The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-09-08 00:00:00

NATIONAL M F.: AI LS.

The British public are already acquaiateil with the cha-
racter and merit of the graud ae►ies of Nati 0000 al Medals pro-
duced under the superintendence of Mr. Muni,. and exe-
cuted by the ablest Artists of (ritual Britain and the Confl-
uent. 'Flsis was one of the greatest and most patriotic (and
we would fain hope nos* saceessful) imilertsking ever aide
by a single individual, to perpetuate, thimigh the medium of
Art, the most elortima aurees.i 0000 of molts', and naval
rests that vv., adorned the annataofanynatioo its Europe.
Mr. Munis has followed up this undertaking, which was
so admirably condoeted in all its parts by the milted
skill of British and Foreign Artists, by 'Mewing what the
f,rtner Call Wooly execute in medallic are. %Vitt, !worms-
ing truth and propriety, he has selected for this porpoise
a spew Medal of our venerable Sovereign, who as founder
of the Royal .Iratlesny, and an she steadfast patrols of it. ohs-
iliugitishol President, Mr. WasTs Owned the ,ruse he e"-
teriaitsed of the moral influence of Art upon society. and of
the atiachniritt he hare 10 its most eininesit Professor. Mr.
Mutates new Medal bears on the oh fine head of the
/NG. executed by %Vann—the air is titan and dignified,
with a peculiar and forcible expresinon in the lips and eye-
brows; the neck is finely formed, and the hair encircled by
a wreath whirls is plain and simple; the curls of the hair
are not (tittered away into email and trifitog parts, but
formed in broad serpentine lilies, whir's flow at note natu-
rally and gracefully. (7 the likeness, which in Medals as
Portraits must be strincinally camodered, we are p•epareil
In anticipate n variety of opinions. Mr. Mutsit has, oe
understand, taken this likeness from a model of hie
MAJIIITY finished in the prime of life; and the Medal
he has struck from it is -stimitted, by tlw oldest servants
of the Royal llousehold, by those who
station about his Nls.nalerv's persons have hail the Is•st and
most coast:int opportunities of ClillTClitalla with the
fell rharaetcr and expression of the Koval features, to be
the most perfect medallic likeness of the Kt vin that has been
.truck slowing the present reign. But is Mr. Mu DI aware
that. ample as this testimony is In the few whom it sill
reach in ordinary conversation in the circle which surrousols
our venerable and alibied Sovereign, hs bait yet to CO.
cutwier the previously fined elrarseter of the Royal
which the public have imliihed firont the coot of the trains?
Mr. Moots represents his Severeign's features, as Sir
.110.11UA itrTNOLDS oh.; 11.0-e to his hest portraits which
partook of au historic character—preserving the full con
tour and characteristic ratites of lbw features of the
original, ht• has nut obscured and overwhelmed them with
!lie accidental deformities inilticeil by age. An histo-

feral portrait painter will it, his, work, after she precept
and example of Rewsoene, avoid as carefully the heavy
Bedtimes, which age nod isitirmiliee emate in stone
sislrjeris, as he will the ciptally culpable, though more
palatable practice of Sir Too Mas Lewitt:Set (ollierwire
the greatest portrait painter in emistence). whose portraits
ill 'Nudity have all the bloom and freelmeer of truth The
Maio** likeness us; this 31edal Is, we repeat, one of the few
dignified reoreseniatimis of the origiaal which we have even;
it has more of real character, and less of sicitleittal change
Arising from age, than we have observed in any former 31..
There iv, perhaps, re greater length fsoin the nose to
the chin than in the original. This may appear more
striking. front the erect postote of the neck ; end, speaking
merely from memory, we cattiest venture to pronounce it
decisively a defect. Our readies meat judge, as we do, from
their own recollection's.
The emirs. of this M, dap is uncommonly heantifnl.
The arms ate quartered Its the form of a reoss, us ton the
%billings of the slat rout es pot of the Moose of PRENs.
Wick, and their prialect-ssior of the STEARTS. Some tine
soveillirtlS Id this arrangrunrtot of the Royal Anna are to he
found its the best coins of CnAttt.r4 11. and, if we mistake
not, in ("Rom w If it Were toot originally ilt.i4nett
by Slums, whose nudallic skill was so celebrated, it
wit at least t hastened and finished by that Artist in a
5.11ps riot. degree. 31r. Meuse ha. in the slew Medal re-
ta.t, :VI it at r.', the style of the ornamental cross, which
in some of our past coins dismayed the Royal Alllll4
and rendered it in and uncommonly beautiful. 'file
arms of the cross arc formed of four shields; one with
the 1111131 armorial 'mariners of three lions, a scrimsl with the
lion rampant, a third wills the harp, the fourth with the
horse, tile Hanoverian emblem; the shields of the glove hest
in ostler esermounted by the Ilfiliab Crown, the fiftieth by the
Crown of CtiAnerst %CM It. The centre of the field of the
Medal is formed by n small a.il beautiful representelion ••f
Ilse device wf Sf. George 3111111 W Dragon, eueircled by the
Garter motto, from whirls spring four tasteful 1/I anch.
that intereect the field of the Medal between the armorial
bearings—the nose, the Rka•nrork, the ritalle, and the
Horse of Hanover (the fore-part of which is, by the way, too
choosy), rap earls of finite branches. The execution of the
rersrse is beautiful in the extreme, and reflects. the highest
credit upon Mr. Mtt.t.s,'a young artist, who has been patro.
nised by Mr. WEsT (whose Medal he struck), by Mr. CnAn-
TRY, the sculptor. and toasty other eminent Artists.—
Mr. %Venn for healer, and Mr. Thum for pure and el/1431Cal
ex. colitis of ',coigns, have wilewit in the series of 141Witoial
Medals the powers of our own Artists. 'fhe former for
forcible expressi ~,,, and the latter for pure and delicate
marking, which was never sliew us in a higher degree of per-
fection than in Mr. glum el. new Medal, the Awl& on the
Tfl*Pl.ll* of whirls equal slily thing we have ever seen in this
branch t f Art for delicacy of execution, sand inimitable
finishing. Ti.. raised prstiectisse edge is also skilfully coo.
trivet, ; it presents a sulfa-mit protection by a raised and
delicate threat', instead of a thick and heavy cording, anti
answers every real purpose for sloth it is intended, without
trespisaisig isps..o the fine polished field of the Medal, the
, even surface 1,1 which affords such a dazzling relief to the
ornamental pasts.
We have hitherto spoken of thin as a Medal, ►hough, in
feet, from its sire and design, it ou;lit rather to be described
am a model for an English crown purer. It shews at least
what Euglish Artists might Is me done at ass Entilisi Mint,
if is were deemed insure seemly by the Genii. mass aho has
4.000/. a year for
_lodging, and who is ..0 dusibt the brat
judge, that au English Artist should have been tried before
ass ifolina were introduces'. lint ne moot lake Ili.' business
at we fill., it—our Coin will go foals with Signor PISTRUCCeS
liable to the world, and tine Medals will at the same time
chew what our Artists ran do, and what they might have
dime, if their efforts were uoi oh the patrunsige s.f the Mint.
The public cast never he at a loss to make a tolerably fair
estimme, when they have the Colo and lbe Medals Wort
them :—the Low in its must essential parse fleshy, nn.
seemly, and midi fined ; the other hearing the larvae marks
of genstioe taste and proper discriminal' of eharaeter.
Mr.:ill:DlE ought to take ewe tied the MASTER of the MINT
dors nut louse ills new Medal within the .................. the Art
which snakes it treason for a psis-ale isolivitloal to circulate
a piece of metal bearing Ilia impress of the Royal head and
Royal Arms, without the express authority. Hite shall
ever be prosecuted under this Act{as WOLSET Wier war), it
mount be al least fur insilatisfi the Coiss of realm, though
it may he fur presenting the glint with a model entitled to
their insitalson —to the patronage of the public—and which,
whatever be the fate of the coinage, will preserve Ilse character
of our Artists ( [wiser implicated Os the result, and anew
the oat lows of Europe, that though medallic Art has not been
cultivated w Otis country stutter the direct patronage of the
State, it bag 'et attained a lea feeliou moiler the patriotic
encouragement of litigate iisdivislisals, which bat not been
surpassed hy the effect of the more munificent patronage
uniformly held out to it in totter States, and which we fear
had unfortunately induced a belief (by this lime Gann recent
event■ pretty well dissipated) that on the Continent atone
could Artists be found compete'', in superintend and tfe.
cute the mew coinage for the use of Great Britain.

HIGH WATER THIS DAY AT LONDON BRIDGE.
Morning 35 after 4. &main 54 after 4.

•
C.IPE OF GOOD 110 Pg.

A STATISTICAL ACCOUNT OF THE CAFg or 000 g
HOFF.; With (lamer krioss ON THE MEANS
or 111PROviN0 THAT EXTENSIVE AETTLIESILIAT.

[From The New Monthly Magazine.)

Whether the ancients had aisy knowledge of the
soothers extremity Of Afoot is a doubtful point :
but tile first European navigator who had the
honour of doubling that proinontiery was Bar.
thiploinew Diaz, 411 officer in the service of John
the Sec I, linig of Porto:o'. lie 'proceeded
to tweinv-four degrees south, owe hundred and
twenty Iragnes beyond the track of former naviga-
tors, and then stretching boldly out to sea, never
apromi heel the coast again till lee was 40 leagues to
the eastward eel the Cape, whirl, lee bed passed
without seeing it. He then advanced as far as the
river del Infinite, upwards of six degrees to the east-
ward of the Agulhas, winch is the most southern
point of dent vast continent, and near a degree
hey I the Cape of Good Hope. The occasion of his
return is unknown, but twenty-five leagues short of
the above liver he erected a cross on an islet or
rock, which still bears the name of De la Cruz, in
the hay of Algot., or Del Agree, an called from its
having furnished a supply of water. 'tile grand
promontory wined) Diaz saw on his return he named
j C elm Tormention, from the tremendous storms
I whirl, he lead to enconmer ill his passage ; but
this appellation was afterwards changed by his
Soverei,soi to that of Bona Esperanza, or Cape of
I Goo' iinpe, as expressive of the prospect which
the tliscevery held out of a sure path to ImIM.
That path, howeve•, was not explored till ten
yenta afterwards, when the same Diaz served with
his brother under that great commander, Vasco
de Games, who touched at the Cape, but with.
out making any settlement there. Next to De
Gain t was the Portuguese Admiral Rio d'lnfante,
who -itroogly urgent his Government to establish a
colony doe the southern coast of Africa, fixed upon
a river for that purpose, to which was given his own
name, but now called the Great Fish River. Some
oilier attempts were made by different voyagers
belonging to the lame nation to colonize the
Cope, hut none of them proved successful, fur the
waist of sufficient energy and management. lie
1620 the commander+ of two English ships in the
East India trade, took formal possession of Saldanha
flay, under the authority of the Company and the
Crown, but nn further notice was taken of the Cape
till the year 1650, when the Dutch East India
Conipaiiy sent out Von Rieheck to form a settle-
ment there. That commercial body, however,
never made any efforts to extend the colony,
or to improve the local advantages which they
possessed, coofieeing all their care to the Cape
itself as a port for the refreshment of' their ships.
Thus limited in their ideas, and fearful, perhaps,
that a more flourishing colony would require
an expensive military establishment, they threw
every obstacle in the way of new settlers, allowed
no trade to be carried on but what passed through
their own servants, and made the Cape entirely de.
pendant upon the Government of Batavia. The
wretched mid jealous policy of the Dutch was
strikingly displayed in the law which they passed,
that the ;wettest distance from house to house in the
interior should be three miles, thereby keeping the
settlers apart from each other, and preventing as
uniele as in them lay a thriving population. Thus,
a country ethundaut in natural riches, and the
means of subsistence, was neglected, the colonists
became unsocial in their inauners, and the na-
tives either retired as they advanced, or if soy of
them remained, it was only to be reduced to a
miserable state of slavery, under the usurpers of
their natal soil. Another proof of the selfishness,
or sluggish indifference of the Dutch Govern-
ment is the fact, that no geographical survey of
the Cape was ever made till the country fell into
the haunts of the English, when a map was con-
structed by the order of Lord Macartney. From this
'purvey it appeared that the extent and dimensions
of the territory composing the colony of the Cape,
formed a parallelogram of 550 miles in length, and
933 iu breadth, comprehending an era of 128,150
equate miles. This great space of ground, recto-
ding the population of Cape Town, was peopled
by shout 15,000 white inhabitants, so that each in-
dividual might be said to posse's eight and a half
square miles of. ground. The whole territory is
divided into four district.. viz.: that of the Cape ;
of Stellenboscie and Drakensteiu ; of Zwellendam ;
and of Graaf Reynet.
The Cape district is chiefly composed of the
mountainous part, which gives a general name to the
whole peninsula. The Table Mountain, with the
Devil's Hill on the east, and the Lion's Heed ou
the west, forms the northern extremity of this peuin-
soh, being in length from north to south about
thirty-six, and in breadth eight miles, connected
with the continent by a low flat isthmus.
False Bay and Table Bay, one washing the
southern and the other the nortlwrii shore of this
istlinius, are the usual places of resort for shipping.
—This last affords secure shelter in the pleasant
season, that is, from September till Nay. when the
south-east wind* prevail, while Simon's Bay, 011
the western shore of False Bay, is safest for the
rest of the year. when the northerly and north.
westerly winds are strongest. The latitude of
Table Bay is 33. 55. S.; long. 18. 30. E. Of
Sim AU% I;ey the latitude is 34. 9. S., and kme-
tude 18. 32. E.
Cape Town is situated at the head of Table Bay,
00 31 declivity, end consists of about eleven heir-
il:ed houses, regularly built, and disposed into
straight and parallel streets, intersecting each other
at right angles. Three or four squares give the
town an open and airy appearance. In one is
held the public market, another is resorted
to by the peasants from the country with their
waggons, and the third 'ems as a parade for
the troops. 'The inhabitants are oboist sixteen
thousand, of whom six thousand are whites, and a
mixture between Europeans and Africans* sod
the rest blacks. The vegetable produce of the
Cape peninsula consists of grapes, with all the
European and many of the tropical fruits, men.
lents of every description. and barley for the use
of hovers. lii other pints of this districts however,
wheat is raised, and besides supplying the market
with grapes and raisins. sheet 700 pipes of
wine rre,inade every year. Of these use 100 pipe
consist oils sweet, luscious able, called ONMIIOOIO.