at the growth of manhood, had alfo their meetings to decide
upon the fate of the free and independent burghers,, when the
happy days of their own emancipation fbould arrive, which,,
from the converfations of their matters on, the bleffings of liberty
and equality, and the unalienable rights of man, they were-
willing to. fuppofe, could not be very diftant.
In this ttate of things the Britiih fl'eetappeared.before the bay..
The governor called an extraordinary council to deliberate upon
the fteps to be taken in this critical jun&ure. Some were inclined
to throw the fettlement under the prote&ion of the Bri*
tilh flag, but the governor and the greater number influenced,,
and perhaps intimidated, by the citizens, liftened to the abfurdi
propofals of refitting the Engliih force, and,, if fuccefsful, as,
they doubted not they would be-, of fetting up , immediately ,a<
free and independent republic of their, own. They talked of?
the thoufands and ten thoufands of courageous boors, who, on.
the fignal of alarm being given-, would, flock to the Batavian
flandard; fo ignorant were they of the nature and-the number
of their valiant countrymen. The burgher cavalry, a militia,
of country boors, who were then in the vicinity of the town,
w e r e immediately called out, and a, few hundreds reludantly
obeyed the fummons. The condud and the cowardice of this-
undifciplined rabble, whofe mattial fpirit had.. hitherto been tried
only in their expeditions- againft the native Hottentots, might
eafily have been forefeen. A few Ihot from the America, man.
of war, ftriking the rocks of Muifenberg, foon cleared that important
pafs, and caufed the regular troops to retreat toW yn -
berg, a tongue of land projeding from the. eaft. fide of the Tahie
Mountain, and about eight miles from Cape Town: the
Hottentot corps ftill loitered about the rocks, and did fome mif-
chief, but being fpeedily diflodged, fell back alfo upon
Wynberg; but the brave burgher cavalry fcampered away to
their refpedive homes without once flopping to look behind
them.
The Britiih troops, led on by General Sir James Craig, under
the orders of Sir Alured Clarke, marched to attack the enemy
on their elevated poft; and by the afliftance of the fallors, having
brought his -guns and artillery to bear upon them, a few
dhot caufed them to retreat within their lines. The Engliih
-encamped on the Ipot from which they had diflodged the
•enemy ; who, finding it vain longer to oppofe a feeble refiftance,
fent, in the middle of the night, a flag of truce to propofe!a capitulation,
which was acceded to ; and the next day concluded
between the two parties. Moll of the members of the government
that were well difpofed to the Prince of Orange, and had
concluded themfelves with propriety, were continued in office ;
and thus the plans of the Jacobin party were, for the pr-efent,
completely defeated.
When the news of this event firft reached England, the ac-
quifition of fo valuable a fettlement was confidered o f the utmoft
importance to the Britiih empire, and particularly to the -Eaft
India Company, as being a ¡barrier and grand out-work to itheir
vaft poflullions in India. So forcibly was the public imp re fled
with am opinion o f the great advantages that might be derived
to the nation at large from the poflefiion o f the Cape, that the
u 2 qiieftion