Veld-cometcies, in which the duty of the Veld-comet, (or Field-cornet,)
is to put in execution all orders from the landdrost, -to whom he is
more immediately accountable.
The farms are of great extent, especially those in the distant districts
; they comprise a circular area of three miles in diameter, and
from their great extent are never enclosed. Corn might be produced
in great abundance, but. the scarcity of labourers, and the want of a
market within a moderate journey, are the causes of no more being
grown by the farmers, who live beyond a certain distance from the
villages, than is found sufficient for the annual consumption of their
own families.*
The only mode of travelling is either on horseback, or in waggons
drawn by horses or oxen. A representation of the ordinary
waggon of the country, with the usual team of oxen and mode
of driving, is;given in the vignette at the end of this chapter. European
carriages are used only in Cape Town and its vicinity, nor
is there any public conveyance except the Bolderwagen (stage-
waggon, to Stellenbosch. A regular post conveys letters to each of
the villages; Graaffreynet, one of the most distant, receives them
from Cape Town in seven or fourteen days, according to the state of
the rivers and roads. As there are no inns, the traveller must depend
6n the uncertain accommodation of farm-houses on the road,
unless he carry his provisions and bedding with him, which is the
most usual practice.
The only villages in the colony, (1815,) are those of Stellenbosch,
founded in 1670 ; Graaffreynet, in 1786; Swellendcm, in 1745; Tul-
bagh, in 1804; Uitenhage, in 1804; Paarl; Simon s Town; 2/wartIand,
which contains little more than the church, in 1801; George, in 1812;
Caledon, in 1810; and Grahamstown, in 1811; here enumerated in the
order of their size. And the only churches, (excepting those in Cape
Town,} are at Stellenbosch, Swellendam, Paarl, Zwartland, Graaffreynet,
Tulbagh, and Caledon, in the order of their date; that of Caledon
* A more particular view o f the colony, as applicable to the case of new settlers,,
may be seen in a small pamphlet, entitled “ Hints on Emigration to the Cape of Good
Hope.”
not having been built before thé year 1814, at which time the churches
at Uitenhage and George town were not yet begun. Once in every
year, a deputation of members of the court of justice, called the
“ Commission of Justice,” perform the circuit of the Drostdies, (residences
of the landdrosts), for the purpose of hearing and determining
all trials or lawsuits which may be brought before them.
The inhabitants of these districts consist principally of Dutch,
who first, under Van Riebeck, began to establish themselves at
Cape Town, in 1651. A large proportion are of German origin ;
and between the years 1680 and 1690, a considerable number of
French families settled at the Cape of Good Hope, driven thither
by the persecutions to which Protestants were, at that time, subjected
in France. There are also many of Swedish or Danish origin.
As settlers and colonists, the number of British in the different districts
was, at this time, extremely small ; and might, in a general
view, be left out of the account.
The Hottentots of the colony are much less numerous than the
Whites ; but, if their number be added to that of the slaves, the
black population will considerably preponderate. All the inhabitants
use the Dutch language, and many slaves and Hottentots speak
no other. The nations which border on the colony; are the Na-
maqua Hottentots, on the north-west ; the Bushmen Hottentots, on
the north and north-east ; and the Kosas or Caffres on the east.
The Cape Settlement was taken by the English, for the first time,
in the year 1796 ; but, on peace being concluded between the two
nations, it Was restored to the Dutch in February 1803. War soon
afterwards breaking out, it was again taken by the English, on the
8th of January,- 1806 ; and by the last treaty of peace, in 1815, has
been finally ceded to Great Britain.
Cape Town, as well as the rest of the colony, is inhabited by people
of various origins, the chief part of whom are also Dutch, who, in
respect to number, are surpassed by the slaves. These latter are, for
■the greater part, Malays, and natives of Madagascar, and of the country
adjoining Mozambique. The Hottentots, preferring a country life,
are generally averse from engaging in the service of masters living