history] CAPE COLONY 567 progress for many years, with a view to doing away with the bar 49,358,840 (nearly double the normal number), and of newspapers at the river mouth, and at present vessels drawing about 20 feet of and book packets, 1,797,540. Almost every village in South Africa water can discharge cargo at the wharves in the river. At Mossel is connected with the outer world by telegraph, and at the end of Bay the arrangements for landing passengers and goods are the 1900 there were 7467 miles of line (22,597 miles of wire), with 494 same as at Port Elizabeth, only on a much smaller scale ; but rail- offices, besides 1723 miles of telephone wire. The number of teleway communication, which this part is now for the first time to enjoy, graphic messages sent in 1900 was 3,562,039. The telegraphs were will probably lead to a considerable development of the harbour constructed at the expense of the Government, 781 miles of line works. At Port Alfred, at the Kowie mouth, a sum of over three- having been taken over from a company in 1873. The revenue in quarters of a million sterling has been expended, but the average 1900 was £202,454 (exclusive of £244,766, the value of Government depth of water on the bar is now only about half what it was messages), and the expenditure, £205,986. before the works were commenced, and they have in consequence Banks. The following table gives statistics of the banks under been practically abandoned. Between Cape Town and East London trust laws:— inclusive, there are sixteen lighthouses. The registered shipping is still comparatively small, amounting in 1900 to only 37 vessels Including Head Offices. of 5936 tons, of which 31 of 5483 tons were steamers. The tonnage Assets and 31st Circulation, Liabilities, of the shipping engaged in the foreign and coasting trades has, December. Capital. Paid Up. Reserve. Colony only. Colony only, however, grown considerably, as will be seen from the tables at the foot of the previous page. Of the foreign entrances in 1900, 484 of 1,544,084 tons were British; of the clearances, 856 of 1890 £5,780,610 £1,558,612 £850,489 £740,210 £9,221,661 2,538,463 tons. 1895 7,189,090 2,382,003 612,266 11,864,152 Internal Communications—Railways, Ac.—In 1875 the only 1900 12,166,800 6,508,308 1,008,837 1,810,621 2,042,059 48,068,445 railway ran from Cape Town to Wellington, a distance of 45 miles, while parliamentary sanction had just been given, and Money, Weights,. and Measures.—Though all the standards are money voted, for starting what have since developed into three British, the following old Dutch measures are still used :—Liquid systems: the Western, the Midland, and the Eastern, the main Measure: Leaguer = about 128 imperial gallons ; half aum = 15^ lines of which proceed from the three principal seaports—Cape imperial gallons
- anker = 7^ imperial gallons. Capacity
- Muid = 3
Town, Port Elizabeth, and East London, towards Kimberley and the bushels. The general surface measure is the old Amsterdam Morgen, north. The Western System starts from Cape Town, and runs by reckoned equal to 2Y1654 Kimberley to Vryburg and Mafeking, from which it is continued 1033 British imperial feet. acres ; 1000 Cape lineal feet are equal to by the Rhodesian railway to Bulawayo. The total length of the Authorities.—Official publications—Cape of Good Hope Statismain line is over 1360 miles. Branches run from Cape Town or its immediate neighbourhood to Simon’s Town (22 miles), to Caledon tical Register. Annual. Cape Town.—Results of Census of the (67 miles), and to Pickenier’s Kloof by Malmesbury (126 miles). Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, 1891. Report of Director, Cape Irom Worcester a line constructed by a private company, with Town, 1892.—Illustrated Official Handbook: History, Productions, Government subsidy, runs by Swellendam to Riversdale (147 miles). and Resources of the Cape of Good Hope and South Africa. By J. The Midland System starts from Port Elizabeth, and the main Noble. London and Cape Town, 1893.—Reports of the various line runs by Cradock and Naauwpoort to Xorval’s Pont on the Government Departments. Annual. Cape Town.—Non-official Orange river, from which it is continued through the Orange River publications—Aubert. L’AfriqueduSud. Paris, 1899.—Brown. Colony and the Transvaal by Bloemfontein to Johannesburg and Guide to South Africa. London, 1899.—Bryce. Impressions of Pretoria. The total length of the main line is over 740 miles. South Africa. 3rd edition. London, 1899.—Bryden. The VicFrom Port Elizabeth a second line (186 miles) runs by Uitenhage torian Era in South Africa. London, 1897.—Ferryman. Imperial and Graaff Reinet, rejoining the main line at Rosmead, from Africa. Yol. III. British South Africa. London, 1898. — Dr which a junction line (83 miles) runs eastwards, connecting with Fritsch. Hie Eingeborenen Sud-Afrika's ethnographisch und the eastern system at Stormberg. From Naauwpoort another junc- anatomisch beschrieben. 4. Breslau, 1872.—Greswell. Our tion line (about 70 miles) runs north-west, connecting the Midland South African Empire. 2 vols. London, 1885. — Hollway. with the Western system at De Aar. A short branch runs from “Bibliography of Books relating to South Africa.” In TransAlicedale to Grahamstown, from which a line (43 miles), owned by actions of the South African Philosophical Society. Yol. X., pt. 2. a private company, runs south-east to Port Alfred at the mouth of Cape Town, 1898.—Dr E. Holub. Seven Years in South Africa. the Kowie. The Eastern System starts from East London, and the London, 1881.—Sir Harry Johnston. History of the Colonisamain line ran at first to Aliwal North on the Orange river, a dis- tion of Africa by Alien Races. Cambridge, 1899.—Keane. Africa. tance of 280 miles. After the Midland system was completed to Vol. II., South Africa. London, 1895.—Count C. Kinsky. The Johannesburg, however, a connecting line was built from Albert Diplomatist’s Handbook for Africa. London, 1898.—Lucas. HisJunction, near Burghersdorp, by Bethulie on the Orange river to torical Geography of the British Colonies. Vol. IY. Oxford, 1899.— Springfontein, in what was then the Orange Free State. The Mackenzie. Austral Africa: Losing it or Ruling it. 2 vols. distance from East London to Springfontein is 313 miles. A short London, 1887.—Nicholson. Fifty Years in South Africa. Lonbranch from Blaney runs to King William’s Town, and a light rail- don, 1898. -— Ortroz. Conventions Internationales Concernant way of the standard gauge has been opened from Queenstown to L’Afrique. Brussels, 1898.—Reunert. Diamonds and Gold in Tarkastad (31 miles). A private railway runs eastwards from South Africa. 8. London, 1898.—Theal. South Africa. 4th Sterkstroom to the Indwe coal-mines (66 miles). From Cookhouse, edition. London, 1899.—Wallace. Farming Industries of Cape on the eastern branch of the Midland system, a line is in process Colony. 8. London, 1896.—Wilmot. The Story of the Expanof construction by a private company subsidized by Government, sion of South Africa. 2nd edition. London, 1897.—Book of South westwards to Somerset East and eastwards to King William’s Town ; African Industries. Cape Town, 1892.—History of our own Times while from Klipplaat, on the western branch of the same system, in South Africa. 2 vols. London, 1898.—Worsfold. The a line is being constructed under similar conditions to Oudtshoorn Story of South Africa. London, 1898.—Younghusband. South (r. m'W.) and Mossel Bay. It is generally believed that when the gaps in Africa of To-day. London, 1898. this chain of railways are filled up, they will form the main railRecent History. way route from Cape Town to Natal. The standard gauge of the railways in South Africa is 3 feet 6 inches, the exceptions being The year 1870 marks the dawn of a new era in South the Beira railway, the private railway running from Port Nolloth on the west coast to the O’Okiep copper mines (92 miles), and the Africa. From that date the development of modern light two-foot-gauge railway under construction, as an experiment, South Africa may be said to have fairly started, and in from Port Elizabeth to Avontuur. At the end of 1900, the length spite of political complications, arising from time to time, of Government railways in actual use was 2089, while 670 miles of line were under construction. There were also 400 miles of private the progress of Cape Colony down to the outbreak of the railways. The capital expended on Government railways to the end Transvaal war of 1899 was steadily forward. The disof 1900 was £21,842,216, showing a cost per mile of £10,456. The covery of diamonds on the Orange river in 1867, followed gross earnings in 1900 were £3,520,537, and the expenses, £2,198,205; immediately afterwards by the discovery of diamonds on the number of passengers conveyed was 13,640,414, and the tonnage of goods, 1,370,248 (of 2000 lb). Electric tramways run in the Yaal river, led to the rapid occupation and developCape Town and suburbs, Port Elizabeth, East London, and Kim- ment of a tract of country which had hitherto been but berley, but in the case of the last-mentioned town horse and mule sparsely inhabited. In 1870 Dutoitspan and Bultfontein trams are still more general. In the old colony there are over diamond mines were discovered, and in 1871 the still 8000 miles of roads. Posts and Telegraphs.—The number of post-offices at the end of richer mines of Kimberley and De Beers. These four 1898 was 942 ; the revenue in 1900 amounted to £342,431, and the great deposits of mineral wealth are still richly proexpenditure to £346,979. The total number of letters despatched ductive, and although not technically within the confines to England from the general post-office, Cape Town, in 1900 was of Cape Colony till 1880, to-day they constitute the
