Barnard, Andrew [Letters] LETTERS FROM ANDREW BARNARD TO HENRY DUNDAS: Andrew Barnard (1762-1807),

Andrew Barnard (1762-1807), the son of the Bishop of Limerick, was born in Ireland. He joined the British army in 1777 and married Lady Anne Lindsay of Balcarres (1750-1825) in 1793. As Secretary to Lord Macartney, Governor of the Cape Colony, Barnard and Lady Anne lived in the Castle of Good Hope between 1797 and 1803. Thereafter they returned to London. After the Cape was restored to Britain in 1806, Barnard again accepted an appointment there in 1807, but died shortly after his arrival. He is buried near Cape Town.

Henry Dundas, Lord Melville (1742-1811) grew up in Scotland where he exercised great political power. A close friend and political ally of William Pitt the Younger and a close friend of Lady Anne Barnard, he appointed Andrew Barnard to his post as Secretary to Lord Macartney. At the time of these letters, Dundas was Secretary of War.

The letters are written on watermarked paper, one of which is that of "Budgen 1796". Thomas Budgen was a well-known papermaker in Dartford, Kent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They are contained in a folder indicating they originated from Francis Edwards Antiquarian Bookseller (established in 1855) of 83 High Street, Marylebone, London, W1. One of their areas of expertise is travel, especially in Africa. The Melville Papers were disposed of in 1926 by a descendant, Sir Leicester Harmsworth, through Francis Edwards.

Letter No. 1 [4 pages]. 4 November 1799

Barnard first discusses the intention of General Francis Dundas (nephew of Rt. Hon. Henry Dundas) to visit the Chief Ghyika and then return to the Cape via the Drosty of Graaff Reinet and Swarte Kops River, a trip which will see him away for a considerable time.

He then discusses other letters (not present) which have been handed to him by the captain of a "Danish 64" which was protecting a Danish fleet destined for Bengal with the forty-gun frigate Iris. A further fleet of Danish ships is en route to Batavia, but did not land at the Cape. Barnard expresses his belief that the Danish ships are acting for Holland and suggests that Lord Robert Fitzgerald (England’s envoy to the Danish government in Copenhagen) might, with some management "and some money", discover the "mask" that covers the "transaction" involving the Danish fleet.

This letter illustrates the fluid situation in Europe that was having an influence across the globe. The French invasion of Holland had led to the Stadtholder and some Dutch fleeing to England, whilst a number of Dutch nationals were incorporated into the French armies. The government in London was also realising that its control over the Cape, easily achieved in 1795, was now being thwarted by local inhabitants, especially those located in the eastern part of the Colony.

It is possible that Barnard's interesting comment to Dundas prefaces what became an important issue. Sir George Yonge was to prove a disastrous Governor and after a short stay was recalled by Sir Henry Dundas who installed his nephew, General Francis Dundas, in his place. The recall was occasioned by reports reaching Henry Dundas of a "variety of abuses having taken place" under his watch. It is possible that Barnard, realising that a letter to Dundas would be an official one, chose to confide in his mentor Lord Macartney and to trust in his good sense to reveal what was required to Henry Dundas in due course.