Butler, Thomas

Tybers Crawle /
[17\th/ July 1820 ] /

Please your Excellency // /
Expecting every Day to have the /
Honor of Seeing you here and not wishing to give trouble /
if possible prevented me from laying my Miserable State /
before you ere now. My distress and great disapointment /
in every respect particularly as to the Quality of the /
Land or more properly Speaking, Sand alloted to me /
and my Eleven Settlers calls so loudly on me that, /
I feel it a duty incumbent on me as {as} allege to lay /
it before you _ I have thirty persons and myself to /
feed which Costs me a British pound a Day, This /
must Soon destroy me _ Tybers Crawle the place /
allotted to me has about five or Six acres of Arable /
Land a part even of which Small Quantity M\r/ /
Nieuwant, the Field Cornet claims, This nor ten /
times as much would not produce Sufficent to feed /
my People, Had I any prospect of utlimately produ=cing /
Sufficient Food it would be somewhat Cheering, /
But /
>
the Contrary being the fact throws a Gloom over /
me which often Costs me more uneasiness then ever /
I experienced before _ I am ready to undergo any thing, that /
Human Nature can endure to Establish myself but, /
when ther is not Sufficient, Arable Land what can I /
do. Can it be possible that my Country which I Served /
faithfully for four and twenty years has Sent me into /
this Desert to Starve and to be Laughid at by the /
Wealthy Dutch many of whom tried this place before /
and gave it up as good for nothing, The Water can /
certainly be bought at a heavy expence (one hundred /
British pounds at least) to Water a few acres but the /
gush rain afterwards would certainly destroy all _ There /
is no Soil on the Mountains to absorb the rain and /
when it comes it carries all before it, I rely on my /
Country to do me Justice and I call on you as a /
Man of Humanity to the Instrument in obtaining /
me that Justice, Were you to See this place you would /
pity me _ My Sufferings have been great and there is /
no Sign of them being at an end, I ever gave any /
trouble nor did I ever Sleep in any Mans House in Africa /
neither did any of my Family or my Followers except /
the /
>
Night which my Wife and myself Slept at M\r/ Bughs /
who has shewn every disposition to Serve us and has /
acted as a Father to my people Some of whom were /
and are Sick, Evry details in His House were at their /
Service, In all my afflictions I feel its my only /
Comfort to be placed under the Protiction of /so\ good /
So Humane, and so worthy a Man. It Cost me one /
thousand pounds to bring me here 7+ bring, what I /
have and what has been destroyed. My people altho’ /
I treat them as well as I can are so disappointed that /
they are quite in a state of desparation, and will not /
work only as they please, It is highly neccessary /
that Some regulations should be struck out in this /
respect such as the Hours for Work, The punishment /
when they refuse to work which I think should be /
to stop their Food and that every Individual /
should do what they reasonably can as long as /
we are feeding them without their Cooperation /
nothing can go on right, We should have Sufficent /
powers 7+ if we abuse it we should be punished. From /
my Situation alltogether Death would be a blessing /
I have the Honor to be most Obdt y\rs/ /
Tho.\s/ Butler /