spent among these people, in which he says himself he had not accomplished much towards the spreading of Christianity, the war broke out. He went for a while to Cape Town, but at his return to the Caffers was not favourably received, and was obliged again to quit their territories.' In the passage quoted as above, which does not occupy seven lines in a quarto edition, we have five mistakes. Dr. Vanderkemp was not more than fifty years of age, when he offered himself to go out as a missionary; he was not ordained at Oxford; he did not visit Cape Town after his return from Cafferland: he was not unfavourably received on his second visit to the Caffers, nor was he obliged to quit their territories."-p.95. The remarks of Dr. Philip on the want of candour and rashness of those writers who have spoken incidentally of missionary labours, are worthy of the notice of our readers. "When the intellectual culture of man is the subject under consideration, the preceptor has credit given him for what he effects, without having his unsuccessful labours imputed to himself, or to his system; but missionaries are tried by another criterion, and meet with a very different treatment from the world. While the objects of their mission have been declared impracticable and treated with ridicule, they have been regarded as having done nothing, and calumniated, simply because they have not wrought miracles, and changed their converts into angels. But this is not all :- besides the want of efficiency with which their labours have been charged, they have been made amenable for the evil passions they have not subdued-for every vice they have not extirpated; and thus the evils which have been too obstinate to admit of a cure have had their origin imputed to the methods which have been employed to remove them. If multitudes have been reclaimed from savage life, from barbarism, from habits of idleness and licentiousness, and rendered sober and industrious, the imperfections still adhering to them are ascribed to the missionaries; and individuals among them, on whom their labours may have been wholly lost, are frequently pointed at, with an air of triumph, as affording conclusive arguments against all missionary efforts. "The labours of missionaries are services which the world has neither the ability nor the inclination to appreciate or reward. It would be absurd to expect that a statue or painting should be perfect at once, or to find fault with the work of an artist before he has had time to complete it. The husbandman does not expect a crop when he sows his seed; he must wait for it. The father does not expect that his son will be a scholar when he first goes to school; nor does he, when he has finished the term of his education, alledge that he has acquired nothing, because he has not attained the greatest heights in literature, or because he may not be able to solve the most difficult problems in science. "The generality of travellers, when they look at our missionary stations, never think of the difficulties the missionaries have had to encounter; nor do they estimate what has been effected, by comparing the present with the former condition of the Hottentots; but, comparing their present state with a higher standard of civilization, without bestowing one grain of praise, they find fault only on account of what has not yet been done."-pp. 96, 97. The evil spirit excited by the disinterested labours of Dr. Van derkemp in the selfish boors, deprive him of his life. The farmers," says Dr. Philip, vented itself in an attempt to "were so incensed at the Doctor, that one of them went to Cape Town, and, without ceremony, requested leave from the Governor to shoot him. General Janssens replied, by asking significantly, If he had seen the gallows on his entrance into the town." On the surrender of the Cape again to the British in 1806, a revival took place among the labours of the missionaries, which had been continued during Dr. Vanderkemp's absence from Bethelsdorp, by a meritorious female, Mrs. De Smidt, under great difficulties. On his return, he had not long resumed his labours, till he was annoyed by the interference of the colonists and the British Government. Dr. Philip gives the following extract of a letter from Dr. Vanderkemp to the Landdrost of Uitenhage, as a specimen of the lawless outrages which the former were capable of committing. "The bearers, Dansken Klaas and Hendrik Soldaat, complain bitterly that their wives and children are forcibly detained by their former master and mistress, Frans Greeff and Mrs. Suckling; and that, together with two other Hottentot women, they were, by order of the last, violently taken up and carried away from the public road. Such outrages call loudly to heaven for justice! I hope, and respectfully re quest, that it may please you to procure these four unhappy sufferers the enjoyment of that liberty, to which by nature, and the laws of this country, they are entitled: and I doubt not that you will at once perceive the necessity of putting a stop to these and similar excesses, which, being left unpunished, daily increase in number and atrocity, and render this country an execration to every stranger, in whom the least spark of humanity is not entirely extinguished." "-p. 117. This was, however, only the beginning of the miseries which the poor Hottentots were to suffer under the English sway. In a letter addressed to the Government Secretary in 1809, Dr. Vanderkemp states the melancholy fact, that "the Landdrost Cuyler continued to exert an almost arbitrary over the members of this power institution (Bethelsdorp), and had even taken steps to put him under the orders of Field-cornet." a When the obligations which the Hottentots owed to Government for protection were stated to them, their common reply was,-" They are not the same English that they were under General Dundas." So much does it appear that the good or ill treatment of the natives de pended on the personal character of the acting Governor at the Cape! The savage boors, with their Landdrosts and Field-cor nets, continued to harass the missionary institution during the whole period of Dr. Vanderkemp's labours among the Hottentots, up to the present period. Nor does the appointment of commissioners of inquiry by the British Government, or the proclamations of Governors, appear ever to have effected a single improvement in the oppressed condition of the natives. So long as Dr. Vanderkemp lived, he resisted the impositions of the petty officers on behalf of the colonists, but he at last sunk under the contest. "I would go any where," said he, a little before his death, "to escape from my present situation: I cannot remain much longer at Bethelsdorp; my spirits are broken, and I am bowed down by the Landdrost Cuyler's continual oppression of the Hottentots." This man, Cuyler, as appears from the sequel, has proved a bitter scourge to the defenceless natives. Dr. Philip has drawn an admirable character of Dr. Vanderkemp; nor has he concealed where he erred. To the missionary student we would say, of his qualities and conduct, "copy the good, and let the weak alone." Dr. Philip proceeds to make some just remarks on the Colonial Proclamation of 1809, which was issued under the governorship of Lord Caledon, and which has been falsely styled the "Magna Charta" of the Hottentots. "The most دو important part of this proclamation," says he, " was suggested to Colonel Collins, his Majesty's Commissioner, by an individual well known to have been deeply interested in oppressing the Hottentots! By Colonel Collins these suggestions were handed over to another gentleman, who claimed to himself, in my hearing, the whole merit of the Proclamation, telling me, that it was a child of his own. Thus it is that some people glory in their shame. We cannot enter into the minutiæ of this sham Magna Charta with the worthy Doctor, but we are entirely of his opinion, that " it has legalized the unjust claims of the boors on the Hottentots, and consigned them and their posterity to universal and hopeless slavery," unless the British Parliament shall see fit, in their wisdom, to ameliorate their condition, by restoring to them the rights of nature. We quote the following extracts in proof of the severity of this law. "The custom now is, for a master to give to his Hottentot servant, at the expiration of the time stipulated in his con tract, a pass to the nearest field-cornet, by whom he is usually informed that he must contract again immediately; or, if that is not done, he is provided with a pass to the landdrost of the district, who may direct him to find a master in two weeks, two days, or (as far as any security goes that the law provides against it) in two hours, if it be his will." p. 152. "According to the law of habeas corpus, the accused party can demand a trial on a certain day, beyond which it cannot be delayed; but the injured party, in the case of the poor Hottentot, is not only im prisoned on making his complaint, but he may be kept during the pleasure of the local authority, or till the aggressor, if he be a favourite with that authority, find it convenient to answer to the charges preferred against him. When the period at which the Hottentot is to be heard arrives, a scene is presented in perfect keeping with the other parts of the colonial system. The Hottentot is dragged from his dungeon, pale and emaciated, and per haps labouring under a pulmonary complaint, which has been much aggravated by the unwholesome and damp air of the cell in which he has been confined, to take the place of a prisoner at the bar of the worshipful court before which he is to be tried; while the farmer is all this time seen strutting about through the courthouse, either biting his lips as he glances a disdainful eye at the accuser, (whom I must call the prisoner,) or whispering into the ears of his judges, intimating the familiar terms on which they stand, or bullying and setting them at defiance. The trial at last commences with a string of questions put to the prisoner, (that is, the accuser,) by the court, or by his master. All the time this species of torture is going forward, the members of the court and the spectators are making significant motions to each other by certain nods of the head, movements of the eyelids, and sardonic grins; and during all this process, the Hottentot hears in whispers around him, such phrases as 'he'll catch it;' 'you may see in that Hottentot's face what is awaiting him; these filthy beasts are ruined by indulgence; they are the most idle, worthless set of people upon earth; they are good for nothing till their backs are tanned with the shamboc!"" pp. 154, 155. "The following circumstance, related to me by a gentleman of the Madras civil service, now in England, as having taken place when he visited Pacaltsdorp, one of our missionary stations, will serve as a further illustration of this subject. "While he was reprobating the punishments of the Hottentots, a farmer, stand ing by, defended the system by pointing to a Hottentot who wanted one hand: 'I can assure you,' said the farmer, with great coolness, that Hottentot was good for nothing till the master with whom he then was chopped off his hand one day with an axe, and he has ever since been one of the most useful and industrious Hottentots in the country.' Had this Hottentot been a slave to the saine master, it is questionable whether he would have adopted exactly the same method of improving his value. "Instances of oppression now in my possession, which might be adduced to illustrate this point are sufficiently numerous to fill a volume; but I shall content myself at present with the following, out of many cases, which came under my own observation. "A Hottentot woman, belonging to the missionary institution at Pacaltsdorp, in an advanced state of pregnancy, called upon me, at my own house in Cape Town, to complain that her master had struck her, knocked her down, and kicked her in the side, and on the back, with his feet. Find ing, by a medical inspection, that the woman's statement was correct, and that marks of her master's feet were visible on her body, I lodged a complaint against the master before his Majesty's deputy fiscal. On my complaint being lodged, the woman was taken from my house, according to the practice in respect to the Hottentots lodging complaints, and sent to the prison, to wait till the case should be investigated. Of delay I had no occasion to complain in this instance, for the case was heard next day. The facts having been proved, the master was found guilty of the charge exhibited against him. "There are several circumstances in this case deserving of notice. The master was a field-cornet, a petty magistrate in the district of George, and the Hottentot woman was a person of good character. It is proper, also, to add, that she was not a common servant; that she belonged to a missionary institution; and that she had been hired to attend the farmer's wife on this journey merely. The reader must, by this time, be anxious to hear the sentence pronounced upon this field-cornet, this functionary, for the brutality with which he had treated this defenceless woman; and when he considers the circumstances under which her case was brought to the notice of the deputy fiscal, he will scarcely be prepared to hear that the whole punish ment inflicted upon this said field-cornet, was the annulling of the woman's engagement to him, together with a fine of five rix-dollars, being, in sterling money, seven shillings and ninepence. Contrary to the usual practice, the fine was allotted to the woman, (and this is the only instance in which I ever knew such a thing having been done ;) but this was all that was allowed her for the injury she had sustained, and to pay the expense of a residence in Cape Town of three weeks, waiting for an opportunity of returning home, and of a journey before her of twohundred-and-fifty miles. A slave-master would have been in a very great passion indeed, before he would so far have lost sight of his interest as to have treated a female slave in this Hottentot's condition, as she was treated; and it is unnecessary to add that such a punishment as that inflicted upon the farmer, can afford no security to the Hottentot against the most horrible injuries.”-pp. 161-163. "When a Hottentot has given offence to his master, the master frequently sends him to the public prison, not to wait his trial, as such a proceeding would imply in England, and to have a punishment awarded him by a public magistrate, according to the nature of his crime, and the evidence of his guilt, but to be punished at the simple request of the master, without its being necessary to exhibit any definite charge against the prisoner, or any other evidence of guilt than the testimony of the master. "The master has only to send a note along with the Hottentot, stating that this Hottentot (mentioning his name) has been insolent or disobedient; the master of the prison is requested to give him thirty-nine lashes, and the prisoner is tied up and flogged, and put into confinement till his master chooses to pay the prison expenses, and relieve him. "With such facts before us, can it be a question whether these poor people are treated like human beings ? "Among the many hardships to which the Hottentot is subject by this proclamation, we must advert to the Law of Passes, contained in the 16th article. Every travelling Hottentot must have a pass, or a written permission signed by his master, or some local authority, stating that it is requested that the bearer (mentioning his name) be allowed to pass to a certain place. The pass may allow the Hottentot a day, or a week, or a month, or three months, as the person signing it may deein necessary. While he retains this pass, and while he is within the limits of the time which it allows him, it is his protection; but if he chance to lose his pass, or if the time granted in it has expired, he is liable to be treated as a vagabond, or as a deserter. England has its laws against vagabonds, but it will be seen by the sequel, that Cape law is not such as laws of that nature are in England-that it is not intended to protect the colonists, but to enslave the Hottentots."-pp. 166, 167. Our readers will perhaps think that we have quoted sufficient to convince them of the wretched state of the Hottentots under the British proclamation of 1809; we cannot, however, resist giving the following as a climax. "On my visit to Theopolis in 1823, wishing to introduce the English language at that station, for the mutual benefit of the emigrants in Albany and the Hottentots themselves, I selected three or four Hottentot boys from the school, together with a young man who had been acting as an assistant in the school, and placed them under Mr. Mathews of Salem, to acquire a sufficient knowledge of the English language to fit them for assisting me in the introduction of the plan I proposed. Mr. Mathews was an emigrant from this country; he bore a very excellent character, and had at that time the most respectable school in the district - under his care. Being himself a religious man, and favourable to the improvement of the Hottentots, he entered warmly into my views, and offered his services on the most moderate terms. A temporary house was to be erected adjoining the house of Mr. Mathews, by the Hottentots at Theopolis, for the accommodation of the little party; and when they were not in the school with Mr. Mathews, they were to be under the care of the assistant teacher, who was married to a respectable young woman, who was to take upon herself the domestic cares of the family. This plan was recommended by its cheapness, and other considerations which I need not specify. After a trial, Mr. Mathews reported very favourably of the dispositions, the talents, and the progress of his pupils; and the master and the scholars were mutually pleased with each other, and living in peace, when they were visited by two local functionaries, who demanded their passes, and, finding they had none, they seized them as vagabonds. Mr. Mathews stated to them the circumstances under which they were placed: but neither the respectability of his character, nor the remonstrances he employed, nor the tears and distress of the wife of the assistant and of the boys had any effect; the determination was formed on principles not to be shaken by such circumstances. They were driven by the said local functionaries to Graham's Town, a distance of fifteen miles, as drovers in this country, on horseback, are in the habit of driving their cattle to Smithfield market; and they were there committed to the common jail among the felons. Nor were they released till Mr. Mathews and one of the missionaries from Theopolis (which is upwards of thirty miles distant) appeared in person, to advocate their cause; and, at length, with great difficulty, prevailed in obtaining their discharge. Captain Hope was, at this time, acting landdrost at Graham's Town, and on being asked by a clergyman of the church of England how he could permit such treatment to the children at school, his reply was, 'THE PRISON IS THE ONLY SCHOOL FOR НотTENTOTS!' "--pp. 173, 174. more so. If the proclamation of 1809 was oppressive to the natives, that of 1812, under the governorship of Sir J. F. Cradock, was still "By this proclamation," says Dr. Philip, " a colonist can claim any child of a Hottentot who has been born upon his premises, and who has arrived at the age of eight years, as an apprentice, for ten years longer! It is difficult to say which is most to be deprecated, the injustice, the inhumanity, or the pernicious consequences of this regulation." "I have one case before me, in which a farmer, having lost his stock, was, with his family, for several years dependent upon the milk cows and the labour of a Hottentot family. While the farmer and his family continued in this state of dependence, the family of the Hottentot was, of course, treated with kindness; but with an alteration in his circumstances the temper of the farmer underwent a change, and, when the Hottentot proposed changing his place of residence, the grateful boor prevented him from executing his intention, by going to the next magistrate and getting the children of the Hottentot apprenticed to him."--p. 177. "I have now before me the case of two girls, residing at the institution of Bethelsdorp, who were claimed by two farmers, on the authority of this proclamation. The farmers stated these girls to be the one eleven, the other twelve years of age; and on this ground their services were claimed for six and seven years. The eldest girl, alleged to be only twelve years of age by the farmer, appearing to the missionary not to be under twenty-four, and the youngest not much less, he considered it his duty to make the landdrost, Colonel Cuyler, acquainted with this gross |