The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1824-01-21 00:00:00

•Apt. OF GOOD MOPE AND SOUTH AFRICA.;

various accounts have appeared at different times of the
eufforinga of the Emigrant Settlers in South Africa, but
irc hare not seen, until now, any account in an official
form to warrant entire belief in the melancholy statements
that bare Insn given. We have just received a Revert of
the Committee for the relief of the distressed settlers in
South Afries, and an account of the proceeding', at a pub-
lie meeting held in Cape Town On lb.' I Ith of Sept.
which place beyond doubt the wretched condition of our
unfortunate countrymen, at least of the few who survive
the failure of crops, the pestilence and .wool.
We shall subjoin extracts, from the Appendix to this
Report, of knee front eye-witnesses to the miseries our
countrymen are now suffeing at Grahamstown and other
places in South Africa, and we hope the philanthropists
who profess to feel so strongly for the sufferings of the
uproot in the West bulks, whose situations appear to be
enviable when compared to the emigrants iu South Africa,
will not lends deaf ear to the cries of our fellow whites in
that quarter. It will be recollected that a publication,
lour years ago, under the sanction of the Colonial I Act%
elesenbed the South of Africa as possessing a rich soil,
healthy climate, and every thing capable of rendering a
colony there happy. Upwards of 3,nou of our country-
men, allured by AWN favourable, but false accounts, were
induced, in consequence of the temporary pet asure at the
time in this country, to proceed to the Cape, assisted by
the public money, to form the new Colony of Grahame-
town.
It was soon seen by some of the letters that they bail
been deceived, and that they hail a failure of crops from
the uncertainty of the seasons, disease, and the at tacks of the
Conies to contend with ; and almost all those who hail
the means to remove (but the nmuls r was few) left tl.e
country, and either settled more to the South, twarer the
Cape, or came home. Various repttewntatieus were made
to the lievansout, of the miserable situation of theso co-
lonists, and petition after petition was alit, raving for re.
lief, and that they might he rernored from South Africa to
New South IVales, or any other plus% The Government
have. it is trua, from time to time, afforded supplies, at a
greater expense than would have transported all who wished
to remove from ouch inhospitable districts ; but they have
net agreed to do the only thing useful —11.1111)Vt• the whole
colonists. The following accounts will shew the ntiscry to
which our wretched countrymen arc reduced ; and, we
should Lupe they will receive the attention of the Govern-
ment, u well its of all the humane part of the nation.
The two following lettais were written by gentlemen who are
both hauls of respectable parties. and who bail loved in genteel
sad comfortable circumstances in their native country
I irahanes Town, I hr. 2.3,.1.1L11.

" I received your letter, and sin glad that sOnte one thinks it
worth while to inquire after ant wretched a Icing as myself. I ant
sorry to tell you, OUT dear little Nlittilila is no more. She was
with me while reaping sortie Maley, when I told her to gum the
house to bring sue write water to drink ; she ran off, and fell on
nate of those vele reptiles that abitund in this part of the globe, 111111
was stung. I attended my sweet babe for seven days and nights,
during which she will in the greatest : gamy, until mortification
took place. She then recovered bet senses- .pray i.ll her her poor
mamma and papa, and expired quite easy, on Tuesday, at 'nor
o'clock. She was a lovely child, only tour p..rs old : all my
misfortunes arc nothing compared to this; she was our last and
only child.
" You ask me for an account of our situation ; which I will giyr
you, and I believe it is applicable to all the settlers, as regards our
crops and pro apect of food for the ensuing year. My wheat, two
months ago the most promising I ever saw in sty country, in now
eat down, and in Imps for burning, before we plough the ground
again. The rust Iw utterly destrorsl it ; not n grails have we
saved. My harky, from the drovght, anti a grub which attacks tile
blade just under the surface, produced little snore titan I sowed.
My Indian corn, very much itrjured by the caterpillar ; cabbages
ilestrovt 41 by the lice ; the beans all scorched with die hot winds;
and cereals run to seed t the potatoes are good, but I have but a
small quantity. 4 )ur cows ate all dry for want of grass : not the
least appearance of verdure as tar as the eye can noels. Nothing
but one great entitlement of faded grass, something resembling a
touchy fallow in Enghtnil. IM Saturday, whilst wa•ulting by the
sick bed of my skit little girl, I was startled by the cry of will
dots. I rat so the window, and saw about thirty ofthase terminus
Sninlals : before I amid drive dam off they killed twenty of rot
which consisted of twenty-seven in all„ I mogul for a nio_
meat thinking of my misery—my ilying child—my blasted crops._
nty •cultert4l and ruined Hoek. Cod's will be done ! I have netil I
of hinitude to bear up against such acciumilatal misery. Fare-1
well."

" Graham's Town, t Ith Jan. 1823.
" We are all here struggling it, the saute way in which you left
W. or rather *one a our pmeprets being still more gloomy, as the
mops have agaln very generally failed in this part of the vountry.
We have also this season been troubled with a new coma • the
miettillara and Manes Jim been so aunmeouas that our ganleima
atelntalty deeenmed. I took the greatest late of mine, and the
peoeyeet of its producing something elleixed us a little ; but this
ocevpected visitation has thrown a completedatop on nor exertions.
The bream has been to dry, that it any farmer, in the tiraaff key.
rt district have been obliged to leave duir places for want of
met Several whom I know here are forced to send three miles
for what water they use for dOISICSIie ilUll,olla R. 'WWI IMO I,OW quite
r. of the question • the scanty allosance of half a pound of rice
h all we get. We feel touch the want of vegetables, sometime.,
being Whitt the nevem'', of living several days on meat alone.
Tits Callers are very troublesome ; they lately stole iv:Nov.6w
head of oven from me; but mistOrtune has MI long Iwrn III) rOlll-
- that we begin to be reconciled to cads other."

The rest two estrsets are ateleeted from letters now before the
ommlttee, and are written by • gentleman whet formerly held a
is cosoniission in his Majesty's service. They arc ad.
to a private friend, who had collected a small subscrip.
him in Cape Town I--
" Feb. 17. la2t.
my friend., and the friend. of husnanitr, 1 ant indebted, I
, low the existence of myself and (Aridly, for really, but
lond Interference, we must hare perished.
C.. 11,11 MIN sea any kind of bread of toy own growing, I
e harpy. "fill now neatly three months since we had any
eat. anal indessl, very little rice. If I could any way get
wookl bets great relief.
I very sorry to bit so troublesome : however, necessity
ate to do shat my nature so mewhat recoils at. We arc
ly oil for lireakfast, which mot, usually nitssists of a bit of
uge, or pompkin stewed. If we once again get bread we
'y it strictly.'
Afar 23, 111•23.
very neer•s3ry is so extravagant in limit:mt.:. Town, that it
Wide to come at clothing. Illy ikons and myself are very
and the weather is mow excessively told. If I could but
prier of a pair of new wheels for my waggon, I would put
J— on the mad, and he would earn a little by drawing
iee the shomkee wrs in tiraham's Town. The calico will
prat relic when it arrives. A whole shirt will now be a
are at preterit as badly off as ever. The four tows that
m ilk, whirls wais a great part of oar support, are dest.owlnd
disease now prerailing musing the clinic throughout the

ollowing intf.resting passage* are extracted from the MS.
nal
bare et lir. (• gentleman well known to several at the Committee), who travelled through the English locations in March and April lest, and personally witnessed many
•he tarts Irbil he relates

" 31. ord seaman'spnriy.—Thtee are only threeM fauch mflies R.
here, out of seven of which it originally The, but one, shotitski arid might have illquancd 1111131,
resent unong the millers. Weft It atl dint Mire Iv inr one la
rho has now money sufficient to purchswe a rair d shoes
the seAcra an. generally found without them. Thews
• mill a few eartle, but have lost many by the Catlin.
and pumpkins arc their only tinalucc."

" Aril I. Mandy informed me that mane in his neighbpauthonsl the gr.titimt dooreas, and that Imam tad killed their last c'w

's Pariv.--Mr..kitants, who of one division of
informal me. diat there were ot•ly thirteen or (minima
remaining on the liwatton, out of the whole of this
went• Ile Wiled. that thee was moth IlistfM4 IM101•!:
'h" roolliffol and instanced one prom of the name of
vihu hag kfrosittly been in good etreumstanees, but who,
f t very miter resource, had that day hem foteed
iwihasiev Town, to sell NOW of the sirall remaining part
thew, to keep Ii ttscl( and his family front starving. fur
Rut."

" Ap 3. Isinki !tallith and rcelt's Panics.—Three pcnona bririlonging
lan pant• hod motor ulna, grown thi• rat. ; and if one of
I ate the tint and last bread that I net with in
""at tram ,r in, it grown by any *oiler. .1 few of the
ithnhi'v Imuitist acre of Ilia wheal he seed, at two okil.
Mend,

!4ftldioreiiing to see the husband and wife, with Frarcely
IsCOTtT Mein. and their children in the same condition,
he pwu.d on the orptside of their miserable huts, mewls*
*4 d Indigo curl), probably the only food they have.
:id iet Le lashing hut umpkins. I hie family, of the name of
14.40 Inucher's meat, nor believe Wend., fur
7-1144'lhs; susd tlsco children were running about with-
.ll. li.f Nh.h.ll to stockings, they are seldom to be seen
ell ar young.
'''"*l in he ohli rd to remark, that all that tone's bold.
'41k1"• 0 em‘meuotta in the yeonien and labourers of
goon to hate hr. those wretched emigrants ; and they
*no nseit the desapp,sintioents and misfortunes with an
'r hews': g on despair.

nt! rorcl's party are in a truly miserable plight, with
thing to int but a few cegetehlea I hats saw an
n almost a starriv condition. On going into their
the poor woman little pumpkin soup which

was mical with some milk. She said this was the only food
they had; and their wretched dwelling was neither wind nor water-
tight.
" At a little distanee I met, what had once been, u t was told,
a line hearty-Woking Trams woman, but now miserably emaciated
—apparently shat twenty-four or twenty line years of age. She was
leading one child, another was following, and n third was on her
arm. They were all sitliout shoes or stockings's. The woinan's
Mess (if such it could be called) consisted of the remains of an
old tent tied about her; the children were dad in the suite manner;
at..l tile van vast, appeared so rotten, that it would scarcely bang
on them."

" April .1.
• " On reaching Wilson's party, we met with many persons who
had formerly been in a reripectai4e situation or lire in England, and
hail brought out some property with them This is the description
of people who hare suffered the greatest privations and calamities.
I spoke ni one or two respectable women, who Rave me a nom
lively idea of their melancholy situation, by replying to ine in a
manner that immediately evinced that they had been well educated,
and brought up in good society ; though they now appeared to be
half starred, and almost broken hearted, with their pertains ne-
glected and in rags. At this place their gardens had generally
failed, and the corn altogether."

" April R.
' " Captain and his two tons were without %hoes or stockingt,
anal actually without sufficient clothing of any kind to corer their
naked limbs. Their corn bad totally failol from blight. and
their garden had sentrely produced any thing, in consequence of
drought and caterpillars."

" Mrs. Currie (who has • shop at Itathurst) told me, that'
though almost every settler was in the greatest distress for want of
the common neceawaries of life, and tNaigh the articles she sells
ars chiefly of this description, ye, there was almost no demand ; '
&manioc not ome in fitly had ari a-dollar to spool. Such, however,
she added, was the distreas of &mac, that she could not help (giving
credit, though with little or no prospect of ever being repaid. '

The remaining selections have ii en furnished to the Secretary
from different most respectsiple quarters.
The tiro is extracted from a letter addressed to Mr. T. Pringle,
by it gains& Officer on the Coffer Frontier, and dated Au-
gust Al, HUI
" During my 110124 t MIT at had opportunieles of see.
ing a goad -deal of the setual vtate of. the settlers to Albany and
I can truly declare. I never witnessed so touch !poverty and mi-
sery before. 11.1111 st your litends on the Ilavian s Rune are re-
ported to Inc in comparative comfort and 'prosperity, our countrymen
in the Zuureveldt are Without lilt necessaries of life.* I hst ase
too ems amongst thew, and some families presented a deplorable
picture.

The neat is alas taken from a private letter addressed to a gentle-
man now ir. Cape Town. It is written by an individual nigh
character and essoneetiima, and who has honourably held the of-
fice of Justice of the Peace in England, and that of lleetnrand
in South Afnca.

" Sept. I, 1821.
" My family are this day without bread, and I can procure none
in Graham's Town, et any price. Mice is also very dear and
scarce. Now, in our fours h year, our privations are greater than
ever. The spring-bucks are increasing au ankh, that all my own
awn and my nearest neighbour's on the plain has bees entire!)
eaten down. My people err obliged to tali:: their turns in watch-
ing them all night. Harker and Rigger have severally loaf thirty
and forty head of cattle last week, by the Callers: finally, all his
yesterday."

The sone gentleman, nn the Bth Sept. sans—
•• Before our present crop is ripe, much distress will be felt • fop
want of fool. It is really lamentable to hear of and witness the
distress that now prevails from this cause. A poor Irishman odd
me to-day, that many families, bonds his own, were living, • like
the soldier's horses, ou the green forage ;' for he had eaten no-
thing during the last two days, but lettuces and leeks ! Times are
so hard that we cannot employ labourers."

In a communieationdatetl Sept. 27, we intve the following state-

mere from the same correspotalent :
" I was yesterday asked to join in a twthion to Government to
and down Indian corn for seed to the settlers, as it cannot be pro-
runst here I have been this week at the koswie with my WIWI(On.
in get flour and rice front the little vessel, the flood Intent, which
came in a day or two before. 1 was fortionoe in getting one bag of
brown tic? Mr my share. for which I paid 211 rols. The whole of
her cargo was flour and rice, and was deposed of in the boat as 11
was landed ; and numbers went away without a morsel, declaring
that their families at home were without grain of any kind. It
wo, irdeeol, most pitiable to witness the disappointment of those
who Mel boarded up • kw dollars for this arrival, and returned
empty. I saw some of Thornhill's, Smith's, Cock's, the Notting-
hum, Wilson'., IlladSlllllW'll, Southey's, and Ilulder's parties, se
all of whom I put the question, IVIICIIICT they could spare me
half a niuld or so of looolian corn? The universal reply was, "Wo
have none for our own use—we have not even enough for a seed:"
•• The rust or blight is very prevalent both in tie rye and stolid
straw wheat, bet I sincerely hope they will not be materially hurt
the other forward wheats have suffered as usual—nothing we
mains of them."
We shall shortly lay before the public the speech of De.
Philip on moviii& that the " Iteport of thOCoweinitteo of
the SoOisty for the relief of the distressed settlers in South
.Ifrica, be received," with the Resolutions passed, and
speechcallelivered at the General ',fleeting held at ('ape
'town, 17th September, Ire2:l. The subject is of deep in-
terest, and cannot fail to excite the public sympathy in be-
half of these unfortunate suftiiers.
• The Scotch party are located far up In the interior, on one of
the sources of the Great Fish River. parallel with the Shettwberg ;
and loose suffered lees trout the blight than any other settlers.

he heat two in
&Matinee, at
Captain's tom
dimmed to a pr
lion ter hint it
" To my frien
a 7 say, toe the
► fot thew kind In
" If I could
should be happy.
bread ir eat. anti
s bast of inesl, ti
" 1 ant vets
t compels me to th
tete badly
hien cabbage, Of
s, shell trjoy a sot
Etere neve.
• ta Intpossittle to
naked. and the
f. get the once of .
Puy son
Lids for the at
• be a lime rtlisi
at lUlll.y.
" We art. at
64 pre us milk, vet
in a disease nu
1.1. country,"
• The (Attiring
ld Inlnval of
• members of tit
et locations in M
nl of the tails r
ad " Visited tea
Re tying here, I
o were all, but or
a employment &n
many wbo has
H 111 foci, Illt
hate still
▪ tan Cern and
• " lir. Mandy
tte in the gr.lio
0 nt
" l 4 11..'s Pat
6.4 A,. party. infest
11-11tes now sen
• vge hewn'.
h.
4. mho meat
*au luta
Iho 1411111 r I
I
to I imhasai.
An „
solute •ant."
oaf "
int.,. Nutted
:A.7 filo isn't
"'intl. I ail
"• made ft
4111efi
mama
hat ' • :a inert
aa
.L 111.111
ire nits le
its't h", Botha,
the
k row I,
g, t
IM•ta %, ti
• I Inl4
yo
" to
th4ICICT, •
iCIS '•,(1711,1 ti.
WO, mat
ant
—wire burdtr
'DJ " an.! a
•tetl of thin,
milk hi
th,aim
I kid