The Cape, considered as a colony, cannot be said, at present, to be valuable in any respect, except as an asylum for shipping, homeward or outward bound. The supplies requisite for the town are derived from the labors of a few boors, settled at some distance. Hence, provisions are by no means cheap; nor would they be so, even if the demands of St. Helena could be answered from any other quarter; since the indolence of the Dutch agriculturists would, it is to be feared, cause them to limit their operations in proportion as the consumption might decrease. It is, doubtless, owing to some such cause, that the greater part of the slaves are maintained upon a very black, heavy kind of bread, on which the fat of sheeps’ tails is smeared, as a substitute for butter; and that the lower classes of the population live in the most wretched manner. This should seem inexcusable, where thousands of acres of good soil lie unheeded, within such a moderate distance of the town as could scarcely fail to repay the ordinary expences of cultivation.
Although neither coal, nor peat, is found at the Cape, and the colony is dependant entirely on the arborage of the vicinity for fuel, it is very remarkable that little, or rather no, pains are taken to insure a supply. If we except a few plantations, made purely for ornament, at the several garden-houses within six or seven miles of Cape Town, we may in vain search for any symptoms of foresight in respect to the future supply of so indispensable an article. I recollect stating this to a gentleman, who seemed to be, in other respects, well informed of Cape affairs; but he silenced me with a remark which appeared unanswerable; taking for granted it was true. He said, ‘We have endeavored, ever since taking possession of the colony, to induce the Dutch to plant, and to till, the adjacent lands; but in vain: they prefer a scarcity, or at least a pretended one, on all occasions; because they think it distresses us, while, at the same time, they have an excellent plea for extorting the highest prices. Possessed of his waggon, and team, Mynheer can always supply his own wants at a certain rate; but if more is brought than is required for his own use, the surplus is spared to us for a sum which covers the whole expence: therefore, the dearer the article, the better for the waggon-master!’